Rising water table of saline and sodic ground water in Haryana and management strategies – A review

The development and execution of canal system in central and south western parts of Haryana brought a large area under irrigation and helped in the introduction of heavy irrigation duty crops. Though the crop production has increased tremendously yet the nonexploitation of the saline ground water and application of heavy irrigation have led to the rising of the water table in central and South-Western part of Haryana. The increase in canal irrigation area from 0.99 to 1.4 million ha in this region has largely contributed to this problem and more than 5 per cent area in this zone is under critical zone (0–3m). The water table has continuously been rising at an average annual rate of 10 to 30 cm for the last twenty five years. The main emphasis in developing the surface irrigation potential and neglecting the drainage of the saline and sodic ground water of the above mentioned zone of the state has created waterlogging condition and soil salinization. Poor water management practices have also aggravated the situation. The serious problem of the rising water table can be tackled by adopting the improved water management practices, introduction of drip irrigation system, bringing more and more area under sprinkler irrigation, using of brackish ground water in conjunction with canal water. Introduction of horizontal drainage i.e. tile drainage system, vertical drainage and reuse of drainage water and farm forestry can be the possible measures to reduce the problem of rising water table.