THE plight of farmers in Haryana’s Nuh district, where over 5,000 acres of farmland have remained submerged for years, is not an isolated tragedy. It is part of a much larger ecological and governance crisis steadily spreading across the state. From Rohtak and Jhajjar to Hisar, Sirsa and Fatehabad, thousands of acres of agricultural land are battling chronic waterlogging and rising soil salinity, turning once-fertile fields into barren “sem” zones. The roots of the crisis lie in decades of flawed water management. Excessive dependence on water-intensive paddy cultivation, seepage from unlined canals, over-irrigation and poor drainage infrastructure have steadily raised groundwater levels across Haryana’s flat plains. Monsoon rainfall merely exposes these underlying structural failures. Experts have repeatedly warned that without scientific drainage systems and groundwater regulation, large parts of the state risk long-term ecological degradation.
For farmers, the consequences are devastating. Fields remain uncultivable for successive seasons, crop losses pile up, debts rise and families dependent entirely on agriculture are pushed towards desperation. Many cultivators are now forced to buy foodgrains despite owning land. Yet the official response remains painfully slow and fragmented. The contrast between urban and rural priorities is striking. Urban flooding in cities such as Gurugram quickly attracts emergency interventions and infrastructure spending, while submerged villages continue to wait for compensation and basic drainage solutions. Temporary measures like shallow tubewells may offer limited relief, but they cannot substitute for comprehensive planning.
Haryana urgently needs a long-term strategy involving canal lining, sub-surface drainage, crop diversification, groundwater monitoring and climate-resilient rural infrastructure. Waterlogging is a warning about the unsustainable model of development imposed on the state’s ecology. Ignoring it further will endanger both livelihoods and food security.
