Indira Gandhi Canal

Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojana:

Indira Gandhi Canal, started in 1965 is one of the biggest canal projects in India, was started from the Harike Barrage at Sultanpur, Punjab, a few kilometers from Sutlej. It extends 167 km in Punjab and Haryana and the remaining 37 km in Rajasthan.

IGNP traverses 7 dist. of Rajasthan, enetering from Sirsa district (Hanumangarh) and running through Barmer, Bikaner, Churu, Hanumangarh, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, and Sriganganagar.

The irrigation facilities were provided to an area of 6770 sq. km in Jaisalmer dist and 37 sq. km in Barmer dist. The canal transformed the deserted districts into rich lush fields. Benefits of mustard, cotton, and wheat crops were flourished over this semi-arid region replacing the sand.

The IGNP took a major step in reclaiming the Thar Desert, checking its desertification of fertile lands. A planning programme is working for greening the desert in areas lying near to the canal, planting of shelter belts along roads and canals, blocks of plantation and sand dune stabilization.

Besides providing water for agriculture, the canal will supply drinking water to hundreds of people in far-flung areas.

 

Despite of all these benefits, the excessive irrigation and intensification of agriculture over the years has caused environmental degradation and created new wastelands. There have been problems of water-logging caused by excessive irrigation, seepage from canals and poor drainage, loss of biodiversity. These factors produced a rise in water table, increased salinity and finally submergence of the land. These problems have been exacerbated by the cultivation of water intensive cash crops such as wheat and rice.