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Administrative Setup

Command Area Development is headed by Deputy Director Command Area at the District level, supported by one Assistant Soil Conservation Officer at district level. the Assistant Soil Conservation Officer is supported by 4 Soil Conservation Assistants and 16 Fields Assistants.

Employee Structure of the Department

	Deputy Director
	Assistant Soil Conservation Officer
One Soil Conservation Assistant Drass	One Soil Conservation Assistant Kargil	One Soil Conservation Assistant Shargole	One Soil Conservation Assistant
Four Fields Assistants	Four Fields Assistant	Four Fields Assistants	Four Field Assistants

Command Area

It is the agriculture or cultivable area which receives assured irrigation through canals, waters, courses and field channels up to farmers field.

The Command Area Development works for execution of on Farm Development, works and regulation of water resulting in considerable saving of water for successfully raising the crops. The improvement in application efficiency of water not effects economy in water use but else serves improving the crop production. The water saved there from, can be fed to additional area for irrigated cropping. Dependability of water supply has played an equitable distribution of water amounting the farmers to play a prominent part in the system of operation in eliminating and reducing the time log.

 Availability of water has therefore to be improved in the command area for the betterment of millions of land less, small and marginal farmers and those who are living in Sub-human condition. Availability of water generates employment opportunities. It is estimated that to manage a farm with irrigation facilities, four times of the labour is required than to manage a farm under rain fed agriculture. The irrigation commission (1972) analyzing the problem of low utilization of irrigation potential recommended integrated development of command area of the irrigation projects. Subsequently the committee of Ministers set up by the Ministry of irrigation in August 1972 after analyzing the problem connected with under utilization of irrigation potential recommended provision of irrigation facilities by the govt. right up to the farmers field.

So the committee decided to set up a separate Department which will act as a bridge between potential created and potential utilization there by reducing the gap between the two Ministries of agriculture in consolation with Ministry of Irrigation under the Ministry of Water Resources . resources formation of Command Area Development Department was created to lessens the gap between potential created and potential utilization. It was also decided that potential creation will be done by The irrigation department and its management and utilization will be done by the Command Area Dev. Department. Also the objectives of creation of the department was to have efficient irrigation to increase agricultural production per unit volume of water, per unit area of cropped land per unit of time. The functions and responsibilities as given to the command area development are given under:-  

1. Modernisation, maintenance and efficient operation of the irrigation system up to the outlet of 1 cusec capacity.
2. Maintenance  of main and intermediate drainage systems
3. Maintenance and development of field channels within the command of each outlet.
4. Land leveling / reshapping on outlet command basis according to the type of the crop.
5. Soil Conservation and Aforestation.

On Farm Development Activities

 Under Command Area Development programme the construction of field channels, land leveling and soil conservation measures and topographical survey are the major component of physical works. Also new conception of participatory irrigation management was widely accepted that there should not be any worthwhile management of water without participation of farmers in irrigation projects. The National Water Policy 1987 has laid emphasis on the aspect.

 In Kargil District the Command Area Development department was created in the year 1988-89 and total potential created by the irrigation department, so far is 1546 hacts as reported by the irrigation department, and only about 340 hacts have been so far utilized by the Command Area Development Department ending 2002-2003.

Major Achievement

Out of 40.83 hacts. of barren and undulated land as envisaged in the physical target for 2002-2003, the department has reclaimed 40.75 hacts by way of land leveling / reshaping and bench terracing. Thus bringing this vast land under plough and making it fit for cultivation for the first crop to be sown in the forth coming season. The department has also constructed small irrigation channels with a carrying capacity of up to 1 sussec from outlet, up to farm gate in order to supply assured irrigation to the developed land.

Source: Command Area Development Department, Kargil.