Planning and Sustainable Development in Indian Context

Planning and sustainable development are crucial for balanced economic growth and environmental protection in India. This topic covers various types of planning, key government programs, and sustainable development initiatives aimed at reducing regional disparities and promoting ecological balance.

Target Area Planning: Hill Areas Development Programme, Drought Prone Area Programme

Planning in India involves two main approaches: sectoral planning and regional planning. Sectoral planning focuses on developing specific economic sectors such as agriculture, irrigation, manufacturing, and infrastructure. Regional planning aims to reduce development imbalances across different regions.

The uneven development across regions necessitates spatial planning to address economic backwardness. The Planning Commission introduced the 'target area' and 'target group' approaches to focus on economically backward and resource-poor regions.

Hill Area Development Programme (HADP): Initiated during the Fifth Five Year Plan, HADP targets hilly districts in Uttar Pradesh (now Uttarakhand), Assam, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu. It aims to harness indigenous resources through horticulture, plantation agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, and small-scale industries.

Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP): Started in the Fourth Five Year Plan, DPAP focuses on providing employment and creating productive assets in drought-prone areas. It emphasizes irrigation, land development, afforestation, grassland development, and rural infrastructure like electricity, roads, and markets.

Exam Questions

Q1. What are the two main approaches to planning in India?

Answer: The two main approaches are sectoral planning, which focuses on specific economic sectors, and regional planning, which aims to reduce development imbalances across regions.

Q2. What are the objectives of the Hill Area Development Programme?

Answer: The HADP aims to develop hill areas by promoting horticulture, plantation agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, and small-scale industries to utilize indigenous resources.

Q3. How does the Drought Prone Area Programme help drought-affected regions?

Answer: DPAP provides employment, develops irrigation and land resources, promotes afforestation and grassland development, and improves rural infrastructure to support drought-prone areas.

Case Study: Integrated Tribal Development Project in Bharmaur Region, Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area

Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) in Bharmaur Region: Bharmaur, in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, is inhabited by the Gaddi tribal community known for transhumance and the Gaddiali dialect. It is an economically and socially backward area.

Development began in the 1970s when Gaddis were recognized as a scheduled tribe. The Fifth Five Year Plan introduced the tribal sub-plan in 1974, designating Bharmaur as an ITDP. The focus was on improving transport, agriculture, social services, schools, healthcare, potable water, roads, and electricity.

Social benefits include increased literacy, improved sex ratio, and reduced child marriage. Agriculture shifted from subsistence to cultivation of pulses and cash crops, though traditional technology is still used.

Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area: The Indira Gandhi Canal, formerly Rajasthan Canal, is one of India's largest canal systems, originating at Harike barrage in Punjab and running parallel to the Pakistan border through Rajasthan's Thar Desert.

The canal irrigates about 70% of its command area by flow system and the rest by lift system. It has transformed the ecology, economy, and society by increasing cultivated area and cropping intensity, replacing traditional crops with wheat, cotton, groundnut, and rice.

However, it has also caused waterlogging and soil salinity, threatening long-term agricultural sustainability.

Exam Questions

Q1. What is the significance of the Integrated Tribal Development Project in Bharmaur?

Answer: The ITDP has improved infrastructure, education, healthcare, and social conditions, leading to increased literacy, better sex ratio, and reduced child marriage in the Bharmaur tribal region.

Q2. How has the Indira Gandhi Canal affected the Thar Desert region?

Answer: The canal has increased irrigation, transformed agriculture by introducing new crops, and improved ecology through afforestation, but has also caused waterlogging and soil salinity.

Q3. What is transhumance, and which community in Bharmaur practices it?

Answer: Transhumance is the seasonal movement of livestock between lowlands and highlands. The Gaddi tribal community in Bharmaur practices transhumance.

Sustainable Development, Measures for Promotion of Sustainable Development

Sustainable development is defined as development that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It integrates ecological, social, and economic aspects of growth while conserving resources.

The concept gained prominence in the late 1960s due to environmental concerns. The United Nations' World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) popularized the term in its report.

