Mahanadi and Eastern Rivers Organization
About the Basin
Mahanadi Basin
Mahanadi basin extends over an area of 141,589 sq. km. which is nearly 4.3% of the total geographical area of the country. It is bounded on the north by the Central India Hills, on the south and east by the Eastern Ghats and on the west by the Maikala range. The basin lies in the States of Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar and Maharashtra. The State-wise distribution of drainage area is given below:
| State | Drainage area (sq. km.) |
| Madhya Pradesh | 75136 |
| Orissa | 65580 |
| Bihar | 635 |
| Maharashtra | 238 |
| Total | 141589 |
Physiography
Physiographically, the basin can be divided into four regions, namely, the Northern Plateau, the Eastern Ghats, the Coastal Plain and the erosional plains of Central Table Land. The first two are hilly regions. The Coastal plain is the fertile delta area. The central table land is the central interior region of the basin, traversed by the river and its tributaries. The main soil types found in the basin are red and yellow soils, mixed red and black soils, laterite soils and deltaic soils. The basin has a culturable area of about 7.99 M.ha which is about 4% of the total culturable area of the country.
River System
Mahanadi rises from Raipur district of Madhya Pradesh and flows for about 851 km before its outfall into the Bay of Bengal. Its main tributaries are the Seonath, the Jonk, the Hasdeo, the Mand, the lb, the Ong and the Tel. Click for basin map showing the river system and other features .
Hydropower Development
The hydropower potential of the basin is 627 MW at 60% load factor.
CWC Network
Hydrological observations are carried out by CWC through 17 G&D sites in the basin. At 13 of these stations, sediment observations are also being made. The CWC also maintains 3 flood forecasting stations in the basin.
BRAHMANI-BAITARANI BASIN
The combined basin consisting of Brahmani and Bitarani extends over an area of 51822 sq. km. which is nearly 1.7% of the total geographical area of the country. The independent drainage areas of Brahmani and Baitarani are 39033 sq. km and 12879sq. km respectively. The basin is bounded on the north by the Chhotanagpur Plateau, on the west and south by the ridge separating it from Mahanadi basin and on the east by the Bay of Bengal. The basin lies in the States of Orissa, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. The State-wise distribution of draiange area is given below:
| State | Drainage area (sq. km.) |
| Orissa | 34749 |
| Bihar | 15757 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 1316 |
| Total | 51822 |
Physiography
Physiographically, there are four well-defined regions, namely, the northern plateau, the eastern ghats, the coastal plains and the central table land. The first two regions are mostly hilly and forested. The coastal plains consist of fertile delta area well-suited for intensive cultivation. The main soil types found in the basin are red and yellow soils, red sandy and loamy soils, mixed red and black soils and coastal alluvium. The basin has a culturable area of about 3.2 M.ha which is 1.6% of the total culturable area of the country.
River System
The Brahmani river rises near Nagri village in Ranchi district of Bihar at an elevation of about 600 m and has a total length of 799 km. The Baitarani river rises in the hill ranges of Keonjhar district of Orissa at an elevation of about 900m and has a length of about 355 km. Both river systems outfall into the Bay of Bengal forming a common delta area. The important tributaries of Brahmani are the Karo, the Sankh, and the Tirka and those of Baitarani are the Salandi and the Matai.
Hydropower Development
The hydroelectric power potential of the basin is 548 MW at 60% load factor. Out of the 17 schemes identified in the basin, only one scheme with an installed capacity of 135 MW is in operation. A large hydropower potential of this basin remains to be exploited.
CWC Network
The Central Water Commission maintains 7 gauge-discharge sites in the basin. All these stations take sediment observations also. Six of the sites are in Brahmani and one site is in Baitarani basin. The CWC also operates 3 flood forecasting stations in the basin.