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Flagging rampant wastage of water in the agriculture sector, a parliamentary panel has recommended to the government to explore the option of having "energy efficient pricing" and said it may become an important tool for sustainable management of groundwater resources. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources, in its report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, pulled up the government over its response to an earlier suggestion of the panel on the issue. The panel said there is an urgent need to bring down the water consumption in the agriculture sector. It also said subsidized electricity and fertilizer had encouraged farmers to grow water-intensive crops even in the areas having water scarcity, and called for "institutional changes". The report stated the committee regrets to note that the action taken reply furnished by the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation is silent on the specific recommendation of the committee urging it to explo