Application of a checklisting technique for the assessment of impacts of the Chashma Right Bank Canal on land use and cropping pattern of D.I. Khan district, Pakistan

This paper attempts to discover the ex post impact of the Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRBC) on the land use and cropping pattern of D.I.Khan district. The CRBC commands 250 000 ha and is spread over two provinces. The CRBC project was completed in three stages. Stage I was commissioned in 1987-88, and stages II and III in 1989 and 2001, respectively. The CRBC brought radical changes in the land use and cropping pattern of D.I.Khan district. For this study, three variables were selected including land use, cropping pattern and land values. To discover these changes at micro-level, five sample villages were randomly selected, four from within the CRBC command area and one outside. The analysis found that after commissioning of the CRBC, prime cultivable land was brought under non-agricultural use. The net sown area was also enhanced. Dry farming crops were replaced by water-intensive cash crops, which in effect caused the twin problem of waterlogging and salinity, particularly in stage I. Likewise, land values increased considerably. This study is a sort of ex post evaluation of the CRBC and provides policy guidelines for decision makers and for the proposed Chashma Right Bank 1st Lift Irrigation Project not to repeat the weaknesses of Chashma Right Bank Irrigation Project. Copyright (C) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.