How the Godavari River Powers Vidarbha’s Fields, Forests and Futures

thenewsdirt
Dec 2
11 min read

The Godavari River, often called the Dakshin Ganga or the Ganges of the South, is India's second longest river after the Ganga and the largest among peninsular rivers.

While the river originates in Nashik district of Maharashtra near Tryambakeshwar in the Western Ghats, its tributaries and their waters have long sustained the Vidarbha region in eastern Maharashtra, an area spanning 11 districts with distinctive ecological, agricultural, and hydrological characteristics.

The river basin covers approximately 312,812 square kilometres, with Maharashtra accounting for nearly 48.6 per cent of this drainage area. For Vidarbha, the Godavari system represents more than a water source.

It forms the hydrological backbone of a region where agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and traditional livelihoods remain deeply intertwined with the flow of its tributaries, the Wainganga, the Wardha, and the Penganga, which together form the Pranahita, the largest tributary of the Godavari.

The Tributary Network and Its Significance for Eastern Vidarbha

The Godavari River's influence on Vidarbha is channelled primarily through its major tributaries, particularly the Pranahita system, which drains the entire region and accounts for approximately 34 per cent of the Godavari's total drainage basin.

The Pranahita River is formed at the confluence of the Wainganga and Wardha rivers near Shivni village in Chandrapur district, and this sub-basin measures about 109,078 square kilometres, making it larger than the individual basins of significant rivers such as the Narmada and the Kaveri.

The Wainganga, originating in the Mahadeo Hills near Mundara village in Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh, traverses a length of 635 kilometres before joining the Wardha, flowing through the districts of Nagpur, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur, and Gadchiroli. The Wardha River originates at an altitude of 777 metres in the Satpura Range near Khairwani village in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh and flows for 560 kilometres through Maharashtra before merging with the Wainganga.

The Penganga, another critical tributary, rises in the Ajanta Range and flows for 676 kilometres through Washim and Yavatmal districts, providing irrigation to these western Vidarbha districts before joining the Wardha.

The catchment area of the Penganga measures 23,898 square kilometres, and it is fed by sub-tributaries including the Kayadhu, the Adan, and the Arunavati. Together, these rivers create a network that supports both eastern and western parts of Vidarbha, though the distribution of water resources between these areas remains uneven.

Eastern Vidarbha, comprising districts like Bhandara, Gondia, Gadchiroli, and Chandrapur, receives higher annual rainfall ranging from 1,200 to 1,600 millimetres, while western Vidarbha districts such as Amravati, Akola, Yavatmal, Washim, and Buldhana receive significantly less rainfall, between 700 and 1,000 millimetres annually.

The Kanhan River, an important right-bank tributary of the Wainganga, drains a large area south of the Satpura Range and runs for 275 kilometres through Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

Along its course, the Kanhan receives its largest tributary, the Pench River, which serves as a major water source for the city of Nagpur.

The Nagpur Municipal Corporation supplies approximately 750 million litres of water daily to the city, with around 230 million litres sourced specifically from the Kanhan River to serve residents in several zones of the city.

The Pench reservoir and Kanhan River together form the primary drinking water sources for a metropolitan population exceeding 30 lakh people.

Agriculture, Irrigation, and the Water Deficit Challenge

The agricultural economy of Vidarbha depends heavily on the Godavari tributary system, though the region faces a persistent irrigation backlog that has contributed to agrarian distress over several decades.

Approximately 93 per cent of the agricultural land in Vidarbha depends on rainwater for cultivation, and about 65 per cent of the region's population relies on agricultural activities for their livelihood.

Cotton and soybeans dominate the cropping pattern in western Vidarbha districts, while paddy cultivation is concentrated in eastern Vidarbha, particularly in Bhandara, Gondia, Gadchiroli, and Chandrapur districts, where higher rainfall and access to surface water from the Wainganga system support rice farming.

The total climatic water requirement for cotton ranges from 700 to 1,000 millimetres, and the crop is particularly sensitive to water stress during critical growth stages. In Vidarbha, approximately 95 per cent of cotton cultivation occurs under rainfed conditions, making the crop vulnerable to monsoon irregularities. Low yields in the region, averaging between 400 and 600 kilograms per hectare for rainfed cotton compared to up to 1,200 kilograms per hectare for irrigated cotton, reflect the consequences of inadequate water availability.

Soybean, covering approximately 10 lakh hectares in Vidarbha, faces similar challenges, with yields fluctuating significantly based on rainfall distribution during the kharif season.

Eastern Vidarbha's paddy cultivation tells a different story, shaped by the abundance of water resources from the Wainganga and its tributaries, as well as the thousands of traditional tanks that dot the landscape. Bhandara and Gondia districts, often referred to as the rice bowl of Vidarbha, have historically maintained high paddy cultivation areas, with Gondia alone accounting for approximately 177,500 hectares under paddy.

The district is sometimes called the "district of lakes" due to its numerous water bodies, including the approximately 7,000 Malguzari tanks that were constructed during the Gond kingdom era, two to three centuries ago. These tanks, built in cascading series to maximise water storage and distribution, have a collective potential to irrigate more than 125,000 hectares of farmland.

