indian geography - examisthan english material/indian... · 2018-09-09 · physiography of...

Add : D/108, Sec-2, Noida (U.P.), Pin - 201 301Email id : [email protected]

Call : 09582948810, 09953007628, 0120-2440265

INDIANINDIANINDIANINDIANINDIAN

GEOGRAPHYGEOGRAPHYGEOGRAPHYGEOGRAPHYGEOGRAPHY

CONTENTS

1. Physiography of India ............................................................................................ 05 – 23

2. Climate of India ...................................................................................................... 24 – 29

3. Water Resources and Drainage Pattern ............................................................... 30 – 42

4. Soil and Vegetation ................................................................................................ 43 – 55

5. Agriculture .............................................................................................................. 56 – 70

6. Minerals ................................................................................................................... 71 – 77

7. Industries of India .................................................................................................. 78 – 87

8. Transport ...............................................................................................................88 – 104

9. Population...........................................................................................................105 – 120

10. Regional Planning .............................................................................................121 – 124

11. Natural Hazards .................................................................................................125 – 146

��

5© CHRONICLE IAS ACADEMY

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

PHYSIOGRAPHY OF INDIA

INTRODUCTION

The largest democracy in the world, the landalso known as Bharat or Hindustan is uniquewith its incredible diversity, both culturally andphysically. The second largest populous coun-try, India is home to around 17.5 per cent ofworld's population. The country, however, ac-counts for 2.42 per cent of the total world area.

GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION

India lies entirely on the Indian Plate in thenorthern portion of the Indo-Australian Plate.The country lies to the north of the equatorbetween 8°4' and 37°6' North latitude and 68°7'and 97°25' East longitude. It is the seventh-largest country in the world, with a total landarea of 3,287,263 square kilometres (1,269,219sq miles). India measures 3,214 km (1,997 miles)from North to South and 2,993 km (1,860 mi)from East to west. It has a land frontier of15,200 km (9,445 miles) and a coastline of 7,517km (4,671 miles).

India is bounded in the southwest by theArabian Sea, in the southeast by the Bay ofBengal and by the Indian Ocean in the south.Cape Comorin constitutes the southern tip ofthe Indian peninsula, which narrows beforeending in the Indian Ocean. The southernmostpart of India is Indira Point in the Andamanand Nicobar Islands. The Maldives, Sri Lankaand Indonesia are island nations to the south ofIndia with Sri Lanka separated from India bya narrow channel of sea formed by Palk Straitand the Gulf of Mannar. The territorial watersof India extend into the sea to a distance of 12nautical miles (13.8 miles; 22.2 km) measuredfrom the appropriate baseline.

The northern frontiers of India are definedlargely by the Himalayan mountain range whereits political boundaries with China, Bhutan, andNepal lie. Its western borders with Pakistan liein the Punjab Plain and the Thar Desert. In thefar northeast, the Chin Hills and Kachin Hills,deeply forested mountainous regions, separateIndia from Burma while its political border withBangladesh is defined by the watershed regionof the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the Khasi hills andMizo Hills.

The Ganges is the longest river originating inIndia and forms the Indo-Gangetic Plain. TheGanges-Brahmaputra system occupies most ofnorthern, central and eastern India, while theDeccan Plateau occupies most of southern In-dia. Along its western frontier is the TharDesert, which is the seventh-largest desert in theworld.

Officially, India's highest point is K-2 at8,611 m (28,251 ft), though it lies in Gilgit-Baltistan, part of the disputed Kashmir region.Kanchanjunga in Sikkim at 8,598 m (28,209 ft)is the highest point within India's current geo-graphic boundaries. Climate across India rangesfrom equatorial in the far south, to Alpine in theupper reaches of the Himalayas.

The country's land is flanked by the Bay ofBengal and the Arabian Sea, along the south-east and along the southwest respectively. Onthe western border is situated Pakistan and inthe east, Bangladesh and Burma. Along hernorthern boundary are Bhutan, Nepal, andTibet and Sinkiang region of China. The Gulf ofMannar and the Palk Strait separate India fromSri Lanka. The Andaman and Nicobar Islandsin the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep in theArabian Sea are parts of the Indian Territory.

