River Saraswati is believed to have flown through the Thar Desert, as reconstructed by several experts based on critical data gathered by them. A careful observation of the channel shows that in most of the places these are fault-controlled. Studies of palaeochannels in many parts of the world proved successful in identifying high-yielding freshwater zones. Presence of fault system accelerates the recharge process and down-flow of water gets maximized through fault planes during the wet period.

Irrigation of fertile plains of Punjab and Haryana has benefited the nation with increase in food production, there have been inevitable side effects, in terms of secular degradation of the soil productivity, due to the exacerbating problem of waterlogging and salinization of soils, which now affects thousands of hectares of agricultural land.

Geological records point out to a period of aridity 10,000 years ago, at the end stage of Pleistocene glaciation, which gradually changed to a wet phase. Copious rainfall in the Himalayan region gave rise to innumerable rivers, mainly Saraswati river along with six other rivers which flowed down in cascades bringing enormous amounts of water in the plains of Punjab, Rajasthan and north Gujarat.