Introduction
Banas River Basin is located in east-central Rajasthan, between latitudes 24o15' and 27o20'N and longitudes 73o25' and 77o00'E. Aligned NE-SW, it is bounded by the Luni Basin in the west, the Shekhawati, Banganga and Gambhir Basins in the north, the Chambal Basin in the east, and the Mahi and Sabarmati Basins in the south.
The Basin extends over parts of Jaipur, Dausa, Ajmer, Tonk, Bundi, Sawai Madhopur, Udaipur, Rajsamand, Pali, Bhilwara and Chittorgarh Districts.

The total catchment area of the Basin is 45,833 km2 according to the 1:250,000 scale topographical maps published by the Survey of India.

Orographically, the western part of the Basin is marked by hilly terrain belonging to the Aravali chain. East of the hills lies an alluvial plain with a gentle eastward slope. Ground elevations in the western hilly part range approximately from +850 to +1123 m, while the alluvial plain elevations range approximately from +580 to +750 m.

Drainage
River Banas originates in the Khamnor hills of the Aravali range (about 5 km from Kumbhalgarh) and flows along its entire length through Rajasthan. Banas is a major tributary of the River Chambal, the two rivers meeting near village Rameshwar in Khandar Block in Sawai Madhopur District. The total length of the river is about 512 km.

The main tributaries of Banas are Berach and Menali on the right, and Kothari, Khari, Dai, Dheel, Sohadara, Morel and Kalisil on the left.

Rainfall
The mean annual rainfall over Banas Basin is around 541 mm of which about 95% falls during the four Monsoon months (June-September)

Existing Surface Water Projects
There are 7 Major (Rajsamand, Meja, Chhaparwara, Kalakh Sagar, Tordi Sagar, Morel Bund and Galwa Bund), 33 Medium and 1,219 Minor irrigation projects in Banas River Basin, as well as several small irrigation systems (covering less than 20 ha) constructed and operated by Panchayat Samities (PS).

Ongoing Surface Water Projects
23 irrigation projects including two Major (Gosunda and Bisalpur Irrigation Project), with a total live storage capacity of 1,061 Mm3, are under construction in Banas River Basin. An additional area of 89 kha is planned to be irrigated on completion of these projects.

Proposed Surface Water Projects
56 irrigation projects, including 2 Major (Isarda and Kala Khera), with a total live storage capacity of 564 Mm3, have been proposed by the ID in this Basin. An additional area of 94 kha will be irrigated on completion of these projects.