1

6

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

© CHRONICLE IAS ACADEMY

BOUNDARIES

The Indian peninsula in the south is boundedon the west by the Arabian Sea, on the east bythe Bay of Bengal and on the south by theIndian Ocean. Sri Lanka lies off the southeastcoast, and the Maldives off the southwest coast.In the North, North East and North West of thesubcontinent lies the Himalayan ranges. Indiashares borders to the northwest with Afghani-stan (106 km) and Pakistan, to the north with

China, Nepal and Bhutan, and to the east withBangladesh and Myanmar.

India's borders run a total length of 15,106.70km (9,387 miles). Its borders with Pakistan andBangladesh were delineated according to theRadcliff Line, which was created in 1947 duringPartition of India. Its western border with Pa-kistan extends up to 3,323 km (2,065 miles),dividing the Punjab region and running alongthe boundaries of the Thar Desert and the Rann


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

of Kutch. Both nations delineated a Line ofControl (LoC) to serve as the informal boundarybetween the Indian and Pakistan-administeredareas of Kashmir. According to India's claim, itshares a 106 km border with Afghanistan innorthwestern Kashmir, which is under Paki-stani control.

India's border with Bangladesh runs 4,096.70km (2,546 miles). There are 92 enclaves ofBangladesh on Indian soil and 106 enclaves ofIndia are on Bangladeshi soil. The Teen BighaCorridor is a strip of land formerly belonging toIndia on the West Bengal-Bangladesh borderwhich has been leased indefinitely to Bangladeshso that it can access its Dehgram-Angalpotaenclaves.The Line of Actual Control (LAC) is the effectiveborder between India and the People's Republicof China. It traverses 4,057 km along the Indianstates of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand,Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and ArunachalPradesh. Both nations lay claim to the Aksai

Chin region of northeastern Kashmir, which fellinto Chinese control during the Sino-IndianWar of 1962.The border with Burma (Myanmar)extends up to 1,643 km (1,021 miles) along thesouthern borders of India's northeastern states.Located amidst the Himalayan range, India'sborder with Bhutan runs 699 km (434 miles).The border with Nepal runs 1,751 km (1,088miles) along the foothills of the Himalayas innorthern India. The Siliguri Corridor, narrowedsharply by the borders of Bhutan, Nepal andBangladesh, connects peninsular India with thenortheastern states.

GEOLOGY

The Indian craton was once part of theSupercontinent of Pangaea. At that time, it wasattached to Madagascar and southern Africa onthe south west coast, and Australia along theeast coast. During the Jurassic Period, riftingcaused Pangaea to break apart into two super-continents namely, Gondwana (to the south)and Laurasia (to the north). The Indian craton

remained attached toGondwana, until the Su-percontinent began to riftapart about in the earlyCretaceous, around 125Ma. The Indian Plate thendrifted northward to-ward the Eurasian Plate.It is generally believedthat the Indian plate sepa-rated from Madagascarabout 90 Ma. This orog-eny, which is continuingtoday, is related to clo-sure of the Tethys Ocean.The closure of this ocean,which created the Alpsin Europe, and theCaucasus, range in west-ern Asia, createdHimalaya Mountains andthe Tibetan Plateau inSouth Asia. The currentorogenic event is causingparts of the Asian conti-nent to deform westward

8

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


and eastward on either side of the orogeny.Concurrently with this collision, the IndianPlate sutured on to the adjacent AustralianPlate, forming a new larger plate, the Indo-Australian Plate.

Evolution of India

The cooling and solidification of the uppercrust of the earth surface marked the earliestphase of tectonic evolution in the Archaean era(prior to 2.5 billion years) which is representedby the exposure of gneisses and granites espe-cially on the Peninsula. These form the core ofthe Indian craton. The Aravalli Range is theremnant of an early Proterozoic orogeny calledthe Aravalli-Delhi orogeny that joined the twoolder segments that make up the Indian craton.It extends approximately 500 kilometers from itsnorthern end to isolated hills and rocky ridgesinto Haryana, ending near Delhi. Minor igneousintrusions, deformation (folding and faulting)and subsequent metamorphism of the AravalliMountains represent the main phase of orogen-esis. The erosion of the mountains and furtherdeformation of the sediments of the Dharwariangroup marks the second phase. The volcanicactivities and intrusions, associated with thissecond phase are recorded in composition ofthese sediments.

