Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojna (IGNP) is one of the largest irrigation and drinking water projects of northwestern Rajasthan. However Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar districts are facing severe waterlogging and salinity conditions since the introduction of the IGNP canal system in that area. 

This study published on the GIS Development site draws the following conclusions:

1. A rapid and accurate assessment of the waterlogged area can be made by the use of remotely sensed data. Low lying lands which were not indicated by the water table observations as waterlogged could be identified on the IRS imagery.
2. Groundwater modeling requires limited landuse/landcover classification, which can be done with the help of remote sensing data using unsupervised classification which is then refined on the basis of ground truth.
3. IGNP Stage I command area faces severe problem of waterlogging resulting from over irrigation, seepage losses through canal and distributory system and Ghaggar depressions.
4. The integrated use of GIS and remote sensing techniques can be successfully used to develop conceptual groundwater model, which can then be converted into mathematical finite difference groundwater flow model of the area.

Download the paper: