India, Jan. 28 -- For decades, we have discussed Punjab's water crisis as if it were a temporary hurdle. However, the reality beneath our feet is far more terminal. We have entered an era of water bankruptcy, a systemic state where groundwater is extracted at roughly 156% of its recharge rate-the highest in India. As the Punjab government prepares to table the Tree Protection Act, 2025, in the upcoming Vidhan Sabha session, we must ask: Can a law that largely ignores nearly 90% of the state's land truly secure Punjab's ecological future? The current draft of the Punjab Tree Protection Act suffers from a fundamental structural flaw: It is overwhelmingly urban-focused. While protecting city trees is vital, Punjab's geography is predominantly rural. Of the state's total area of 50,362 square kilometres, about 48,265 square kilometres lie in rural regions. By failing to include rural landscapes as a core target, the legislation ignores the very spaces where the battle for water security, ecological stability, and climate resilience will be won or lost. Punjab's current ecological indicators present an alarming picture. Official data shows that forest cover declined from 4.8% in 2001 to 3.67% in 2023, while tree cover fell from 3.2% to 2.92% in the same period. This leaves Punjab with a combined green cover of only 6.59%, placing it among the states with the lowest environmental buffers in the country. Despite these figures, the draft Act makes no mention of agroforestry or farm trees. These are not just aesthetic additions; they constitute a significant component of Punjab's existing green cover. The exclusion of rural areas effectively ignores diversification pathways that are critical for a water-starved and debt-strapped state. Agroforestry remains a key ingredient for breaking the vicious cycle of groundwater depletion and crop monoculture, yet the proposed law neither acknowledges the role of trees in climate mitigation nor provides safeguards for marginalised communities. Scientific assessments paint a disturbing picture of Punjab's hydrology. Groundwater withdrawals exceed sustainable limits by a staggering margin. A vast majority of Punjab's administrative blocks are now classified as over-exploited, falling within red or dark zones where aquifers are being drawn down faster than they can recover. Tubewells are drilled deeper every year, canals fall dry in summer, and farmers are forced to invest more energy and money simply to access the same vanishing resource. Water scarcity is no longer an abstract future risk; it has become a lived reality beneath Punjab's soil. Discussions at global platforms like Davos 2026 underline that terms like "water-stressed" no longer capture the scale of the problem in the Global South. Punjab fits precisely into this emerging definition of water bankruptcy. Decades of over-extraction and ecological neglect have pushed the state beyond sustainable limits. This is part of a global pattern of systemic breakdown, as experts like Dr Kaveh Madani have warned, citing the rapid disappearance of rivers and the depletion of groundwater reserves worldwide. Change in land use remains a primary factor affecting groundwater recharge, and afforestation has the potential to enhance both water and soil preservation. Punjab's policies continue to operate in silos, treating trees, water, and agriculture as separate sectors. This makes the proposed Tree Protection Act more than just an environmental regulation-it is a potential water-security instrument. Trees are not ornamental assets; they are natural infrastructure essential for groundwater recharge and climate moderation, especially on agricultural land. Water bankruptcy is the result of long-term anthropogenic drought driven by over-allocation, groundwater depletion, land degradation, deforestation, pollution and climate change. If Punjab is unable to secure its water, which has been its lifeblood, then no policy reform, economic growth plan or legal intervention will succeed. In Punjab's case, it is the rural hinterland that must be guided towards agroforestry and landscape-level ecological restoration to recharge aquifers that are under extreme stress. Any tree protection law that does not promote agroforestry will remain a mere procedural exercise when the state requires systemic reform rooted in environmental justice. The legislation must also align with global commitments under sustainable development goals, particularly those related to clean water, sustainable agriculture, reduced inequalities and life on land. The legislation must also integrate cultural memory. Punjab's heritage trees-banyans, peepals, and village landmarks like sheesham, jamun, and shatoot-carry irreplaceable ecological and historical value. Their loss cannot be compensated through administrative permissions alone. Punjab cannot afford an environmental policy that stops at city limits. We are living beyond our hydrological means. The upcoming Vidhan Sabha session represents a critical opportunity. If tree protection is not aligned with the reality of water bankruptcy, the state will not merely pass a flawed law; it will accelerate the collapse of the natural systems that support its very existence....