Early to Late Proterozoic calcareous andarenaceous deposits, which correspond to

humid and semi-arid climatic regimes, were,deposited the Cuddapah and Vindhyan basins.These basins, which border or lie within theexisting crystalline basement, were upliftedduring the Cambrian (500 Ma). The Vindhyansare believed to have been deposited betweenaround 1700 and 650 Ma.

Early Palaeozoic rocks are found in theHimalayas and consist of southerly-derived sedi-ments eroded from the crystalline craton anddeposited on the Indian platform.

In the Late Paleozoic, Permo-Carboniferousglaciations left extensive glacio-fluvial depositsacross central India, in new basins created bysag/normal faulting. These tillites and glaciallyderived sediments are designated the Gondwanaseries. The sediments are overlain by rocksresulting from a Permian marine transgression(270 Ma)

The late Paleozoic coincided with the defor-mation and drift of the Gondwana super-con-tinent. To this drift, the uplift of the Vindhyansediments and the deposition of northern pe-ripheral sediments in the Himalayan Sea can beattributed.

During the Jurassic, as Pangaea began to riftapart, large grabens formed in central Indiafilling with Upper Jurassic and Lower Creta-ceous sandstones and conglomerates.

Greater/Inner Himalayas Lesser/Middle Himalayas Outer/Lower Himalayas

The highest mountain range Situated to the south of the This is the outer most range toof the Himalayas. Himadri. the south of the Lesser Himalayas.These ranges have an average Average height is above These discontinuous ranges joinheight of about 6000 m. 3000 m the lesser Himalayas in the

extreme east.Highest Mountain peaks are Many health resorts are Its average height is about 1200msituated in this range. situated(e.g.Kanchanjunga - 8595m, on the southern slope ofNangaparbat- the mountain range, e.g.:8126m) Shimla, DarjeelingThe source of Ganges and ---- There are several elongated and flatYamuna valleys running parallel to the moun

tain ranges. They are called "duns".(e.g.: Dehradun)


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

By the Late Cretaceous India had separatedfrom Australia and Africa and was movingnorthward towards Asia. At this time, prior tothe Deccan eruptions, uplift in southern Indiaresulted in sedimentation in the adjacent na-scent Indian Ocean. Exposures of these rocksoccur along the south Indian coast atPondicherry and in Tamil Nadu.

At the close of the Mesozoic era, one of thegreatest volcanic eruptions in earth's historyoccurred, the Deccan lava flows. Covering morethan 500,000 square kilometers area, these markthe final break from Gondwana. In the earlyTertiary, the first phase of the Himalayan orog-eny, the Karakoram phase occurred. The Hima-layan orogeny has continued to the present day.

PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVISION

The four major geographical regions ofIndia are:1. The Great Himalayan range,2. The Indo Gangetic Plain,3. The Deccan Plateau and Peninsula4. The Coastal plains5. The Islands

HIMALAYAN MOUNTAIN SYSTEM

This is the great walllike physiographic unit,which stretches from Kash-mir in the North West tothe Indian border in theeast. This region is formedby the Karakoram,Ladakh, Zaskar and theHimalayan range of moun-tains and the eastern high-lands. These mountainranges are subdivided intothree divisions namely,Trans Himalayas,Himalayas and the East-ern himalayas. The TransHimalayas comprises theKarakoram, Ladakh andZaskar ranges that origi-nate from the Pamir Knot.

The highest peak in India, 'Mount K2' (Mt.Godwin Austin, 8611m) is in the KarakoramRange. The Himalayas can be divided into - (i)The Himalayan ranges (ii) The Trans-Himalayas(iii) The Eastern Hills.

The height of the mountain ranges graduallydecreases as they approach the eastern parts ofthe Northern mountainous regions. This regionwith an average height of 500m to 3000m aboveMSL is known as the Eastern highlands(Purvanchal).

1. Duns: The longitudinal valley lying betweenLesser Himalaya and Shiwaliks are knownas duns

2. The Himalayan Mountains are also knownas the Himadri, Himaven or Himachal.

3. It consists of the youngest and the loftiest,rugged tertiary mountain chains of theWorld.

4. It is characterized by youthfulness, greatdeal of folding and deformation tectonicorigin and great erosive power of rivers.

