About the Study
The Bhakra Nangal project has become a legend in India. It is accorded overwhelming, at times the sole credit for rescuing India from hunger and famine, for making India self-sufficient in foodgrains production, for making Punjab and Haryana highly prosperous and surplus states.

Forty years after it was completed, the project continues to be used as one of the main arguments in justifying new large dam projects in the country. Indeed, “What would be the situation without the Bhakra project?” is a question that it used less as a question than as an answer, as an argument, as a justification.

However, there have been few studies of the precise role played by the project. This study examines the reality behind these perceptions related to the Bhakra project. The study attempts to look at the broad developmental impacts of the project, in particular its impact and contribution to food security in the country.