Claim: Modi government is planning to impose tax on agricultural water extraction.
Conclusion: Misleading. The Union Minister for Jal Shakti denied the claim and clarified that agricultural water usage subject falls under the State List.
Rating: Misleading — 
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A social media post is being shared widely with a claim that the Union Government is planning to impose a tax on water usage for agricultural purposes.
Modi government is now planning to tax agricultural water. They have already tried to disturb farmers with black farm laws and now doing this for the benefits of their industrialist friends.
Promise was to double farmers’ income by 2022 but now extorting money from them. pic.twitter.com/TFV8vkIZRB
— Shantanu (@shaandelhite) June 27, 2025
The claim reads: “Modi government is now planning to tax agricultural water. They have already tried to disturb farmers with black farm laws and now doing this for the benefits of their industrialist friends. Promise was to double farmers’ income by 2022 but now extorting money from them.” The post also included visuals to support the claim.
Another report also stated the same thing as seen below:
FACT-CHECK
Upon receiving a WhatsApp request, Digiteye India team quickly searched for authentic source to back the claim, if any on government website but found no such proposal. Further search on news coverage revealed that a misleading headline in the New Indian Express led to the claim being shared on social media.
In fact, when clicked on the Google News link for the said story, it leads to Union Minister for Water resources (Jal Shakti) CR Patil’s press conference where he had categorically denied the rumour.
When asked about whether the Centre has any plans to tax water supplied to farmers, the minister categorically denied the rumour and told the media that the matter falls under the jurisdiction of state governments and it is a State subject (State List (List II) Entry 17 of the Indian constitution). Even PIB has vetted the claim as seen below:
Several social media posts claim that the Union Government is planning to impose a tax on water usage for agricultural purposes #PIBFactCheck:
❌ This Claim is #Fake
✅ Union Jal Shakti Minister @CRPaatil has clarified in a press conference that water usage for farming falls… pic.twitter.com/FqyT0VWAKd
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) June 27, 2025
According to the Annual Groundwater Extraction report, the agricultural sector accounts for 87% of the total 239.16 billion cubic meters (BCM) of water extracted, which said that indiscriminate extraction led to fast depletion of ground water in some states. However, the claim that the Centre is planning a tax on agricultural water usage is far-fetched and false.
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