KATHMANDU, May 29: Irrigated land across Nepal has expanded to 1.59 million hectares, reflecting improved management and progress in federal-level projects, according to the Ministry of Finance’s latest report.
The report, citing the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, stated that of the total irrigable land, 532,655 hectares now benefit from year-round irrigation facilities, supported by large-scale national projects designed to ensure continuous water access. Groundwater irrigation projects have further extended coverage to 546,448 hectares.
Additional contributions came from lift irrigation and reservoir-based programs, which added 6,088 hectares of irrigated land. River training and embankment works along major and medium rivers resulted in 1,518 km of embankments and reclaimed 13,891 hectares of land. Groundwater irrigation systems alone accounted for 1,037,848 hectares of expansion.
Nepal's cultivable land area shrinks by 300,000 hectares to 2.2...
The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology has also strengthened monitoring capacity, operating 192 hydrological stations and 355 weather stations nationwide. The government has allocated Rs 5.59 billion for flood, landslide, and erosion risk management this fiscal year. Embankment construction totaling 1,494.71 km has been completed along major rivers including the Mahakali, Karnali, Narayani, Koshi, and Babai.
The government is carrying out protection works in 15 high-risk market areas, while experts are conducting landslide management studies and interventions at 53 locations. Authorities have already prepared basin master plans for 12 river basins.
In addition, officials have expanded 3,164 lift irrigation systems, maintained 2,557 hectares of surface irrigation systems, and added 174 hectares of new surface irrigation coverage.
