Multipurpose River Valley Projects in India

Bhakhra Nangal Project

Important Multipurpose Projects

1. Bhakhra Nangal Project (Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan)
A joint venture of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, the Bhakhra Nangal Project is India’s biggest multi-purpose river valley project so far completed at a cost of Rs. 236 crores. It consists of a straight gravity dam, 518 metre long and 226 metre high across the Sutlej at Bhakhra. The Bhakhra dam impounds 986•8 crore cubic metres of water. The canal system of the project is now irrigating 14•8 lakh hectares. It generates 1204 MW. electricity.

2. Chambal Project (Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan)
The Chambal Project is being jointly executed by Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. In the first stage, the Gandhi Sagar dam and its 115 MW power station and the Kota barrage were completed. The Rana Pratap Sagar dam with a power house of 172MW. capacity was constructed in the second stage. The third stage comprises the construction of the Jawahar Sagar dam and a 99 MW. power station. With the completion of all the three stages, the project will generate 386MW of power.

3. Damodar Valley Project (Jharkhand and West Bengal)
The Damodar Valley Project was conceived for the unified development of irrigation, flood control and power generation in West Bengal and Jharkhand. The project is administered by the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), established in 1948. The irrigation potential of the project is about 5•51 lakh hectares and its installed power generating capacity is 1181MW. It is designed on the lines of Tennesse Valley Authority (TVA) in the U.S.A.

4. Farakka Barrage (West Bengal)
It consists of a barrage across the Ganga at Farakha; another barrage at Jangipur across the Bhagirathi, a 39 Km. long feeder canal taking off from the right bank of the Ganga, at Farakka and tailing into the Bhagirathi below the Jangipur Barrage and a road-cum-rail bridge over the Farakka barrage have already been completed.

The basic aim of the Farakka barrage is to preserve and maintain Calcutta port and to improve the navigability of the Hooghly river. Specifically, the object of Farrakka is to use about 40‚000 cusecs of water out of the water stored in the dam to flush the Calcutta port which is getting silted up.

5. Indira Gandhi Canal
It is one of the biggest irrigation projects in the world, begun in 1958 as Rajasthan Canal. It is a bold venture of bringing irrigation to a desert area. It will provide irrigation facility to N-W Region of Rajasthan a part of Thar desert. The Project which will use water from the Pong dam consists of 215 km long Rajasthan feeder canal (with the first 178 km in Punjab and Haryana and remaining 37 km in Rajasthan) and the 445 km long Rajasthan main canal lying entirely in Rajasthan. The project will ultimately irrigate about 14•5 lakh
hectares.

6. Hirakud Project (Orissa)
The 4801•2 metre long main Hirakud dam in Orissa is on the river Mahanadi. It is the world’s longest dam. The project irrigates an area of 11•98 lakh hectares. Its present installed power generation capacity is 27•2 MW.

7. Kakrapara Project (Gujarat)
It is on the river Tapti, 80 km upstream of Surat. It is being built by the Gujarat Government. A 621 metre long and 14 metre high weir near Kakrapara in Surat district was completed in 1963.

8. Koyna Project (Maharashtra)
It is on the river Koyna and has been built by the Government of Maharashtra. It comprises the construction of a 208 ft. high dam.

9. Nagarjun Sagar Project (Andhra Pradesh)
It is an undertaking of the Government of Andhra Pradesh for utilizing the water of the Krishna river. It was inaugurated on Aug. 4, 1967. It is situated near Nandikonda Village in Miryalgude Taluk of Nalgonda district. The Nagarjun Sagar Project comprises the construction of a 1450 metre long and 92 metre high dam. The dam has been completed. The project will ultimately irrigate about 8•95 lakh hectares.

10. Rihand Project (Uttar Pradesh)
This project has been completed by the U.P. Government and comprises construction of a concrete gravity dam across the Rihand river in Mirzapur district (U.P.) and a power house at Pipri and necessary transmission lines.

11. Thien Dam (Punjab)
A 147 metre high dam built by the Punjab Government at Thien village across the Ravi 25 km. upstream of Madhopur head works. It will irrigate 8 lakh hectares land and generate 600 MW. power. Renamed as Ranjit Sagar Dam it was dedicated to the nation on March 4, 2001 by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

12. Tungbhadra Project (Andhra Pradesh)
It is a joint undertaking by the Government of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. It comprises a 2441 metre long and 49•38 metre high dam across the river Tungbhadra near Malipuram. It irrigates about 10•22 lakh hectares land.

13. Ukai Project (Gujarat)
It is a Project of the State of Gujarat. It consists of a 4928 metre long and 68•6 metre high dam across the River Tapti near Ukai village, 116 Km. upstream of Surat town. The Project will irrigate 1•53 hectares land and generate 300MW of power.

14. Tehri Dam (Uttarakhand)
Being constructed on Bhagirathi in Uttarakhand with the assistance of the Soviet Union (now Russia) is now in hot waters. Ecologists believe it will be a disaster to the local people.