Audit Manual - Core Treasury System Uttarakhand

Government of Uttarakhand
Audit Manual
12.3 Irrigation department
The irrigation history of Uttarakhand reveals a rich social tradition and experience in the management of water for improving agricultural
productivity, a tradition which the State has not kept pace with in terms of supportive policies. 11 per cent of the total area is irrigated (in the hill
areas), with the rest of the sown area being rain fed. The percentage of irrigated area in the plains, however, is very high, being the beneficiary
of major from erstwhile parent state Uttar Pradesh and medium schemes. Irrigated agriculture is confined to the fertile valleys in the hills.
Traditional irrigation methods in the hill area have made use of the topography of the region – he steep slopes – and have relied on gravity for
watering the fields. These irrigation canals dug along the contours of the fields to maintain the flow of water are locally called guls. Irrigation
facilities on large scale are mainly present in the outer Himalayan plains – the Duns and the Terai regions.
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