The Gosikhurd Irrigation Project on the Wainganga River in Bhandara district represents the largest irrigation initiative in eastern Vidarbha, designed to irrigate 250,800 hectares annually across Bhandara, Nagpur, and Chandrapur districts. The project, launched during the Seventh Five Year Plan in 1984, was intended to provide multiple benefits, including irrigation, drinking water supply, industrial water, fisheries, and hydropower generation.

The dam, spanning 11.35 kilometres, includes a left bank canal of 22.93 kilometres and a right bank canal of 99 kilometres, along with nine lift irrigation schemes. The project cost has escalated from the original estimate of 372 crore rupees to approximately 25,972 crore rupees by 2025, an increase of nearly 6,900 per cent. Despite this investment, the actual irrigation potential created remains limited, with only about 35,000 hectares of the promised 250,800 hectares receiving water.

The Upper Wardha Dam near Morshi in Amravati district, completed in 1993, serves as a lifeline for Amravati city and the surrounding Morshi and Warud talukas. The earthfill dam across the Wardha River, a tributary of the Godavari, has a gross storage capacity of 678.27 million cubic metres and provides irrigation to a command area of 83,300 hectares while supplying domestic and industrial water to the tune of 168.456 million cubic metres.

This project was completed at a cost of 978.75 crore rupees and represents one of the few major irrigation projects in Vidarbha that has achieved its full irrigation potential.

The irrigation backlog in Vidarbha continues to be a matter of concern. Official figures indicate that 123 irrigation projects require approximately 43,560 crore rupees for completion, with estimates suggesting that addressing this backlog could take eight to ten years at current budget allocation rates. Of the total irrigation potential of 22.31 lakh hectares in Vidarbha, only 14.23 lakh hectares, representing 64 per cent, had been irrigated by June 2024.

The six districts with historical irrigation backlog, including Akola, Buldhana, Amravati, Washim, Yavatmal, and Nagpur, had a combined backlog of 784,720 hectares recorded in June 1994, of which 781,185 hectares, approximately 94 per cent, had been cleared by June 2025.

The Wainganga-Nalganga River Linking Project, approved in August 2024 at an estimated cost of approximately 98,000 crore rupees, aims to transfer 62.57 thousand million cubic feet of water from the Gosikhurd reservoir to the Nalganga project in Buldhana district through a 426-kilometre linking canal.

The project is expected to irrigate approximately 3.7 to 4 lakh hectares of agricultural land across six districts of Vidarbha, including Amravati, Yavatmal, Akola, Buldhana, Wardha, and Nagpur.

This initiative forms part of the broader National River Linking Project and represents an attempt to address the water deficit in western Vidarbha by utilising the surplus monsoon flows of the Wainganga.

Ecological Wealth and Forest Resources

The Vidarbha region, particularly its eastern districts through which the Wainganga flows, harbours a unique geological and ecological landscape. The area marks the contact zone between the basalt formations typical of the Maharashtra plateau and older crystalline rocks, giving rise to granite-gneissic terrain.

This geological configuration, combined with higher rainfall exceeding 1,500 millimetres in some areas, has promoted luxuriant vegetation growth.

The five districts of Maharashtra forming the southern two-thirds of the Wainganga Valley, namely Nagpur, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur, and Gadchiroli, account for more than 55 per cent of the total forest area of Maharashtra.

The forest ecosystems of Vidarbha are home to significant biodiversity, including the Royal Bengal Tiger. Four of Maharashtra's six tiger reserves, namely Tadoba-Andhari, Pench, Melghat, and Navegaon-Nagzira, lie within these districts.

The Wainganga basin provides approximately 16,000 square kilometres of undisturbed landscape connecting the Kanha and Pench tiger reserves, which according to the National Tiger Conservation Authority and Wildlife Institute of India, represents one of the four most viable tiger habitats in the country. The valley serves as a nexus for critically important tiger corridors linking the Kanha, Pench, Satpura, Melghat, Navegaon-Nagzira, Bor, and Tadoba reserves.

The freshwater ecosystems of Vidarbha support approximately 160 fish species across 9 orders, 25 families, and 80 genera, with the order Cypriniformes and family Cyprinidae being the most dominant. Notable water bodies contributing to this diversity include the Wardha, Wainganga, and the various reservoirs, such as Itiadoh and Asolamendha.

The fish fauna includes economically important species such as Labeo rohita (Rohu), Catla catla (Catla), and Cirrhinus mrigala (Mrigal), which form the backbone of inland fisheries. The Gosikhurd reservoir alone hosts a diverse ichthyofaunal assemblage, though pollution, habitat loss, overfishing, and invasive species threaten these aquatic ecosystems.

The region also supports primitive tribal groups such as the Baiga, Bharia, Kolam, and Maria Gond, who have been categorised as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups by the Government of India.

These communities have traditionally depended on the forests and water bodies of the Wainganga basin for their livelihoods, including fishing, the collection of minor forest produce, and cultivation on the forest fringes. Approximately 30 per cent of Maharashtra's total tribal population resides in these five eastern Vidarbha districts.

