Indira Gandhi Canal Stage-I
Topic: Regional Planning and Sustainable Development in India · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 6 "Planning and Sustainable Development in Indian Context"
Meaning
Stage-I is the first part of the Indira Gandhi Canal command area in Rajasthan. It covers Ganganagar, Hanumangarh and northern Bikaner districts. The land here is gently undulating, meaning it has soft, low rises. Its culturable command area (the farmable land the canal can water) is 5.53 lakh hectares. Irrigation began in the early 1960s. For sustainable use, Stage-I is meant to get protective irrigation: just enough water to save crops from drought, not heavy watering.
Example
In Ganganagar and Hanumangarh, canal water replaced gram, bajra and jowar with wheat, cotton, groundnut and rice. But overuse of water also caused waterlogging and soil salinity.
Don't confuse with
- Indira Gandhi Canal Stage-II: it covers Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jodhpur, Nagaur and Churu. It has shifting sand dunes and a larger CCA of 14.10 lakh hectares, and irrigation there began in the mid-1980s.