‘REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, FOR THE YEAR 1919-20’ [‎302v] (152/192)

Chapter IV. ^20
PRODUCTION
AND
DISTRIBUTION.
BOMBAY ADMINISTRATION REPORT.
[ 1919 - 1920 ,
Nira Left
canal.
Bank
Mutha canals.
Mhaswad tank.
Godavari canals.
Of the works in operation, the Nira Left Bank canal is one of th
and so far the largest irrigation work in the Deccan. It is 100 miles 1 6 ° ^
is fed from Lake Whiting, a reservoir constructed on the Yelvandi ° ng ^
Bhatghar in the Bhor State. This tank is now being enlarged so as f 1Ver , at
sufficient water to feed the existing Nira Left Bank canal and the np° at 016
Bight Bank canal. The Nira Left Bank canal, besides being the im ^
protecting a large area against famine, has greatly promoted 8 the cultM-^
of sugarcane and some 10,000 acres of this crop are now grown annuall ° n
this canal and there are prospects of a large sugar factory An East India Company trading post. being establiV 1 !
at an erly date near Baramati. The area irrigated during the year and ft
revenue derived from all sources showed a slight increase over the ave ^
figures for the previous three years. This was due mainly to a greater denial
for canal water on account of the defective monsoon. nd
The Mutha canals, with their storage reservior at Khadakvasla called
Lake Fife, play an important part in the welfare of Poona and the surrounding
country. They furnish Poona City and Cantonment with an assured supply
of water, irrigate ordinary crops in a tract subject to famine and promote the
cultivation of valuable crops such as fruits, vegetables, lucerne and sugarcane
These canals irrigated an area of nearly 25,000 acres during the year and
earned a net revenue of about a lakh One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees of rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. .
The Mhaswad tank lies in the eastern borders of the Satara district and
irrigates lands in the Sholapur district. The area irrigated under this tank
was 8,600 acres and the net revenue derived from it was about Bs. 34,000.
The Godavari canals system, the first of the large irrigation works of
recent construction to come into operation in the Central Deccan, is intended
to protect famine-affected areas in the southern part of the Nasik district and
the northern part of the Ahmednagar district. The Godavari Right and Left
Bank canals are supplied from Lake Beale, a reservoir on the Parna river.
Their head-w^orks are situated on the pick-up weir at Nandur-Madhmeshwar on
the Godavari river. The irrigation under these canals has not yet fully
developed, but sugarcane cultivation has made a great advance. Out of 32,000
acres of the total area of irrigation during the year, about 5,000 acres were
under sugarcane. There are proposals for the establishment of a large up-to-
date sugar factory An East India Company trading post. on these canals. The net revenue earned by the two canals
during the year under report was about Rs. 1-J lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees .
Kadwa and Girna The remaining two works, viz., Kadwa Biver works and Girna River works
River works s y s- S y S £ emSj are comparatively small. The former consists of the Waghad tank
and the Palkhed, Ojhar-Tambat and Wadali canals fed by it and the latter
comprises a storage reservior, called Chankapur tank, on the Girna river and a
small canal, named the Girna Left Bank canal fed by it. When the extension
of this canal, which is now in hand, is completed, it will be 19 miles long.
At present the water of the Chankapur tank is also let down, when required,
into the Jamda canals in the East Khandesh district already described, but
when irrigation on the Girna Left Bank canal has fully developed, the whole
of the storage water will be utilized on this canal. The area irrigated by the
Girna Left Bank canal was about 4,000 acres.
One of the two large protective irrigation works under construction is
the Pravara Biver Works System, which consists of (i) a storage reservoir,
called Lake Arthur Hill, on the Pravara Biver at Bhandardara, (ii) a P^'
up-weir at Ojhar and (iii) two canals, one on each sida of the river, named
the Pravara Right and Left Bank canals. The masonry dam forming the
storage reservoir will be 270 feet high and will be one of the highest in the
world. The work was started in 1911 and the dam has now reached a heigh
of about 200 feet above river bed level. The work is being pushed on as las
as possible and the year’s outturn of masonry was 12 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees cubic feet, v ic
exceeds all past results. The progress of work on the canal is also ^ ee P 1 ?°
pace with that on the dam and it is anticipated that the whole scheme wi
completed in 1922 or 1923. The estimated cost of the scheme is Rs. Mb ’ ^
but this will be increased by about 10 to 12 per cent, on account o ^
rise in prices. The expenditure incurred during the year was about Rs. a
and the total amount spent on these works to date is about Rs. 88 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees .
Pravara canals.