Chambal River

The Chambal river remains one of North India’s most unpolluted rivers, home to a rich diversity of flora and fauna. National Chambal (Gharial) Wildlife Sanctuary is famous for the rare Ganges river dolphin.
Chambal River Basin is located in eastern Rajasthan, between latitudes 22027' and 27o20' and longitudes 73o20' and 79o20'. Banas and Mahi Basins lie to its west, and Gambhir and Parbati Basins to its north. Its eastern and southern edges border Madhya Pradesh State.
Chambal River Basin extends over parts of Chittorgarh, Bhilwara, Bundi, Sawai Madhopur, Tonk, Jhalawar, Kota, Baran and Dholpur Districts.
The total catchment area of the Basin is 31,460 km2 (excluding Banas Basin, which is also a tributary of Chambal) according to the 1:250,000 scale topographical maps published by the Survey of India.
Orographically, the western part of the Basin is marked by hilly terrain belonging to the Vindhyan chain, with fairly sloping terrain along the Chambal River and its tributaries. East of Kota-Jhalawar lies an extensive alluvial plain sloping gently northwards towards the Yamuna River in Uttar Pradesh.
Drainage
River Chambal, a principal tributary of river Yamuna, originates in the Vindhyan ranges near Mhow in Indore District of Madhya Pradesh, at an elevation of 354 m, at latitude 22o27' and longitude 73o20'. The river flows through the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
The basin is roughly rectangular in shape, with a maximum length of 560 km in a northeast- southwest direction. The river flows for some 320 km in a generally northerly direction before entering a deep gorge in Rajasthan at Chourasigarh, about 96 km upstream of Kota. The deep gorge extends up to Kota and the river then flows for about 226 km in Rajasthan in a north-easterly direction, and then forms the boundary between MP and Rajasthan for about 252 km. Thereafter, the river forms the boundary between MP and UP for about 117 km, enters UP near Charak Nagar village and flows for about 40 km before joining river Yamuna.
The main tributaries of river Chambal are Siwana, Retam, Shipra and Choti Kalisindh in MP, Kalisindh, Parwati, Parwan and Banas in Rajasthan.
Rainfall
The mean annual rainfall over the Chambal Basin was computed as 797 mm, of which about 93% falls during the four Monsoon months (June-September).
Existing Surface Water Projects
There are 7 Major (Gandhi Sagar, Rana Pratap Sagar, Jawahar Sagar, Kota Barrage, Parwati Pick-up Weir, Harish Chander Sagar and Gudha Dam), 12 Medium and 134 Minor irrigation projects in Chambal River Basin, as well as some small irrigation systems (covering less than 20 ha) constructed and operated by Panchayat Samities (PS).
Ongoing Surface Water Projects
52 irrigation projects, including 7 Medium projects with a total live storage capacity of 271 Mm3, are under construction in Chambal River Basin. An additional area of 502 kha will be irrigated on completion of these projects, expected between 1997 and 2015.
Proposed Surface Water Projects
376 irrigation projects, including 10 Major (Manohar Thana, Parwan Dhanwas, Kalisindh, Gugar Lift, Soni, Dholpur Lift, Indira Lift, Pipalda Lift and Chambal Lift), with a total live storage capacity of 1743 Mm3, have been proposed in Chambal Basin. An additional area of 630 kha will be irrigated on completion of these projects