5. It stretches for a distance of over 2400 km(over 22° longitude) from Indus gorge in thewest to the Brahmaputra gorge (Dihanggorge) in the east.

6. The width of the Himalayas varies from 500km in Kashmir to 200 km in Arunachal

10

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


Pradesh, i.e., it becomes narrower from westto east.

7. It extends from west to east in arcate shapewhich is convex to the south.

Origin of Himalayas

Plate tectonics is the most recent and widelyacclaimed theory for the origin of Himalayas.Plate is a broad segment of lithosphere thatfloats on the underlying asthenosphere andmoves independently of other plates. When twoplates move towards each other, converge andin the process one plate overrides the other. Theoverridden plate is sub ducted and goes underthe asthenosphere and is lost or consumed. It isthe converging boundary of plates where foldedmountains like the Himalayas build up. Whentwo convergent plates composed of continentalcrusts collide against each other, the denserplate is sub ducted under the lighter plate. Theresultant lateral compression squeezes and foldsthe sediments deposited on either side of thecontinental plate margins. Himalayas are theproduct of such a process on the conveyancezone of the Asiatic plate in north and the Indianplate in the south.

Some 70 million years ago, theIndian plate started moving to-wards the Asian plate and theTethys Sea began to contract. Thesediment got folded in three suc-cessive phases giving rise to threeranges of Himalayas explainedbelow.

Cross-Sectional view ofHimalayas

1. The Great Himalaya: This isalso known as inner Himalaya,Central Himalaya or Himadri.It is mainly formed of centralcrystallines (granites andgneisses) overlain by metamor-phosed sedimentary races. Itis the most continuous rangeconsisting of loftiest peaks withan average height of 6000

meters. The core of these mountains is com-posed of Archaean rocks like granite, gneissesand the schists. The folds in this range areasymmetrical with steep south slope andgentle North Slope. It extends in arcateshape, from Nanga Parbat in north-westand Namcha Barwa in the north-east, whichis convex to the south. Average elevation is6100 in and average width is about 25km.

2. The Middle or the Lesser Himalaya: It isalso called the Himachal or Lower Himalaya.It is mainly composed of metamorphic rocksand unfossiliferous sedimentary rocks. Thesouthern slopes are bare and rugged whilethe northern slopes are thickly forested. ThePir Panjal, the Dhauladhar, the Musoorierange, Nag Tibba and the Mahabharata arethe important ranges. The Pir Panjal inKashmir is the longest and the most impor-tant range. Banihal pass situated in the PirPanjal range is used by the Jammu-Srinagarnational highway. The valley of Kashmir liesbetween the Pir Panjal and the Zaskarrange. Most of the hill stations (Shimla,Musoorie, Ranikhet, Nainital, Almora andDarjeeling etc.) lie in this section. Average


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

elevation in 3500 to 5000 m and averagewidth is 60-80 km.

Mountain Peaks in the Himalaya

Mt Everest 8848 M

Mt K2 8611 M

Kanchanjunga 8598 MMakalu 8481 M

Dhaulagiri 8172 M

Annapurna 8078 M

3. The Shiwaliks or the Outer Himalaya:Consists of foothills which non almost fromPotwar plateau to Brahmaputra valley. Theseranges are mainly made up of fluvial depos-its like sand, clay, Rounded stones, gravels,slates etc. This section is characterized bypoor drainage, which is move pronouncedin Terai region. Its eastern part upto Nepalis thickly forested but the forest cover be-comes thin in the west. Average elevation is1000 - 1500m while average width is 15-50km. The gorges of Tista and raidak havejointly formed a gap 80-90 km wide in theShiwalik range. Shiwalik are known bydifferent names in different areas. They arecalled Dafla, Miri, Abor and Mishmi hills inArunachal Pradesh, and Jammu hills inJammu

Regional Division of Himalayas

On the basis of river valleys Himalayas canbe longitudinally divided into the followingsections:

(I) Kashmir Himalaya1. Average elevation is about 3000m.2. This section has the largest share of

shows and glaciers3. Two important passes: Pir Panjal and

Banihal - lie in Pir Panjal range.4. The Valley of Kashmir lies in this section.

