Class 10 Geography Chapter 3, Water Resources, analyses the quantitative and qualitative causes of water scarcity, evaluates multi-purpose river valley projects (‘temples of modern India’) and the ecological/social objections against large dams, and surveys traditional and modern rainwater harvesting systems across India.
What Class 10 Social Science — Geography (Samkalin Bharat II) Chapter 3 Covers
Water Scarcity and the Need for Water Conservation and Management explains how water scarcity arises not only from low rainfall but from over-exploitation, excessive irrigation (including private tube-wells), rapid urbanisation, industrialisation, and water pollution from domestic and industrial wastes and agricultural chemicals (plus the Jal Jeevan Mission providing 55 lpcd piped water to rural households).
Multi-Purpose River Projects and Integrated Water Resources Management traces hydraulic structures in ancient India (Sringaverapura near Prayagraj, Sudarshan lake, Bhopal lake, Hauz Khas in Delhi), Jawaharlal Nehru’s vision of dams as the ‘temples of modern India’ (Bhakra-Nangal on Sutlej-Beas, Hirakud on Mahanadi), and why dams face opposition over sediment trapping, fragmented rivers, submerged vegetation/soil, induced floods, and displacement of local communities (Narmada Bachao Andolan, Tehri Dam Andolan).
Rainwater Harvesting covers guls or kuls (Western Himalayas), rooftop rainwater harvesting and underground tankas (palar pani) in arid Rajasthan (Bikaner, Phalodi, Barmer), inundation channels in Bengal, khadins (Jaisalmer) and johads in Rajasthan, bamboo drip irrigation in Meghalaya, and Tamil Nadu—the first state in India to make rooftop rainwater harvesting compulsory by law across all houses.
Exercises in Chapter 3
- Chapter Exercises cover how water becomes a renewable resource, what water scarcity is and its main causes, the advantages and disadvantages of multi-purpose river projects, and how rooftop rainwater harvesting is carried out in semi-arid regions of Rajasthan.
Read Class 10 Social Science — Geography (Samkalin Bharat II) Chapter 3 Online
More Chapters
- Previous: Chapter 2: वन एवं वन्य जीव संसाधन (Forest and Wildlife Resources)
- Next: Chapter 4: कृषि (Agriculture)
- English medium: Class 10 Geography Chapter 3 PDF in English (Contemporary India II)
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FAQ
Why did Jawaharlal Nehru proclaim dams as the ‘temples of modern India’?
Nehru called dams the ‘temples of modern India’ because he believed multi-purpose river valley projects would integrate the development of agriculture and the village economy with rapid industrialisation and growth of the urban economy.
What are ‘tankas’ and how are they used in Rajasthan?
In the semi-arid and arid regions of Rajasthan (particularly Bikaner, Phalodi and Barmer), households traditionally built underground tanks or ‘tankas’ inside the main house or courtyard connected to the sloping roofs by a pipe to store harvested rainwater (‘palar pani’) for drinking through the dry summer months.