Question

What are the positive impacts of irrigation on the Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area?

Answer 1

Indira Gandhi Canal, previously known as the Rajasthan Canal, is one of the largest canal systems in India. The canal originates at Harike barrage in Punjab and runs parallel to the Pakistan border at an average distance of 40 km in the Thar Desert (Marusthali) of Rajasthan. The introduction of canal irrigation in this dry land has transformed its ecology, economy, and society. It has influenced the environmental conditions of the region both positively as well as negatively. The availability of soil moisture for a longer period of time and various afforestation and pasture development programmes under CAD have resulted in greening the land. This has also helped in reducing wind erosion and siltation of canal systems. It has led to a tremendous increase in agricultural and livestock production. The spread of canal irrigation has led to increasing in cultivated area and intensity of cropping. The traditional crops are sown in the area, gram, bajra, and jowar have been replaced by wheat, cotton, groundnut, and rice.