2.1.1. Well and Tube-Wells

This type of irrigation is practiced since ancient time. It accounts for 62 per cent of the total irrigated area of the country. It is the easiest source of irrigation. It can be installed in a short duration of time. It is however expensive and diminishes the underground water-table, if exploited in unsustainable manner. The largest area under tube-well irrigation is in Uttar Pradesh followed by Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Bihar.