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Maharashtra is one of the southern states of India. It is the third-largest state in the country, having a geographical area of 30.8 M ha (307713Km²). Within that, 40 per cent area is drought-prone, and 7 per cent is flood-prone. Agriculture is the major occupation which provides food to the growing population in the state. Out of the total working population, 52.7percent depend on rural agriculture. Irrigation projects are based on different factors. Some projects are based on cultural command areas or water applications. Further, CCA is divided into major, medium and minor irrigation projects. Major and medium projects are further divided into the type of irrigation methods. Some of the irrigation projects in Maharashtra are the Chaskaman irrigation project, Chillewadi Medium Irrigation Project, and Chikotra Irrigation Project.
Types of Irrigation projects in Maharashtra:
Irrigation projects can be divided into small land units, those hectares of land. Irrigation projects in Maharashtra are classified into different categories. Some irrigation projects are planned based on the area available, while some are planned on water availability. There is no water scarcity in Maharashtra, so water availability is not an issue.
1) Irrigation Projects based on cultural command area(CCA)
- Major Irrigation Projects: The area to be covered for an irrigation project to be launched must be more than 10,000 Ha. These projects include huge storage reservoirs, flow diversion structures and a large network of canals. These are often multi-purpose projects serving other aspects like flood control and hydropower.
E.g., Chaskaman Irrigation project, Anjansara Major Irrigation Project, Bembla Major Irrigation Project, Manjra Major Irrigation Project.
- Medium Irrigation Projects: The projects installed as medium irrigation projects are done where the area is less than 10,000 Ha but more than 2,000 Ha. They also fall under multi-surface water projects. Some components installed in medium irrigation projects are Medium-sized storage, diversion and distribution structures.
E.g., Chillewadi Medium Irrigation Project, Belpara Medium Irrigation Project, Katangi Medium Irrigation Project, Paldhag Medium Irrigation Project, Sukhna Medium Irrigation Project
- Minor Irrigation Projects: The projects which have an area of less than or equal to 2000 Ha are considered minor irrigation projects. Water tanks, small reservoirs, and groundwater pumping are the sources of these projects. Many minor irrigation projects exist within major and medium irrigation projects.
2) Irrigation projects based on water availability:
- Gravity/Flow Irrigation projects: This water is stored at higher levels or is elevated so that the supply can be done to the land by gravity flow. These irrigation schemes consist of headworks across rivers to store water and canal networks for water distribution.
- Lift irrigation projects: Water must be pumped from the fields or canal networks from lower elevations in these systems.
Some projects of Irrigation in Maharashtra are:
1. Chaskaman Irrigation Project:
Chaskaman Irrigation Project is one of the most important projects in Maharashtra. It is developed at Bhima river in Pune district. It is located across river Bhima in Krishna Basin near the village Bibi in Khed Taluka. This site is 60 km from Pune. The project comprises of composite dam consisting of an earthen dam of 737.45 m in length and a masonry dam of 220.55 m in length with a maximum height of 46.23 m from the deepest foundation level, with a gated spillway of 72 m in length having 5 Nos. of radial gates of size 12×8 m. On completion, the reservoir impounds 241.69 MCM of water, out of which 214.50 MCM shall be utilised for Irrigating 42200 ha command of left bank canal & 1970 ha command of right bank canal Khed and Shirur Tehsil of Pune District. The total irrigable area is 44170 ha. The Planning Commission accepted the project in 1977 for Rs. 22.47 crores.
2. Chillewadi Medium Irrigation Project:
Chillewadi Medium Irrigation Project is also an earth-fill project on the Mandvi river near Junnar, Pune district. It was started in the year 2000. The height of the lowest foundation is 62.56 m, while the length of the irrigation project is 440m. It is a medium irrigation project, either storage or reservoir. The basin involved in this project is the Krishna basin.
3. Chikotra Irrigation Project:
Chikotra irrigation project is located on the Chikotra river of Zulpewadi village, Ajara Tehsil of Kolhapur District. This project is 660 m from latitude. The capacity of this project is 43.15 DML of water storage. It is a medium irrigation project of either storage or reservoir. This project is completed, and the Krishna basin is involved in the Chikotra Irrigation project.
Conclusion:
In India, The state of Maharashtra has a seasonal climate. In the five geographical regions of Maharashtra, there is considerable variation in weather and rainfall. Irrigation plans or projects are prepared based on water availability in the reservoir. The projects have to be very realistic and fulfil the cultivators’ demands. Agriculture has utilised about 81 per cent of water from the total available water resource for irrigation. In the last five years, the government of Maharashtra has completed 32 major, 184 medium and 2727 minor and lift irrigation projects to increase the irrigation facility. Some of the irrigation projects in Maharashtra are the Chaskaman irrigation project, Chillewadi Medium Irrigation Project, and Chikotra Irrigation Project.
