Question.
What are the positive impacts of irrigation on the Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area?
(NCERT class 12 geography, India People and Economy, Chapter-9: Planning and Sustainable Development in the Indian Context)
Answer.
The Indira Gandhi Canal is also known as the Rajasthan Canal and is one of the largest canal systems in India. This canal project was started on 31 March 1958.
The canal originates from the Harike barrage in Punjab and flows parallel to the Pakistan border in the Thar Desert. Its length is about 40 km in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan. The total planned length of the Indira Gandhi Canal System is approximately 9060 km.
The canal system was completed in two phases -
- In the first phase, the northern part of Gangasagar, Hanumangarh, and Bikaner districts was covered, with a cultivable command area of about 5.53 lakh hectares.
- In the second phase, the expansion of the canal was completed in 14.10 lakh hectares of the cultivable area in the Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jodhpur, Nagaur, and Churu districts.
- Irrigation was introduced in the first phase command areas in the 1960s while phase II command areas were irrigated in the mid-1980s.
The positive impact of irrigation on Indira Gandhi Canal Command Areas;
- The introduction of irrigation in arid regions has led to positive development in ecology, economy, and society in these regions.
- Agriculture and livestock production has increased significantly in the Indira Gandhi Canal Zone.
- The canal provided soil moisture availability for a longer period, leading to afforestation and increased grazing land.
- The spread of canal irrigation has increased cultivated areas and cropping intensity.
- Instead of crops like gram, Bajra, and Jowar, farmers started growing more productive crops like wheat, cotton, groundnut, and rice.
- Due to the availability of water, apart from agriculture, new economic opportunities like new industries have also been established here.
In addition to the positive impact, intensive irrigation and excessive water use have led to the dual environmental problem of waterlogging and soil salinity.
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