(II) Punjab Himalaya1. Stretches eastward upto Satluj for about

570km.2. High Peaks are rare.3. Main ranges: Karakoram, Ladakh, Pir

Panjal, Zaskar and Dhauladhar

4. Important Passes: Zojila, Rohtang andBara Lacha la.

5. Important Valleys: Kangra, Lahul andSpiti.

6. This section is important for fruit culti-vation (horticulture) and scenic beauty.

(III) Kumaon Himalaya1. Stretches from Satluj to Kali River for

about 320km and the general elevationis higher than Punjab Himalayas.

2. Its western part is called GarhwalHimalaya while eastern part is known asKumaon Himalaya proper.

3. Important peaks: Nanda Devi, Kamet,Trishul, Badrinath, and Kedarnath

4. Nanda Devi is the highest peak in thissection.

5. Important lakes: Nainital and Bhimtal6. Several duns lie between Middle

Himalayas and Shiwaliks.(IV) Central Himalaya

1. Extends from river Kali to Tista for about800km.

2. Most of it lies in Nepal and hence it isalso called as Nepal Himalaya.

3. This section has some of the world'shighest peaks, such as, Mt. Everest,Makalu, Kanchanjunga, Dhaulagiri,Annapurna, and Gosainthan.

4. This section is known as Sikkim Himalayain Sikkim, Darjeeling Himalaya in WestBengal and Bhutan Himalaya in Bhutan.

5. Bilafond la also known as "pass of thebutterflies".

6. Saltoro pass is a mountain pass situatedin Saltoro ridge on the west of siachenglacier.

7. Chang la is the main gateway for thechang tang plateau, situated in theHimalayas.

8. The Debsa pass provides an easier andshorter alternative to the traditional Pin-Parbati pass route between Kullu andSpiti.

(V) Assam Himalaya1. Stretches from river Tista to Brahmaputra

for about 720km.

12

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


2. Pauhunri and Kulakangri are importantpeaks.

3. The Naga hills and Patkai Bum hills ofthis section form the watershed betweenIndia and Myanmar.

(VI) Trans Himalayas1. It immediately lies north of the Great

Himalayan range.2. It is also called the Tibetan Himalaya

because most of it lies in Tibet.3. The Zaskar, the Ladakh, the Kailash and

the Karakoram are the main ranges ofthis system.

4. Mt. K-2(Godwin Austin), Nanga Parbat,Rakaposhi, Haramosh, Gasherbrum-I(Hidden Peak), Gasherbrum-II etc. areimportant peaks.

5. This section has some of the world'slargest glaciers - Siachen, Hispar, Biafo,Batura and Baltoro.

6. Ladakh Plateau (5000m), the highestplateau of the Indian Union, lies to thenorth-east of the Karakoram range. Ithas been dissected into a number ofplains and mountains. The most out-standing among them are Aksai Chin,Soda Plains, Lingzi Tang, Depsang Plains,and Chang Chenmo.

(VII) Eastern Hills or the Purvanchal HillsAfter crossing the Dihang gorge

(Brahmaputra gorge), the Himalayas suddenlyturn southward and form a series of compara-tively low hills running in the shape of acrescent with its convex side pointing towardsthe west. These hills are collectively called thePurvanchal because they are located in theeastern part of the country. It extends fromArunachal Pradesh in the north to Mizoram inthe south and form boundary between Indiaand Myanmar. The Indo-Burma hill range is apart of the Arakan Yoma Suture zone thatstretches south through Andaman - Nicobarisland chain to Sunda. The elevation of theEastern Hills (Purvanchal) decreases from northto south and it is characterized by rough terrain,dense forests and swift streams. All these Rangesare generally 2,000m or less in height but arerather forbidding because of dense forests, veryrough terrace and inhospitable tribe.

It comprises of the following hills -

a) Mishmi hills: Contains the loftiest range ofthe Purvanchal. Dapha Bum is its highestpeak.

b) Patkai Bum Range: It is the northernmostrange forming the easternmost limit of theGreat Himalaya Mountains, has synclinalstructure and is made up of Tipam sand-stone.

c) Naga Hills: It lies south to the Patkai Bumand Saramati (3826m) is its highest peak.Patkai Bum and Naga hills form the water-shed between India and Myanmar.

d) Manipur Hills: It is south to Naga hills andform boundary between Manipur andMyanmar. Its central part is a large basinwhich appears to be bed of an old lake, aremnant of which occupies the south-eastcorner of the basin and is known as LoktakLake. The Barail Range separates Naga Hillsfrom Manipur hills.

e) Mizo Hills (Lushai Hills): It lies south tothe Manipur hills and its highest point is theBlue Mountain (2157m) in the south.

