Irrigation Water Demand for the Hindon Basin: Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

Water is an invaluable natural asset. The efficient and optimal use of global natural resource bases such as air, land, and water have emerged as an area of universal concern during recent decades. To create an economic system that is environmentally friendly and nonpolluting requires a significant mobilization of resources. Water is vital in a modern economy, not only in the urban-industrial context, but also in rural areas through its more widespread use in productive activities and its potential to improve living conditions. This chapter is a study of the Hindon Basin in Uttar Pradesh (India), which is a part of Upper Ganga-Yamuna Doab. The purpose of the chapter is to assess the requirement of irrigation water in the region for estimating the future projection of water demand. The study is based on primary as well as secondary data and used a stratified random sampling technique for selecting 9 villages from 4,000 villages from three sub-basins delineated from the Hindon Basin region. The Dastane et al. (1970) method is utilized for estimating water requirements of various crops in the region. The study provides useful understanding of water needs and efficient utilization of water for crop production in the region using scientific methodology.