Chandigarh, March 31 -- In a modest but notable shift for Punjab, which has been grappling with a groundwater crisis for years, 17 of its 153 revenue blocks managed to reverse the trend of falling water table between 2022 and 2025, the state water resources department observed. Eight of these blocks also achieved a balance between extraction and recharge, and thus were classified as 'green' blocks. These include Bathinda, Faridkot,Ferozpur, Guruhar Sahai, Mamdot, Qadian, Aur (Nawanshahr), and Kharar Despite this improvement, the overall situation remains grim. Punjab continues to extract groundwater at 156% to 164% of its recharge capacity, the highest rate in the country. The average rate of decline is still 1.5 times more than the recharge levels. Further, the situation in at least six blocks has gone from bad to worse. These include Mahilpur, Mukerian and Ghanour, which have slipped from the green category to yellow, and Khamanon, Machhiwara and Samana, which have gone from yellow to orange. In 'green' blocks, groundwater extraction matches recharge levels, while 'yellow' blocks extract up to double the replenishment levels. Orange blocks are those where extraction is more than double than the percolation. Currently, 56 blocks fall in the 'orange' category while 55 are 'yellow' and 42 'green'. Jalandhar is the worst-hit district, with 10 of its total 11 blocks falling in the orange category. According to data from the Central Ground Water Board, 57% of monitored wells showed a marginal rise due to the recent floods and increased canal water use. However, over 42% of wells continue to record declining groundwater levels. Experts, however, say the improvement visible in some blocks is only the beginning of a long road. Gopal Krishan, a scientist at the National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, said, "The trend reversal (shown in 17 blocks) is good news for the state, which has been facing a threat of desertification amid drying aquifers. But there is still a lot to be done." Explaining why the 17 blocks have turned green, a superintendent engineer-level officer at the state's water resources department said that the increase in canal water use has helped a great deal. He added that the use of canal water for irrigation has increased from 22% to 78% in the past three to four years....