Multi Purpose Projects in India – UPSC

In this article, You will read the Important list of Multi Purpose Projects in India – for UPSC.

Multi Purpose Projects

Multipurpose project is the scientific management of water resources in the country. A multipurpose project is a massive project which serves a variety of purposes like- flood control, fish breeding, irrigation, generation of electricity, soil conservation, etc. whereas, the hydropower projects are those related to providing only electricity mainly.

Main objectives or Advantages of Multipurpose Project:

• Generation of Power : They produce neat, pollution free and cheapest energy which is the back bone of industry and agriculture. According to the economic survey 2005-06 these produce more than 30, 000 M.W. power.
• Flood Control : These projects control the flood because water can be stored in them. These projects have converted many ‘rivers of sorrow’ into river of boon. Example River Kosi.
• Soil Conservation : These conserve the soil because they slow down the speed of water.
• Irrigation : They irrigate the fields during the dry seasons. Many canals have been dug and they irrigate dry areas.
• Afforestation : Trees are systematically planted in and around reservoirs. This helps in preserving “Wild life” and natural ecosystm.
• Water Navigation : They provide for Inland water navigation through main river or canal. It is the cheapest means of transport for heavy goods.
• Fisheries : These provide ideal condition for the breeding of fish. Choosen varieties of fish are allowed to grow.
• Tourist Centres : These projects are well cared and are scientifically developed. So these become the centre of tourist attraction.

Disadvantages of Multi-purpose Projects:

• Fertile agricultural land submerged under the river water.
• Forest land are either cleared or submerged under water. It is great loss for environment.
• Large no. of people are displaced. They have to leave their own houses and properties.
• Siltation in the dam reduces the lifespan of the project.
• Big Multipurpose projects can result into minor earthquakes.

Multi Purpose Projects in India

Ranjit Sagar :

• Also known as Thein Dam, is located in the Gurudaspur district of Punjab near Pathankot
• Constructed on the Ravi River
• Project is used for both irrigation and HEP
• It is the biggest HEP project of Punjab (4X150 MW)
• One of the highest Earth Fill Dams of India

Pong Dam :

• A 116m high dam at Pong in the Dhaoladhar Range near Pong village (Himachal Pradesh) on the Beas River
• Mainly an irrigation scheme to irrigate about 21 lakh hectares in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan
• Total istalled capacity of HEP at the Beas complex – 1020MW

Pandoh Dam :

• The Beas –Satluj link involves the construction of 61m high diversion dam at Pandoh on the Beas in Himachal Pradesh
• Power Plant at Dehar -660 MW
• Irrigates about 5.25 lakh hectares in Punjab and Haryana

Govind Sagar :

• 88 km long and 8 km wide reservoir formed behind the Bhakra Dam
• Storage capacity – 969.8 crore cubic metres
• Named after the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh.

Bhakra :

• One of the highest gravity dams in the world on the Satluj at the Bhakra gorge near Rupnagar (Ropar)
• 222 metre high and 518m long
• Formed reservoir called Govind Sagar
• Joint venture of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan
• HEP-450MW +600MW

Nangal :

• About 13km downstream of the Bhakra on the Satluj
• 29m high and 305m long
• Serves as balancing reservoir for taking up daily fluctuations from the Bhakra Dam
• HEPs at Ganguwal and Kotla
• Joint venture of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan

Maithon :

• Part of the DVC in Jharkhand
• On the Barakar River near the confluence of the Damodar and Barakar
• 49m high and 994m long
• HEP- 60MW

Konar :

• On the Konar River in the Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand
• 3549m long and 49m high
• An earthen dam with a concrete spill-way part of the DVC
• HEP-10MW- Bokaro Steel Plant and BokaroThermal Plant receive HEP and water from it
• Irrigation-45000 hectares

Tilaiya :

• Part of the DVC on the Barakar River in Jharkhand
• 30m high and 366m long
• Only concrete dam in the area
• Two power stations of 2000 KW each
• Irrigation -40,000 hectares

Farakka Barrage :

