Thar Desert Rajasthan is a major opium production and consumption area. The Indira Gandhi Canal irrigates northwestern Rajasthan while the Government of India has started a centrally sponsored Desert Development Program based on watershed management with the objective of preventing the spread of desert and improving the living conditions of people in the desert. In the last 15–20 years, the Rajasthan desert has seen many changes, including a manifold increase of both the human and animal population. Animal husbandry has become popular due to the difficult farming conditions. At present, there are ten times more animals per person in Rajasthan than the
Thar coalfield metres and rests upon a structural platform in the eastern part of the desert. The generalised stratigraphic sequence in the Thar coalfield area is shown in table. It comprises Basement Complex, coal bearing Bara Formation, alluvial deposits and dune sand. The coal beds of variable thickness ranging from 0.20–22.81 metres are developed. The maximum number of coal seams found in some of the drill holes is 20. The cumulative thickness of the coal beds range from 0.2 to 36 metres. Claystone invariably forms the roof and the floor rock of the coal beds. The coal is brownish black, black and