Multipurpose River Valley Projects in India

A multipurpose river valley project refers to the development model specifically designed for the sustainable development of an area by building a dam that provides ways to develop irrigation for agriculture and electricity. A dam is defined as a barrier built around the river’s flow. It was initially designed to act as a reservoir and prevent floodings, but now due to advancement in engineering technologies, they are used for harvesting electricity, acting as a water reservoir, source of water supply for agricultural works. 

There are several dams built across the country to provide ways of sustainable development of the river valley. The list of some of the important largest multipurpose projects in India is mentioned in the article. India’s biggest multipurpose river valley project is the Bhakra Nangal project which is also briefly described in the article. Apart from the  Bhakra Nangal project, some of the major multipurpose projects in India are also discussed in the article.

Bhakra Nangal Project

This the among the most important multipurpose river valley projects in India. India's biggest multipurpose river valley project is the Bhakra Nangal project. The Bhakra Nangal project is situated in the state of Himachal Pradesh; the largest multipurpose project in India is built on the banks of the Sutlej river. The Bhakra Nangal dam is responsible for the formation of the  Govind Sagar reservoir in the district of Bilaspur, where it is located. 

It is the highest gravity dam in the world. The height of the dam is approximately around the highest at 225.5 meters high. The largest multipurpose project in India is designed to prevent floods in the Satluj-Beas river valley. The dam also provides water for irrigation to adjoining states. Another important function is the production of hydroelectricity. Although the dam was built to act as a barrier to floods during heavy monsoons because of its large size and beautiful landscape, it soon developed into a popular tourist site that also helped in generating large revenues from tourism.  

Damodar Valley Project

Damodar Valley Project is the first river valley project in India, now a common question that comes to mind while studying the first multipurpose project in India is “Damodar valley project is in which state?” The Damodar river valley project is mainly located in the state of Jharkhand and West Bengal. The dam was built according to the act of the Central Legislature. The primary function of the dam was to control the flow of the Damodar River, which is also known as the “sorrow of Bengal”. The name is attributed as such because of frequent floods that cause mass devastation of life and property of the citizens of Bengal. The Damodar river valley project was aimed to lower the frequent floods and provide a source for thermal power plants and hydroelectricity. It is designed according to the Tennessee Valley Authority (T.V.A.) of the United States of America.

Dul-Hasti Hydro-Electric Project

The  Dul-Hasti Hydro-Electric Project is among the major multipurpose river valley projects of India. It is located in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is built on the river Chenab. One of the important facts related to this river valley project is that the powerhouse is located underground. The capacity of the powerhouse is  390 MW. The project is approximated to cost about 1263 crore rupees. The foundation of the project is dated back to September 1984. 

Beas Project

The Beas multi-purpose river valley project is also known as the Pong dam. The dam is an earth-fill embankment dam on the Beas River. The dam is built in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The dam is a joint venture of the government of three states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. A unique feature of this dam is that it has units, (i) Beas-Sutlej Link and (ii) Beas Dam at Pong. The project covers an area of 38.4 km of hills and valleys. The Maharana Pratap Sagar lake is created by the dam, became a renowned bird sanctuary. The total cost of the project is nearly around  380 crore rupees. It took around 12 years to complete. 

Chambal Valley Project

The Chambal Valley Project is a joint undertaking by the governments of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The dam was inaugurated on Feb 9, 1970. It is situated in the Bhata, 48 km from Kotah. This dam constitutes two other dams named Gandhi Sagar Dam in Madhya Pradesh and Jawahar Sagar (Kotah) Dam in Rajasthan. The dam is built on the banks of the Chambal river. The primary role of the dam was to provide the facility of irrigation and soil conservation in the states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The irrigation potential of the dam is nearly about 5 lakh hectares, whereas it generates hydropower is 386 MW. The beneficiary states of the dam are Rajasthan (50%) and Madhya Pradesh (50%).

Chamera Hydro-Electric Project

The Chamera hydroelectric project is among the biggest multipurpose project in India, the dam is located in a town called Dalhousie in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The Chamera river valley project created a reservoir named  Chamera Lake in the district of Chamba. The river valley project has a 540 MW capacity to produce hydroelectricity. The dam is built on the banks of the river Ravi. The dam was constructed by the implementation of the Canadian credit offer of about Rs 335 crore rupees. 

Farakka Barrage

The Farakka Barrage is situated in the state of West Bengal. The primary aim of the project is to maintain the Kolkata port and provide better navigation to the Hooghly river. The unique feature of this project is the presence of the two barrages across the Ganga at Farakka and barrage at Jangipur across the Bhagirathi. Farakka's goal is to use approximately 40,000 cusecs of water stored in the dam to clean the Kolkata port that fills with sediment.

Gandak Project

The project is among India's largest multipurpose river valley projects. The dam is situated in the state of the northern state of India, Uttar Pradesh. Gandak river valley project is a joint venture established by India and Nepal in accordance with an agreement signed by the two governments on December 4, 1959. Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are the participating states of India. Nepal will also obtain irrigation and energy benefits from the project.

Idukki Hydro-Electric Project

The Idukki hydroelectric project is an important river valley project of south India. It is located in the state of Kerala and is one of the largest hydropower projects in the country. It was built with the financial help of Canada. The first phase has an installed capacity of 390 MW and the second phase has an installed capacity of 780 MW. The project plans to use the Periyar waters with three main dams, the 169 m high Idukki Arch Dam across the Periyar River, the 138 m high Cheruthoni Dam across the tributary of the Cheruthoni River and the 99.9 m Kulamavu Dam High.

Rajasthan Canal Project

The Rajasthan Canal Project holds an important position while discussing the projects of sustainable development. It is considered one of the most ambitious projects by the Indian government. The project aims to provide irrigation supply to principally desert areas of the Rajasthan. The project uses Pong Dam water which is also known as Beas dam, including a 215 km long Rajasthan branch canal (the first 178 km in Punjab and Haryana, the remaining 37 km in Rajasthan) and a 467 km long main canal of Rajasthan.

Ramganga River Project

The Ramganga River Project is an eminent dam of India, which is principally designed to sustain the irrigation needs of the state. It also powers hydroelectric electricity production. The dam is situated in the Pauri Garhwal district of the state of Uttarakhand. An important to note is that the dam is located in the  Jim Corbett National Park. The dam is built on the embankment of the Ramganga river, which is one of the main tributaries of Ganga. It supports a 198 MW power plant and provides irrigation water for 57,500 hectares (142,086 acres) of agricultural land. In addition, it also provides flood protection and entertainment. Construction of the dam began in 1961 and was completed in 1974. 

Rihand Project

The Rihand Project is famously known as the Govind  Ballabh Pant Sagar. This is the largest multipurpose project in India in terms of volume. The reservoir created by this dam is known as Govind  Ballabh Pant reservoir. An interesting fact about it is that it is the largest manmade lake in India. The Rihand dam is situated in the district Mirzapur, which is situated in Uttar Pradesh. 

India has invested in several multi-purpose river valley projects, that ensure the sustainable development of the area by providing facilities to support irrigation, flood control, electricity production. Apart from these the dams also serve as a site for tourism that helps in revenue generation for the locals.