Chapter – I Introduction

CHAPTER – I INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION Indian agriculture has made remarkable strides during the green revolution phase of its growth but experience during the post-green revolution phase has cast doubts about its capacity to feed the growing population. Besides, green revolution has been largely crop and region specific and the benefits have largely accrued to the irrigated wheat growing areas, leaving vast areas of the country outside the development process, this has led to development duality. Even after full exploitation of the irrigation potential, about 50 per cent of the cultivated land will still continue to depend on erratic rainfall for production. The country will have to depend for most of its requirements of coarse cereals, pulses, oilseeds and cotton upon this land. It is estimated that at present around 45 per cent of our food production is obtained from drylands and if estimated requirements are to be met, the productivity of drylands has to be increased by at least 72 per cent (Hegde, 1989).1 1 R.S. Hegde “Irrigation potentials in India”, Indian Journal of Agri. Eco. Vol:XXXI, No:13, April – Aug 1989, p.281. 1 Irrigation potential could be created and utilised at considerable cost. The negative externality of irrigation has been that an area almost equivalent to the potential created is lost due to salinity and alkalinity with the result that the net productivity of irrigated land has remained low, around 1.7 tonnes per hectare. A team of dryland experts committee from the United States which visited India in June 1987 highlighted this 'coming quiet crisis' in their report and opined that a large share of this increase has to come from drylands. There is a widely prevalent belief that dryland crops suffer only from shortage of rainfall. Hegde (1989)2 contends that most parts of the country receive about 500 mm of rainfall during the crop growing season and if at present 20 to 30 per cent of this rainfall which is reported to be run- off is effectively conserved, the dryland crops should not experience any moisture shortage. Associated with run-off the erosion of soil resulting in serious degradation of the production base in agriculture. An estimated 175 million hectares of land, i.e., about 53 per cent of the total geographic area of the country suffers from serious soil erosion. It has been estimated that annually about 6,000 million tonnes of soil are eroded from about 80 million hectares of cultivated land losing with it about 8.4 million tonnes of plant nutrients which is more than the quantity used in the country. 2 Ibid., Page No.283. 2 Considering the limited prospects of irrigated regions in meeting the future food requirements of the country and the equity considerations, there is the need for a shift in the development priorities in favour of dryland agriculture. Inherently, dryland agriculture areas are backward in resource base, in rural infrastructure, amenities and supporting services needed for agricultural growth. Rao (1990, 1991)3 argues that in their struggle for survival in a dirty environment farmers are likely to have acquired deep seated attitudes and behaviour patterns not conducive to innovation and growth. Given these major differences in the pre conditions for development as between the dryland areas and 'green revolution' areas, he contents that the fast pace of agricultural growth in the latter areas and the predominantly technocratic approach through which it was achieved are unlikely to be replicable in the dryland areas. Sustaining the gains of production and reversing the process of degradation of soil are imperative. Sustainability can be achieved by designing programmes to maintain the synergistic relationship between land and water cycle, to raise productivity of the available land and restore, reclaim and rehabilitate the degraded land. It is now widely recognised that 3 Hemalatha Rao “Sustaining Agri growth” Journal of Economic Appraise Jan-Mar, Vol:40, No.1, 1999, P.14. 3 improvement of dryland agriculture is not just a problem of developing and disseminating improved technology and making on farm investments but of an integrated watershed approach involving participation of various development departments of the government such as agriculture, forestry, horticulture, the state agricultural universities, commercial banks and other credit institutions and other agencies Governmental and non-governmental. Watershed is a geohydrological unit draining at a common point from a system of streams. Watershed is the area of land that drains into a body of water such as a river, lake, stream or bay. It is separated from other systems by high points in the area such as hills or slopes. It includes not only the waterways, but also the entire land area that drains to it. From management perspective, a watershed is, in addition to the hydrological characteristics not just an area, but a land mass and a point of reference along the main flow channel, with its own particular drainage area. The Government of India in early seventies initiated for an integrated development of all land and water resources on watershed basis through Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP),4 Desert Development Programme (DDP) and Integrated Watershed Development Programme along with 4 Report of the Ministry of Rural Development Government of India, 1994. 4 externally aided projects, private initiatives of local communities and NGOs. However, all these schemes showed increase productivity of irrigated lands and rain fed lands in most of the states showed little or no sustained improvement. In 1990-91 a 'Common Approach for Watershed Development' was jointly formulated and adopted by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD 1994), through the National Watershed Development Project for Rain fed Area (NWDPRA).5 CURRENT SITUATION Mountain forest watersheds are drainage or 'catchment' areas where clean fresh mountain water gathers, separates and flows downstream to rivers, lakes and eventually into oceans. Yet over the last three decades, these upland watersheds have come under increasing threat. Population growth, deforestation, mining, non scientific agricultural practices, global warming, tourism and urbanization are all taking their toll on mountain watersheds and resulting world’s fresh water supply at risk. Watersheds that are damaged pose serious problems to environment and people, both upstream and downstream. The cost of this damage can be 5 Ibid., P.No.160. 5 seen in eroded soil, landslides, diminished water quality and quantity, loss of biodiversity and severe ecological instability. Today, degraded watersheds are among the greatest constraints for sustainable development in the developing world. The need for the careful management and sustainable use of watersheds has never been greater. NEED FOR WATERSHED PROGRAMMES India shares 16% of the world’s population, while its land is only 2% of the total geographical area of the world. Naturally, the pressure on the land is often beyond its carrying capacity. Therefore, the productive lands, especially the farmlands in India are in the constant process of various degrees of degradation and are fast turning into wastelands. WATERSHED APPROACH Man is interdependent towards the environment. The changes in the environment directly affect the lives of the people depending on it. A degraded environment means a degraded quality for life of the people. Environmental degradation can be tackled effectively through the holistic development of the watershed. Watershed provides a natural geohydrological unit for planning any developmental initiative. 6 PURPOSE OF WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT Main purpose of watershed approach is the use of local resources for betterment of the villages with less external input. Watershed development has raised the living standard of the people in villages. Watershed development refers to the conservation regeneration and the judicious use of all the resources – natural (like land, water plants, animals) and human – within the watershed area. Watershed Management tries to bring about the best possible balance in the environment between natural resources on one side and man and animals on the other. Since it is man who is primarily responsible for degradation of environment. Regeneration and conservation is only possible by promoting awakening and participation among the people who inhabit the watersheds. Watershed development is important for the overall development of a village. The physical and climatic conditions in India vary to a large extent. Stable agriculture was a dream when watershed development was started. Now it is not the situation. People have realized that they can survive only of they follow this technique. Watershed development involves all the techniques mentioned above in an integrated manner. The techniques can be summarized as Grassland 7 development, Gully Plugs, Tree plantation and Contour trenching on hill tops and slopes, Contour bunding, Water conservation structures, Lift irrigation schemes, Land leveling etc.6 INTEGRATED WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME (IWMP) In 1994, a technical committee under the chairmanship of Prof. C. H. Hanumantharao was appointed to assess the Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP) and Desert Development Programme (DDP) with the purpose of identifying weakness and suggesting improvements. The committee after careful appraisal, opined that the programmes have been implemented in a fragmented manner in different departments through rigid guidelines without any

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