CONCLUDING REMARKS PIS) 
water and the available land fit for irrigation. We must first know 
our assets before making a scientific plan for their utilization. I 
suggest that this study can be done in four steps as follows: 
1. The assessment of overall water available for irrigation and 
of land resources fit for irrigation. 
2. The assessment of the water and land resources at present 
being utilized. 
3. The possibility of using the balance of water and land to the 
optimum limit for irrigation. 
4. The possibility of finding new sources of water. 
In the arid land of Rajasthan in India it has been found that 
out of the total utilizable surface and ground water potential of 
about 12 million acre-feet only about 4.3 million acre-feet have 
been utilized. Thus there is great scope for further utilization. 
Similar will be the case in quite a few of the arid regions of the 
world. The water potential of any arid or semi-arid region being 
meager, the problem would generally be to make a judicious, 
economical, and wise utilization of the supplies available. The more 
economical schemes could be taken up first, but there should be a 
long-range plan for fully utilizing the resources. 
Better utilization of the water now being used can be achieved 
in two ways. One is to reduce all possible wastage and the other, 
to put every cubic foot of water to the maximum utility. Wastage 
occurs by evaporation, seepage, and transpiration. These can be 
minimized by taking the water in lined canals and closed conduits 
and by irrigating the fields by subsurface methods or by sprinkling. 
For getting the maximum out of water, crop pattern in the region 
should be studied and modified if necessary. It would be advisable 
to adopt a crop scheme so that the moisture of one crop helps the 
succeeding crop. Again, the optimum water requirements of crops 
should be studied. I am of the opinion that in regions with similar 
type of soil and climate the total water requirements of a given 
crop inclusive of utilizable rainfall would generally be the same. 
India has done valuable work on water requirements of plants, 
which can be studied by other countries to advantage. After care- 
ful study of climatic conditions, rainfall, water table, type of 
soil, local agricultural practices, dust and wind storms, high 
temperatures during the summer and other conditions, we have 
evolved crop patterns and water requirements for crops in differ- 
