Punjab has revised its water rate, and the argument it has set off is the wrong one. Under the Punjab Irrigation, Drainage and Rivers Act 2023, the old crop-based assessment has been replaced with a flat per-acre charge of Rs 1,650 for kharif and Rs 850 for rabi, alongside revised rates for garden supplies and state lift irrigation. The debate that followed has focused almost entirely on whether irrigation water should cost more. On that question, the serious answer has long been yes. The real questions are whether this increase has been designed well, whether it has been imposed at the right moment, and whether the government's own budget supports the case it has made for asking farmers to pay more.

Take the principle first, because it deserves defending.

Punjab operates one of the largest contiguous irrigation systems in the world, an asset worth well over twenty billion dollars. Infrastructure on that scale cannot survive without sustained maintenance. Roads, ports, and power plants all require regular investment simply to preserve their value. Irrigation infrastructure is no different. For decades, however, Punjab has attempted to maintain this vast network while recovering only a fraction of what its upkeep requires. Canals silt up, structures deteriorate, and maintenance is deferred because the fiscal space has never existed to undertake it properly.

Nor is canal water expensive even after the revision. It remains substantially cheaper than the diesel or electricity required to pump groundwater when canal supplies fail. Anyone arguing that irrigation water should remain permanently underpriced is ultimately arguing against both economics and arithmetic. Pakistan has also committed itself to revising irrigation tariffs in Punjab and Sindh as part of its broader programme of fiscal and........

© The Nation