A river basin is the portion of land drained by a river and its tributaries. It is considered as the basic hydrological unit for planning and development of water resources. Rajasthan is a water scarce state but there are six major river basins in the State. Major Rajasthan River Basins include:
- Banas basin which is the largest, drains out 45,833 Sq km.
- Luni basin, which comes next, drains out 37,363 Sq km.
- Chambal basin drains out 31,360 Sq km.
- Mahi basin drains out 16,985 Sq km.
- Banganga basin drains out 8,878 Sq km.
- Sabarmati basin drains out 4,164 sq km.
There are more rivers like Sahibi, Ruparel and Ghaggar which have smaller catchment areas besides several streams which feed the bigger rivers.
Five of these rivers can be further divided into sub-basins as given below:
- Banas Basin – Banas, Berach, Dain, Gudia, Kalisil, Khari, Kothari, Mashi, Morel, Sodra.
- Luni Basin –Luni, Sukri, Rediya, Mithri, Bandi, Khari, Jawai, Guhiya and Sagi, and Jojari.
- Chambal Basin – Banas, Chakan, Chambal Downstream, Chambal Upstream, Kalisindh, Kunu, Mej and Parwati.
- Mahi Basin– Anas, Bhadar, Jakham, Moran, Som and Mahi.
- Sabarmati Basin– Sabarmati, Sei, Vatrak and Wakal
Inter-linking of Rajasthan River Basins
The National Water Development Agency (NWDA) under the Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation is studying the preliminary level of the feasibility of the three river inter-linking projects in Rajasthan. The proposed links are:
- Parwati – Kalisindh -Chambal Link,
- Yamuna-Rajasthan Link Project – details
- Rajasthan – Sabarmati Link Project
Additionally, there‘s also a plan to divert water of Chambal to Bisalpur dam by linking its tributary, Brahmani river to Banas river upstream of Bisalpur. (Read 2017 News)
The Rajasthan River Basin and Water Resources Planning Act, 2015
In October 2015, the Rajasthan assembly passed the Rajasthan River Basin and Water Resources Planning Bill, 2015 by voice vote. The bill sought for the establishment of State Water Resources Advisory Council and Rajasthan River Basin and Water Resources Planning Authority for management and development of river basins and sub-basins on sustainable basis on integrated water resources management (IWRM) concept.
Download Rajasthan River Basin Image Map (high Resolution): Here