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RAS question

How many of the following statements about the Command Area Development and Water Management (CADWM) Programme are correct? 1. CADWM focuses on the development of field channels (field drains) and land leveling within command areas. 2. The programme aims to bridge the gap between irrigation potential created and utilized. 3. CADWM was launched in 1974-75 as a centrally sponsored scheme. 4. Warabandi (rotational water distribution) is a key feature of CADWM. Select the correct answer:

Correct answer: (D) All four.

All four statements about the Command Area Development and Water Management Programme are correct: it covers field channels and drains, land levelling, irrigation-potential utilisation, its 1974 launch as a centrally sponsored programme, and warabandi.

  1. (A)

    Only one

  2. (B)

    Only two

  3. (C)

    Only three

  4. (D)

    All four

Explanation

CADWM is meant to close the practical gap between irrigation capacity created by major and medium projects and the water actually used in fields. The Central Water Commission supports this logic: the Government of India initiated the centrally sponsored Command Area Development Programme in December 1974 to improve irrigation-potential utilisation and optimise agricultural production through efficient water management. Its listed components include construction of field channels and field drains, enforcement of warabandi, and land levelling and shaping. The later restructuring into the Command Area Development and Water Management Programme made the programme more comprehensive, but the core exam point remains the same: CADWM is about making created irrigation potential usable at the field and chak level.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (A) Only one is too low because the CWC-backed components and objectives validate all four statements, not just a single statement.
  • (B) Only two is wrong because field channels and drains, land levelling, improved irrigation-potential utilisation, the 1974 centrally sponsored launch, and warabandi are all supported.
  • (C) Only three is wrong because none of the four statements needs to be excluded; each is part of the CWC description of CADWM/CADP.

Concept

This tests irrigation management under Indian geography, especially the distinction between creating irrigation potential and actually using it. RAS repeats this area because Rajasthan's exam often links agriculture, water management, and centrally sponsored irrigation programmes.

Source

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