Question

Consider the following statements in reference to Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009.

1. As per the Act, no farmer shall sow nursery of paddy before 10th day of May of the agricultural year or such other date as may be notified by the State Government by notification in the Official Gazette for any local area.

2. Any farmer who contravenes the provisions of this Act shall be liable to a penalty of rupees ten thousand for every month, or part thereof, per hectare of the land till the period such contravention continues.

Which of these statements given above is/are correct?

1. Only 1 
2. Only 2
3. Only 1 and 2
4. None

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 3 : Only 1 and 2

The correct answer is Only 1 and 2.

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• Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009.
  • As per the Act, no farmer shall sow nursery of paddy before 10th day of May of the agricultural year or such other date as may be notified by the State Government by notification in the Official Gazette for any local area.
    • Hence statement 1 is correct.
  • Any farmer who contravenes the provisions of this Act shall be liable to a penalty of rupees ten thousand for every month, or part thereof, per hectare of the land till the period such contravention continues.
    • Hence statement 2 is correct.

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• Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009
  • The law aimed at conserving groundwater by mandatorily delaying the transplanting of paddy to beyond June 10, when the most severe phase of evapotranspiration (transfer of water from land to the atmosphere through evaporation from the soil and plant transpiration) is over.
    • Farmers were forbidden from sowing paddy before May 10, and transplanting it before June 10.
• • It was believed that early transplanting of rice (before mid-June) resulted in unsustainable withdrawals of groundwater with the monsoon still far, temperatures very high, and the evapotranspiration rate (ETR) at its peak. 
  There has been serious concern over the drastic fall in the water table in Punjab and the cultivation of paddy leads to over-exploitation of underground aquifers, as a very large number of tubewells(more than 14 lakh in 2015-16) running on free power pump out virtually endless amounts of water.