Water Conservation Survey in South Bihar and Chota Nagpur, Bihar State

This paper discusses the technique and the procedure adopted to carry out a systematic survey relating to the deve- lopment and conservation of the water resources of South Bihar and Chota Nagpur in Bihar State, for irrigation, power and soil conservation on the basis of river valley basins. The technique outlined will perhaps be typical of the work which may be done in other States in India for complete assessment and development of the water resources of the country.The total ground area of Bihar State south of the Ganges is about 50,000 sq. miles. It has been divided roughly into three sectors, the north, the middle and the south for the purpose of planning for irrigation, hydro- electric power and soil conservation. The Middle Sector is roughly the area of the Damodar Valley which is drained by the river Damodar and its tributaries. The area of the Damodar Valley is about 7,000 sq. miles. The development of this valley from the point of view of conservation of soil and water is the function of the Damodar Valley Corporation which is an autonomous body. Four major storage reservoirs have been planned in this valley to provide controlled storage of million acre/ft. With this storage, an area of about I million acres in the State of West Bengal will be provided with controlled irrigation, and give flood protection for the lower valley in that State. So far as Bihar State is concerned, no irriga- tion is possible by utilizing the storage of the 4 reservoirs though all the reservoirs are situated in this State. The installed hydro- electric power capacity is 124 Megawatts, which will benefit Bihar State also.