ABSTRACT
The chapter examines the canals and dams built by the British imperialists across India to exploit water resources. Some of those dams effectively controlled floods, helped agricultural activities in the region, and produced a considerable amount of electricity that was consumed mainly by the urban population. Many dams were planned to provide electricity to industrial towns and major cities, which helped in India’s urbanization. However, due to their negative impact, some of those dam projects were unsuccessfully protested by the local population. Many of those planned projects were completed by the postcolonial Indian government. This chapter discusses the building of canals and dams in colonial India and examines their impacts on local population. Whilst their construction was primarily for irrigation purposes, water management also addressed the needs of cities’ water supply. The final part of the chapter examines how the postcolonial Indian government finished some of the non-completed colonial projects without considering their sociopolitical, economic, and environmental impact.