The traditional Malguzari tanks of eastern Vidarbha represent a heritage of indigenous water management. These tanks, constructed during the Gond kingdom period by the Malguzaars or local landlords, were designed in cascading series to maximise water retention and distribution.

The system ensured efficient use of water resources while recharging groundwater levels.

After the abolition of the Malguzari system in 1950, these tanks fell into neglect, with larger tanks above 100 hectares transferred to the irrigation department and smaller ones to local zilla parishad bodies. The tanks supported not only irrigation but also fisheries, harvesting of vetiver grass, water chestnut, and lotus roots, with the grasses on tank banks used as fodder for animals. These non-irrigation benefits continue to play an important role in the village economy, particularly for landless and low-landholding families.

Water Quality, Pollution, and Environmental Pressures

The Godavari basin in Maharashtra, like rivers across India, faces severe pollution from urban and rural sewage, agricultural runoff, and industrial effluents.

A 150-kilometre stretch of the Wainganga from Tumsa to Ashti has been declared critically polluted by the Central Pollution Control Board. Similarly, 150 kilometres of the Penganga River and 20 kilometres of the Kanhan River have been identified as critically polluted stretches.

The Kanhan River, which supplies drinking water to Nagpur, is heavily contaminated by industrial wastewater from the Nag-nala before merging with the Wainganga at Ambhora. The Nag River, flowing through the heart of Nagpur city, has become a highly polluted channel of sewage and industrial waste, ranking as the second most polluted river in Maharashtra after Mumbai's Mithi River.

The Nag River Pollution Abatement Project, estimated at 1,927 crore rupees, has been initiated to address these issues through the construction of sewage treatment plants, the interception and diversion of sewage, and the development of green spaces along the river banks.

The Wardha River has been documented to fail Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) limits for both physicochemical and microbiological aspects, with parameters such as total alkalinity, total hardness, and chemical oxygen demand exceeding acceptable limits. The pollution is attributed to the disposal of ash in the river, floral wastes, domestic sewage, agricultural runoff, and faecal contamination from cattle grazing and washing activities.

The thermal power industry in Vidarbha has placed additional pressure on water resources. By December 2010, 71 thermal power plants with a total installed capacity of nearly 55 gigawatts were in various stages of approval in the Vidarbha region. Studies estimated that if all approved projects were to become operational, water availability in the Wainganga basin would drop by 16 per cent, while the Wardha basin would see a 40 per cent reduction. Coal-based power generation is extremely water-intensive, with a typical coal plant operating in India consuming between five and seven cubic metres of water per megawatt per hour.

Between 2003 and 2011, at least 398.87 million cubic metres of water were diverted annually from agricultural irrigation to supply thermal power plants in Vidarbha, water that could have irrigated approximately 79,774 hectares of farmland.

Groundwater depletion has emerged as a critical concern, particularly in the western Vidarbha districts.

Approximately 50 per cent of irrigated land in Vidarbha depends on groundwater, with more than 5.5 lakh wells and 80,000 tube wells functional across the region. Districts like Yavatmal report that over 70 per cent of irrigated land depends on borewell irrigation, with rapid depletion of aquifers and breakdown of pumps, particularly during drought years. As many as 145 villages in Vidarbha were identified as facing potential water scarcity due to groundwater depletion, primarily in Akola, Amravati, Yavatmal, and Chandrapur districts.

The Godavari River system, through its tributaries, shapes nearly every aspect of life in Vidarbha. The region's famous Nagpur oranges, which carry a Geographical Indication tag, depend on an assured water supply during the fruiting stage, requiring between 35 and 105 litres of water per day per tree, depending on the tree's age and season. Water scarcity has emerged as one of the most critical issues for orange farmers, with the region experiencing erratic rainfall patterns and over-extraction of groundwater. Production of oranges in the Vidarbha region has reportedly declined by approximately 50 to 70 per cent between 2017 and 2019 due to drought conditions.

The river system also supports the region's cultural heritage. The banks of the Godavari in Nashik, where the river originates, are associated with the Ramayana, with places like Tapovan believed to be part of Dandakaranya, where Lord Rama resided during his exile. The Kala Ram Mandir on the banks of the Godavari in Nashik was the site of the historic Kala Ram Mandir Entry Satyagraha launched by B.R. Ambedkar in 1930. Every twelve years, the Pushkaram fair is held on the banks of the river, drawing pilgrims from across the country.

The interconnected water challenges facing Vidarbha, from irrigation backlogs to groundwater depletion, from river pollution to competition between agricultural and industrial water demands, all trace back to the management of the Godavari basin.

The region's agricultural distress, which has contributed to farmer suicides over the decades, is intrinsically linked to water availability.

Districts with better irrigation infrastructure consistently report higher crop yields, with irrigated farms producing 25 to 40 per cent more yield than rainfed farms due to timely sowing, use of fertilisers, and protection against mid-season dry spells.

The completion of pending irrigation projects, revival of traditional water systems like the Malguzari tanks, and sustainable management of the Godavari's tributary waters remain central to the economic and ecological future of the Vidarbha region.