New Delhi, Jan 2 2026. The Punjab government has told the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that all crop, soil and irrigation water samples tested so far in a state-commissioned study on agricultural runoff and groundwater pollution are within prescribed safety limits. The disclosure was made in the first interim report (March–June 2025) submitted by the Punjab Biotechnology Incubator (PBTI) in a suo motu matter the tribunal initiated on the basis of a media report citing an IIT Mandi research paper on rising groundwater contamination in Punjab.
Presenting the findings before the NGT, the state said the Phase-I assessment covered 11 locations across nine districts – Ropar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Mohali, Nawanshahr, Sangrur, Bathinda, Fazilka, Ludhiana and Moga – with a total of 440 samples collected. These comprised 275 agri-food commodities, 88 soil samples and 77 irrigation water samples. According to the interim report, “all the 440 samples of agri-food commodities, soil and irrigation water were found below maximum limits defined in respective standard requirements”.
The report noted that uranium levels in irrigation water ranged from 0.005 mg/l to 0.131 mg/l, while soil samples showed uranium concentrations between 0.5 mg/kg and 6.7 mg/kg. It added that no specific regulatory standards have yet been prescribed for uranium in either irrigation water or agricultural soils. The broader study was ordered after the NGT took cognisance of the IIT Mandi research highlighting deteriorating groundwater quality linked to intensive agricultural runoff, especially in south-west Punjab.
In an order issued in January last year, a Bench led by Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava had directed Punjab to carry out a comprehensive survey of heavy metals in crops and file interim as well as final reports at fixed intervals. The tribunal had also recorded that, at several locations, parameters such as nitrates, fluoride, total dissolved solids (TDS) and iron in groundwater had exceeded drinking water standards. It further ordered that “the State of Punjab will submit the action taken report on completion of 4th, 8th, 12th and 18th months, along with the interim and final report of the PBTI, before the Registrar General of the Tribunal”.