Q."Attaining sustainable development in the Indira Gandhi Canal (Nahar) Command Area requires major thrust upon the measures to achieve ecological sustainability." Evaluate the statement.
You're viewing a preview — the full solution, concept, methods & PYQ mapping are locked.
Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →The Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area faces severe ecological degradation—waterlogging, salinisation, desertification, and biodiversity loss—making ecological sustainability measures essential for any meaningful sustainable development in the region.
The Indira Gandhi Canal, stretching across the arid expanses of western Rajasthan, was conceived as a transformative project to bring water and prosperity to one of India's most inhospitable landscapes. Originating from the Harike Barrage in Punjab, the canal system was designed to irrigate vast tracts of the Thar Desert, support agriculture, and enable human settlement in previously barren areas. The vision was ambitious: turn desert into farmland, create livelihoods, and anchor communities in a region that had known only scarcity.
Yet the reality that unfolded over decades has been far more complex. While the canal did bring water and agricultural expansion, it also triggered a cascade of ecological problems that now threaten the very sustainability of development in the command area. The statement under evaluation is not merely valid—it is urgent. Without prioritising ecological sustainability, the gains from irrigation will prove temporary, and the region risks sliding into deeper environmental crisis.
The Ecological Crisis Unfolding
The introduction of canal water into an arid ecosystem has disrupted natural balances in multiple ways:
Waterlogging and Salinisation have emerged as the most visible threats. The desert soils, unaccustomed to perennial irrigation, lack adequate natural drainage. Water seeps into the subsoil, raising the water table. In many areas, the water table has risen to within a few metres of the surface, bringing dissolved salts upward through capillary action. As water evaporates in the intense heat, salts accumulate in the root zone, rendering once-productive land infertile. Thousands of hectares now show white salt crusts, and crop yields have declined sharply in affected zones.
Desertification paradoxically intensifies even as water flows through the region. Overgrazing by livestock, deforestation for fuelwood and construction, and poor land management practices strip the fragile vegetation cover. Wind erosion accelerates, and sand dunes advance, sometimes encroaching upon the very canal infrastructure meant to reclaim the desert. The delicate balance that native vegetation maintained is lost when replaced by water-intensive crops unsuited to the ecology.
Biodiversity loss has been profound. The Thar Desert, though harsh, supported a unique assemblage of species adapted to aridity—blackbuck, chinkara, desert fox, and a variety of reptiles and birds. The transformation of habitat, combined with increased human pressure and pesticide use in agriculture, has pushed many species toward local extinction. Wetlands that formed in waterlogged areas attract some migratory birds, but these are poor substitutes for the native ecosystems destroyed.
Groundwater depletion in surrounding areas compounds the problem. Farmers beyond the canal's reach, seeing their neighbours prosper, sink tubewells to tap groundwater. The aquifers, recharged slowly over centuries in this low-rainfall region, are being mined unsustainably. Water quality deteriorates as fluoride and other minerals concentrate in the remaining groundwater.
The ecological damage is not a side effect—it is a direct consequence of introducing large-scale irrigation into a fragile desert ecosystem without adequate planning for drainage, soil management, and biodiversity conservation.
Why Ecological Sustainability Must Be Central
Sustainable development, by definition, requires meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. In the Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area, the current trajectory fails this test. Agricultural productivity is already declining in older irrigated zones due to soil degradation. If salinity and waterlogging continue unchecked, the region will revert to wasteland—not the natural desert it once was, but a human-made barren landscape incapable of supporting either agriculture or native ecosystems.
Economic sustainability depends on ecological health. Farmers whose fields turn saline lose their livelihoods. The cost of reclaiming degraded land, if even possible, far exceeds the cost of preventive measures. Water scarcity, already acute in Rajasthan, will worsen if the canal system itself becomes unsustainable due to siltation, encroachment by sand dunes, and reduced inflows from upstream diversions.
Social sustainability is equally at stake. Communities that migrated to the command area in hope of prosperity face uncertain futures. Displacement, loss of traditional livelihoods, and resource conflicts over water and grazing land have already created tensions. Without ecological stability, social cohesion will fray further.
Measures for Ecological Sustainability
Achieving ecological sustainability in the command area requires a comprehensive, integrated approach:
- Improved drainage infrastructure is non-negotiable. Subsurface drainage systems must be installed in waterlogged areas to lower the water table and flush salts from the root zone. Surface drains need maintenance and expansion to carry away excess water. …
Unlock everything free for 14 days
- Full step-by-step solutions
- Concept-first explanations
- Methods, shortcuts & mistakes
- PYQ mapping + timed mock tests
Full access for 14 days. No credit card required.