India, June 21 -- The Punjab government on Friday gave nod to a 14-point Integrated State Water Plan to preserve and replenish water sources in the state.

The plan was approved by chief minister Bhagwant Mann at a meeting of the water resources department here in which he stated that the plan had been prepared in consultation with other departments. He said the situation in Punjab is already alarming as 115 blocks of the state out of total 153 are over exploited in terms of groundwater extraction. The plan focuses on saving the groundwater and enhancing the usage of canal water for various motives, he said.

Mann also expressed concern over the annual average of the lowering of water level by 0.7 metre due to extraction of 5.2 billion cu...