Using Satellite Data to Monitor Irrigation Benefit Program

42 CASE STUDY Using Satellite Data to Monitor Irrigation Benefit Program

To provide Central Assistance to States for major/medium irrigation projects, the Government of India launched the Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Program (AIBP) in 1996-97. The project was developed to accelerate the implementation of advance-stage irrigation plan by providing financial benefits.

Since 1996, a total of 297 major and medium irrigation projects have been undertaken by the central government under AIBP. This includes 99 priority projects that were undertaken by the government in 2016-17 under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana - Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Program (PMKSY-AIBP).

Challenges

1. To create inventory of irrigation infrastructure consisting of the canal network and other related irrigation structures 2. To assess the physical progress of irrigation infrastructure and identify gaps in the irrigation network 3. To use satellite data for the assessment of irrigation potential

1. To create inventory of the constructed irrigation area and infrastructure, the National Remote

Sensing Centre (NRSC), ISRO took about 53

AIBP projects with a potential of 5.45 million hectares for research under Phase 1. Under

Phase 2, another 50 projects were undertaken by the NRSC. High-resolution satellite data from

Cartosat-1/2 was used. 2. Moreover, the NRSC developed the Bhuvan-

AIBP portal with customized tools for online monitoring of irrigation project creation progress, thus simplifying the satellite data access & usage. 3. Currently, satellite data from Cartosat 1 and 2 are being successfully used for inventory of canal networks and other irrigation infrastructure. 4. The data collected from Cartosat can also identify gaps in infrastructure, determine the overall progress, and give out detailed information project-wise.

High-resolution satellite data depicting irrigation infrastructure creation progress Irrigation canal network inventoried from highresolution satellite data

Satellite-based online monitoring of AIBP projects

Solution

The responsibility of monitoring of these projects were given to the Central Water Commission (CWC), Ministry of Jal Shakti. For a long time, the monitoring process was done manually – by visiting the field, talking to authorities and other stakeholders, and developing a report physically. This often held up the factual status of the project and provided insufficient data. However, with the introduction of Geospatial Technology, a new dimension of monitoring opened.