This article looks into the instances of growing waterlogging, which is a negative externality of the developmental process (canal irrigation) that has affected the marginalised sections to a greater extent, who mostly depend on land for livelihood and self-sustenance. Land-use pattern has undergone a tremendous transformation due to irrigation development in terms of increase in fallow and culturable waste lands.

India has made a long journey in the field of irrigation by raising the irrigation coverage from 22.6 million ha in 1951 to 100 million ha in 2005. Consequently the food-grain production was raised from 50 million tons to 210 tons in above period. However from the past experience, it is seen that, construction of dam attracts a series of environmental problems in two distinct areas i.e., upstream of dam and downstream of dam.

Commercial and non-commercial plants face a variety of environmental stressors that often cannot be controlled. In this study, transgenic hybrid poplar (Populus × euramericana ‘Guariento’) harboring five effector genes (vgb, SacB, JERF36, BtCry3A and OC-I) were subjected to drought, salinity, waterlogging and insect stressors in greenhouse or laboratory conditions. Field trials were also conducted to investigate long-term effects of transgenic trees on insects and salt tolerance in the transformants.