Measures for Promotion of Sustainable Development

The central challenge in the Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area is that the very development it brought has degraded the physical environment. Scholars who questioned the project's ecological sustainability have been proven right by the last four decades of experience. Therefore, any serious attempt at sustainable development here must first restore ecological balance. Of the seven measures proposed, five are aimed directly at this restoration.

Water management is the first and most fundamental requirement. The policy must be implemented strictly. The canal project itself was designed for protective irrigation in Stage-I and extensive irrigation (for crops and pasture) in Stage-II. Any deviation from this plan undermines sustainability.

Cropping pattern is the second measure. Water-intensive crops must be avoided. Instead, farmers should be encouraged to grow plantation crops like citrus fruits, which are better suited to the region's water availability.

Command Area Development (CAD) programmes form the third set of measures. These include lining of water courses, land development and levelling, and the warabandi system — the equal distribution of canal water within the command area of an outlet. The purpose is to reduce conveyance losses, meaning less water is wasted before it reaches the fields.

Reclamation of waterlogged and saline-affected areas is the fourth measure. These problems have emerged as direct consequences of irrigation, and they must be reversed for the land to remain productive.

Eco-development through afforestation, shelterbelt plantation, and pasture development is the fifth measure. This is especially necessary in the fragile environment of Stage-II, where the ecological risks are highest.

Beyond ecological measures, two more steps address social and economic sustainability. …