80 Irrigation and Drainage 



over 31,000,000, the irrigation works, up to 1890, involved an 

 invested sum amounting to $32,488,000, and the acreage watered 

 in 1889-90 is placed at 6,000,000. In lower Bengal, the same 

 year, 560,000 acres were under cultivation by irrigation ; while in 

 the Soane Circle system, 2,611,000 acres were served, 1,305,000 of 

 which produced rice. 



The Ganges system is among the greatest in India. The 

 Upper Ganges has 890 miles of main canals, with 3,700 distribu- 

 taries and 17 great dams, and serves 1,205,000 acres, the system 

 costing $14,644,000. The lower Ganges embraces 531 miles of 

 main canal and 1,854 distributaries, serving 620,000 acres, and 

 costing $7,000,000. 



In the Bombay Presidency, in 1889-90, 839,000 acres were 

 irrigated, and 915,000 acres were under the public canals, whose 

 total cost is placed at $10,792,000. 



In the Punjab and Sind, many ancient works dating from the 

 twelfth and thirteenth centuries are still in partial operation, but 

 the great famine years of 1831-32 have brought about many 

 changes and great improvements. The West Jumna canal had 

 cost, up to 1890, $8,000,000, and it embraces 84 miles of main 

 canal and 1,110 miles of distributaries, or 1,194 in all. This, 

 with the East Jumna canal, controlled 2,000,000 acres, and 

 brought the Indian Government in 1889 90 a revenue or land 

 tax of $96,000,000. To this same system belongs the Doab canal, 

 running parallel with the Jumna river through 450 miles, and 

 with its 1,112 miles of distributaries and 130 miles of main 

 canals, serving 580,000 acres of land which can be cultivated. It 

 is said that the total expenditure in these provinces for irrigation 

 purposes is represented by $36,400,000, covering about 6,000,000 

 acres, one-half of which is under irrigation each year. It is 

 further represented that for 60 years these investments of capital 

 have realized an annual return of 8 per cent. 



It is stated that the total expenditure under British direction 

 in the Punjab, Swat, Sirhind, Sind, and the sub -Himalayan 

 region, has been not less than $64,000,000, with about 2,500 miles 

 of canals in operation in 1890. But, besides these, there are in 

 the same districts many private canals and a very large num- 



