WATER RESOURCES In recent years, multi-purpose projects and large dams have come under great scrutiny and opposition for a variety of reasons. Regulating and damming of rivers affect their natural flow causing poor sediment flow and excessive sedimentation at the bottom of the reservoir, resulting in rockier stream beds and poorer habitats for the rivers’ aquatic life. Dams also fragment rivers making it difficult for aquatic fauna to migrate, especially for spawning. The reservoirs that are created on the floodplains also submerge the existing vegetation and soil leading to its decomposition over a period of time.
Irrigation has also changed the cropping pattern of many regions with farmers shifting to water intensive and commercial crops. This has great ecological consequences like salinisation of the soil. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchaee Yojana has been started which ensures access to some means to protective irrigation for all agricultural farms in the country, thus bringing much desired rural prosperity. Ironically, the dams that were constructed to control floods have triggered floods due to sedimentation in the reservoir.
Moreover, the big dams have mostly been unsuccessful in controlling floods at the time of excessive rainfall. These floods have not only devastated life and property but also caused extensive soil erosion. Sedimentation also meant that the flood plains were deprived of silt, a natural fertiliser, further adding on to the problem of land degradation. It was also observed that the multi- purpose projects induced earthquakes, caused water-borne diseases and pests and pollution resulting from excessive use of water.
Collect information about floods occurred in different parts of the country due to heavy rainfall in recent times. Sardar Sarovar Dam has been built over the Narmada River in Gujarat. This is one of the largest water resource projects of India covering four states—Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. The Sardar Sarovar project would meet the requirement of water in drought-prone and desert areas.
Sardar Sarovar Project will provide irrigation facilities to . lakh hectare of land, covering villages in districts of Gujarat. It will also irrigate , , hectare of land in the strategic desert districts of Barmer and Jalore in Rajasthan and , hectare in the tribal hilly tract of Maharashtra through lift. About per cent of the command area in Gujarat is drought prone while entire command in Rajasthan is drought prone.
Assured water supply will soon make this area drought proof. Source: Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd. Do you know that the Krishna-Godavari dispute is due to the objections raised by Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh governments? It is regarding the diversion of more water at Koyna by the Maharashtra government for a multipurpose project.
This would reduce downstream flow in their states with adverse consequences for agriculture and industry. Make a list of inter-state water disputes. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchaee Yojana Some of the broad objectives of this programme are to enhance the physical access of water on the farm and expand cultivable area under assured irrigation (har khet ko pani), improve on-farm water use efficiency to reduce wastage and increase availability both in duration and extent, irrigation and other water saving technologies (per drop more crop) and introduce sustainable water conservation practices, etc. Reprint -