Planning and Sustainable Development in Indian Context
Case study: Indira Gandhi Canal command area
Weigh the benefits and harms of canal irrigation in the Thar.
The Indira Gandhi Canal (Rajasthan Canal) was conceived by Kanwar Sain in 1948, and launched in 1958. It starts from the Harike barrage in Punjab, and runs about 40 km from the Pakistan border, into the Thar desert.
Its planned total length is 9,060 km, with a culturable command area of 19.63 lakh hectares, in two stages. Water reaches fields by flow (gravity) in some parts, and by lift (pumping) in others.
Benefits: the desert has been greened; wind erosion has fallen; the cropped area has grown; and farmers now grow wheat, cotton, groundnut and rice.
Harms: intensive irrigation has caused waterlogging and soil salinity, damaging the land.
Seven measures suggested for a sustainable future: strict water management; no water-hungry crops; command area development and warabandi (fair turn-by-turn sharing of water); reclaiming waterlogged and saline land; eco-development through tree planting; support for poor land allottees; and diversification into other activities. Water brought life, and new problems.
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