Major irrigation project

{{Short description|Irrigation project classification in India}}

{{Plain image with caption|image=Bhavani-sagar-Dam-and-Reservoir.jpg|caption=The Bhavanisagar Dam in Tamil Nadu is an example of a major irrigation project|width=200px|align=right|caption position=bottom}}

Major irrigation project is a classification of irrigation projects used in India. A project with a cultivable command area of more than 10,000 hectares is classified as a major irrigation project.{{cite book |last1=Majumdar |first1=Dilip Kumar |title=Irrigation Water Management Principles and Practice |date=2013 |publisher=PHI Learning Private Limited |location=Delhi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OY27AQAAQBAJ |accessdate=24 May 2019|isbn=9788120348264 }} Before the Fifth Five-Year Plan, irrigation schemes were classified on the basis of investments needed to implement the scheme.{{cite journal |last1=Dhawan |first1=B.D. |title=Major and Minor Irrigation Works |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |date=30 September 1989 |volume=24 |issue=39 |pages=A117–A121 |jstor=4395392 }} Since the Fifth Five-Year Plan, India has adopted the command area-based system of classification.