• On the Ganga River in the Murshidabad district of WB,10 km away from the Indo-Bangladeshi border
• Built to divert water into the Hoogly, so that during the dry season silt can be flushed out to keep the Kolkata Port navigable
• Longest Barrage in the world
• Disputed between India and Bangladesh

Hirakud :

• On the Mahanadi in Orissa at Hirakud about 14km upstream off the city of Sambalpur
• 61m high and 4801m long (one of the longest dams in the world )
• Two other dams at Tikrapara and Naraj near Cuttack
• HEP- 3.5 lakh KW
• Irrigation -1 million hectares

Balimela :

• Constructed across the Sileru River at Balimela in Malkangiri district of Orissa
• Both irrigation and HEP(510 Mw)
• It is a joint project of odisha and andhra pradesh.

Govind Vallabh Pant Sagar :

• On the Rihand River behind the Rihand Dam near Pipri in the Mirzapur of Uttar Padesh
• Largest man made reservoir in India (446 sq km )
• Another dam at Obra, 25km north
• HEP and irrigation to Madhya Pradsh, Uttar Padesh and Bihar

Jawahar Sagar :

• On the Chambal River in Rajasthan about 29km upstream of Kota city
• 45m high and 548m long gravity dam
• Also known as Kota Dam
• Three HEP units of 33000 MW each

Kota Barrage :

• On the the Chambal in Rajasthan at a distance less than 1km from Kota
• 36m high and 600m long earthen barrage
• Canals taken from both sides of the barrage irrigates 4.4 lakh hectares in Rajasthan and MP

Harike Barrage :

• Located at the confluence of the Satluj and Beas rivers in the Firozpur district of Punjab
• The Indira Gandhi Canal has been taken out of this barrage

Indira Sagar :

• The most important project of the Narmada Valley Development Project.
• Omkareshwar , Maheshwar and Sardar Sarovar receive water from it
• Largest water storage capacity in the country
• Located in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh
• HEP-8X125= 1000MW
• Irrigation 1.23 lakh hectares

Omkareshwar :

• On the Narmada at Mandhata village in East Nimar (Khandwa) district of Madhya Pradesh
• HEP -8X65=520 MW
• Irrigation -1,46,800 hectares
• Its power generation capacity is directly related with the amount of water released from the Indira Sagar

Maheshwar :

• On the Narmada in Madhya Pradesh downstream off the Omkareshwar
• HEP- 10X40=400MW
• A project which does not affect the forest land
• First privately financed hydroelectric dam in India

Chota Tawa :

• On the Chota Tawa, left bank tributary of the Narmada, at Ranipur village of the Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh
• HEP-13.50 MW
• Irrigation – 24,700 hectares
• Located at the confluence of the Tawa and the Denwa rivers
• Third largest dam of the Narmada Valley Project

Sardar Sarovar :

• Project of MP, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan
• On the Narmada at Kevadia village of the Vadodara district of Gujarat
• 121.92 m high can be raised upto 163 m as per the proposal
• HEP-1450MW
• Irrigation – Around 20 lakh hectares.

Ukai :

• Built on the Tapi River when it enters Gujarat
• Mainly for HEP
• Capacity -300 MW
• Electricity is supplied to Surat and other neighbouring cities

Koyna :

• Constructed across the Koyna River in the Satara district of Maharashtra
• Has formed the Shivaji Sagar
• Constructed mainly to generate HEP
• HEP capacity -860 MW
• Experienced earthquake in 1967, which proved that the Deccan Plateau is made of several minor plates

Nizam Sagar :

• An irrigation and HEP project on the Manjra River in AP near Nizamabad
• Water is supplied to Nizamabad and Hyderabad
• Constructed in 1923 by Nizam-Ul-Mulk, the then ruler of the erstwhile Nizam state
• A masonry dam over which fourteen feet wide motorable road is present
• Frequented by tourists

Hussain Sagar :

• An artificial lake in Hyderabad built by Hazrat Husain Shah Wali in 1562 during the rule of Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah
• Built on a tributary of the Musi River to meet the water and irrigation needs of Hyderabad
• A large monolith statue of the Lord Buddha in the middle of the lake

Nagarjunasagar :

• On the Krishna River in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh
• 125m high and 1450m long concrete dam
• 2 Canals – Jawahar Canal (349km) and Lal Bahadur Canal (357km)
• Irrigation -7 lakh hectares
• HEP- 100 MW

Tungabhadra :

• Joint venture of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh on the Tungabhadra River at Mallapur in Bellary district
• 50 m and 2441 m long straight gravity masonasy dam
• Two irrigation canals -41.32 lakh hectares
• Three power houses -126MW

Almatty Dam :

• Located on the Krishna River in the Bijapur district of Karnataka
• Main reservoir of the Upper Krishna Project
• HEP – 290 MW
• 52.25 m high and 1565.15 m long.

