When I published The Rice That Ate Punjab, a respected elder, who is part of the family, called me with a simple but powerful observation: “Why don’t you calculate the cost of the water we are giving away—at the price of a Bisleri bottle?” It was a moment of clarity. And when I ran the numbers, the results were startling.
Let’s take the conservative estimate that Punjab uses 36 trillion liters of water annually to grow paddy. Now, each one-liter bottle of Bisleri sells for Rs 20, but we’re not going to take that retail price. We’ll ignore the plastic, packaging, marketing, and profit. We’ll just assume the water inside is worth:
Rs 1 per (a minimal benchmark), and
Rs 0.10 per liter (even more conservative).
The Water Cost at Rs 1 per Liter
Water Cost = 36 trillion liters × Rs 1 = Rs 36 trillion (Rs 36 lakh crore)
The Water Cost at Rs 0.10 per Liter
Water Cost = 36 trillion liters × Rs 0.10 = Rs 3.6 trillion (Rs 3.6 lakh crore)
Now let’s compare that to the value of the rice crop.
Punjab produces 180 lakh tonnes (18 million tonnes) of paddy. With a Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 2500 per quintal (i.e., Rs 25,000 per tonne), the total value of Punjab’s paddy crop is:
Crop Value = 180 lakh tonnes × Rs 25,000 = Rs 45,000 crore
Let that sink in.
Even if we assume water is worth just 10 paise a liter, Punjab is using Rs 3.6 lakh crore worth of water to grow a crop worth only Rs 45,000 crore.
That’s like melting gold to make tin—an absurd transaction where loss is mistaken for gain. For every rupee earned, we are flushing away Rs 80 in water at Rs 1/litre valuation—or Rs 8 in water at just 10 paise/litre.
And we are not even counting the cost of free electricity, diesel, tubewell infrastructure, or the environmental and health costs of monocropping.
This is not agriculture. This is economic self-harm disguised as national service.
Punjab is bleeding water to grow a crop it shouldn’t. If water were priced even minimally—at Rs 1 or even 10 paise per liter—this model would collapse overnight.
It is time policymakers recognize the insanity of this arithmetic. Crop diversification is not an option—it is a necessity. We must start valuing our water, before we wake up to an irreversible drought.
Because the truth is this:
Punjab feeds the nation. But it is dying of thirst.