In the Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area, ecological sustainability is challenged by waterlogging and soil salinity. To promote sustainable development, the following measures are essential:

1. Strict implementation of water management policies.
2. Avoidance of water-intensive crops in cropping patterns.
3. Effective implementation of Command Area Development (CAD) programs such as lining water courses, land leveling, and the Warabandi system for equitable water distribution.
4. Reclamation of areas affected by waterlogging and soil salinity.
5. Eco-development through afforestation, shelterbelt plantations, and pasture development.
6. Providing financial and institutional support to economically weaker land allottees for cultivation.
7. Development of agriculture alongside other economic sectors to ensure social sustainability.

Exam Questions

Q1. What is sustainable development?

Answer: Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, balancing ecological, social, and economic factors.

Q2. Name two ecological challenges faced in the Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area.

Answer: Waterlogging and soil salinity are two major ecological challenges in the canal command area.

Q3. What is the Warabandi system?

Answer: The Warabandi system is the equal distribution of canal water among farmers in the command area of an outlet.

Solved Examples

Example 1: Explain the difference between sectoral and regional planning.

Solution: Sectoral planning focuses on developing specific economic sectors like agriculture or manufacturing, while regional planning aims to reduce development imbalances across different geographic regions.

Example 2: Describe the main objectives of the Drought Prone Area Programme.

Solution: The DPAP aims to provide employment, develop irrigation and land resources, promote afforestation, and improve rural infrastructure in drought-affected areas.

Practice Set

Easy

• Define planning in the context of economic development.
• What is the main goal of the Hill Area Development Programme?

Moderate

• Discuss the social benefits of the Integrated Tribal Development Project in Bharmaur.
• Explain the ecological impacts of the Indira Gandhi Canal.

Challenging

• Evaluate the measures necessary to promote sustainable development in drought-prone and canal command areas.
• Analyze the importance of the Warabandi system in water management.

Answer Key

• Planning is the process of formulating and implementing schemes to achieve economic goals.
• The Hill Area Development Programme aims to develop hill regions through agriculture, horticulture, and allied activities.
• ITDP in Bharmaur improved infrastructure, literacy, sex ratio, and reduced child marriage.
• The Indira Gandhi Canal increased irrigation but caused waterlogging and soil salinity.
• Measures include water management, crop pattern changes, reclamation, afforestation, and financial support.
• The Warabandi system ensures equitable water distribution among farmers.

Quick Reference

• Planning Commission: Established in 1950 to formulate India's five-year plans.
• Sectoral Planning: Development of specific economic sectors.
• Regional Planning: Reducing regional development imbalances.
• Hill Area Development Programme: Development of hilly regions.
• Drought Prone Area Programme: Employment and resource development in drought areas.
• Integrated Tribal Development Project: Tribal area development focusing on infrastructure and social welfare.
• Indira Gandhi Canal: Large canal system transforming Rajasthan's Thar Desert.
• Sustainable Development: Balancing present needs with future resource conservation.
• Warabandi System: Equal distribution of canal water.

Glossary

Planning

The process of thinking, formulating, and implementing schemes to achieve goals.

Sectoral Planning

Planning focused on specific economic sectors like agriculture or manufacturing.

Regional Planning

Planning aimed at reducing development imbalances across regions.

Planning Commission

Government body established in 1950 to formulate five-year plans and development strategies.

Hill Area Development Programme

Government initiative to develop hilly regions through agriculture and allied activities.

Drought Prone Area Programme

Program to provide employment and develop resources in drought-affected areas.

Integrated Tribal Development Project

Project aimed at improving infrastructure and social welfare in tribal areas.

Transhumance

Seasonal movement of livestock between lowlands and highlands.

Subsistence Agriculture

Farming aimed at meeting the basic needs of the farmer with little surplus.

Waterlogging

Condition where soil is saturated with water, affecting crop growth.

Soil Salinity

Accumulation of soluble salts in soil, harmful to plants.

Warabandi System

Equal distribution of canal water among farmers in a command area.

Sustainable Development

Development that meets present needs without compromising future generations.