Linganamakki :

• Located on the Sharavati River about 6km upstream from the Jog Falls
• 2.4 km long and 193 feet high
• HEP capacity – 55MW

Shivanasamudra Dam:

• Shivanasamudra Dam (1902) is located on the Kaveri River.
•  It was built in Karnataka during the British era and was designed by Diwan Sheshadri Iyer.

Bhadra :

• Located on the Bhadra River, a tributary of the Krishna River, in Karnataka
• The project consists a dam and 2 canals
• Located 50km upstream of the point where the Bhadra River joins the Tungabhadra
• The Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the vicinity

Krishnaraj Sagar :

• Irrigation and HEP project on the Cauvery River near Mysore in Karnataka
• The Vrindavan Park is located near the dam
• Located in the Mandya district
• Named after the then ruler of the Mysore Kingdom, Krishnaraja Wodeyar
• Mokshagundam Visvesvarayaya served as the chief engineer

Chamraj Sagar :

• Built across the Arkavati River, about 35km from Bengaluru
• Attractive picnic spot for relaxation and fishing
• Supplies water to Bengaluru

Periyar Lake :

• Formed behind the Mulla Periyar Dam in Kerala inside the Periyar National Park
• Operated by Tamil Nadu Govt according to a 999- year lease agreement made during the erstwhile British Rule
• Area – 26 sq km
• The dam is 1200 feet long and 155 feet high
• Disputed between Tamil Nadu and Kerala
• Located after the coufluence of Mullaiyar and Periyar

Stanley Reservoir :

• Formed by the Mettur Dam in northwestern Tamin Nadu
• One of the largest fishing reservoirs of India
• Length of the dam – 1700m
• Installed capacity -240 MW

Bhavani Sagar :

• Located on the Bhavani River in the Erode district of Tamin Nadu
• Among the biggest earthen dams of India
• The dam is used to divert water to the Lower Bhavani Project Canal
• 32m high
• Reservoir Capacity -32.80tmc

Bansagar Project :

• Joint venture of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar on the Son on the Rewa- Shahdol way in Madhya Pradesh
• HEP – 405 MW
• Irrigation in Sidhi, Satna, Rewa and Shahdol districts of Madhya Pradesh

Matatila :

• On the Betwa River in Madhya Pradesh
• Joint project of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh
• Irrigation 1.09 lakh hectares in Uttar Pradesh and 1.16 lakh hectares on Madhya Pradesh
• Famous as Rani Lakshmibai Project

Rajghat Project :

• Joint venture of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh on the Betwa in Lalitpur of Uttar Pradesh
• Irrigation – cum – HEP project
• HEP capacity – 45 MW (3X15)

Gandhi Sagar :

• On the Chambal at the border of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan
• 64m high and 514 m long
• Irrigation – 4.44 lakh hectares
• HEP-5 units of 23000 KW each

Rana Pratap Sagar :

• On the Chambal at Rawatbhata
• 54m high and 1143 hectares
• HEP-4units of 43,000 KW each

Ravishankar Sagar Project :

• It is built across the Mahanadi river in the Dhamtari district, Chhattisgarh.
• It is the longest dam of Chhattisgarh.
• Alongwithtion it produces 10 MW of HEP
• It supplies water to the Bhiai steel plant.

Hasdo-Bango Project :

• It is built across the Hasdeo river in the Korba district, Chhattisgarh.
• It is the longest and highest dam of Chhattisgarh.
• Irrigation capacity : 2 ,55000 hectares
• It has three units of hydroelectric plant with the capacity of 40 MW each.