Significance of the Himalayas

The Himalayas comprise the most dominat-ing geographical feature of India. No othermountain range anywhere in world has af-fected the life of people and shaped the destinyof a nation as the Himalayas have in respect ofIndia. The Himalayas are the body and soul ofIndia. In a very special measure, the Himalayasconstitute India's national mountain system.The following fe3w points will bring out thesignificance of the Himalayan Mountains toIndia.

1. Climatic Influence. The Himalayas play avery significant role in influencing the cli-mate of India By virtue of their high altitude,length and direction; they effectively inter-cept the summer monsoons coming from theBay of Bengal and Arabian Sea and causeprecipitation in the form of rain or snow.Besides, they prevent the cold continentalair masses of central Asia from entering intoIndia. Had there been no Himalayas, thewhole of Indian would have been a desert


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

in the absence of precipitation and its win-ters would have been very severe under theinfluence of cold airmasses coming fromCentral Asia. According to the latest meteo-rological studies, the Himalayas are respon-sible for splitting the jet stream into twobranches and these in turn play and ex-tremely important role in bring monsoons inIndia.

2. Defence. The Himalayas have been protect-ing Indian from outside invaders since theearly times thus serving as a defence barrier.But the Chinese aggression on India inOctober, 1962 has reduced the defence sig-nificance of the Himalayas to a considerableextent. In spite of advancement in modernwarfare technology, the defence significanceof the Himalayas cannot be ignored alto-gether.

3. Source of Rivers. Almost all the great riversof India have their sources in the Himalayasranges. Abundant rainfall and vast snow-fields as well as large glaciers are the feedinggrounds of the mighty rivers of India. Snowmelt in summer provides water to theserivers even during dry season and these areperennial rivers. The Himalayan Rivers,along with hundreds of their tributaries,form the very basis of life in the whole ofnorth India.

4. Fertile Soil. The great rivers and their tribu-taries carry enormous quantities of alluviumwhile descending from the Himalayas. Thisis deposited in the Great Plain of North Indiain the form of fertile soil. Making the plainone of the most fertile lands of the world. Ithas been estimated that the Ganga and theIndus carry 19 and 10 lakh tones of silt, perday respectively and the silt carried by theBrahmaputra is even more. It is, thereforeoften said that the great plain of north Indiais a Gift of the Himalayas.

5. Hydroelectricity. The Himalayan regionoffers several sites which can be used forproducing hydroelectricity. There are natu-ral waterfalls at certain places while damscan be constructed across rivers at someother places. The vast power potential of the

Himalayan Rivers still awaits properutilization.

6. Forest Wealth. The Himalayan ranges arevery rich in forest resources. In their alti-tude, the Himalayan ranges show a succes-sion of vegetal cover from the tropical to theAlpine. The Himalayan forests provide fuelwood and a large variety of raw materialsfor forest based industries. Besides manymedicinal plants grow in the Himalayanregion. Several patches are covered withgrass offering rich pastures for grazing ani-mals.

7. Agriculture. The Himalayas do not offerextensive flat lands for agriculture but someof the slopes are terraced for cultivation.Rice is the main crop on the terraced slopes.The other crops are wheat, maize, potatoes,tobacco and ginger. Tea is a unique cropwhich can be grown on the hill slopes only.A wide variety of fruits such as apples,pears, grapes, mulberry, walnut, cherries,peaches, apricot, etc. are also grown in theHimalayan region.

8. Tourism. By virtue of their scenic beautyand healthy environment, the Himalayanranges have developed a large number oftourist spots. The hilly areas in the Himalayasoffer cool and comfortable climate when theneighbouring plains are reeling under thescorching heat of the summer season. Mil-lions of tourists from different parts of thecountry as well as from abroad throng theHimalayas tourist centres to enjoy theirnatural beauty and to escape from the sum-mer heat of the plains. The increasing popu-larity of winter sports and the craze to enjoysnowfall has increased the rust of tourists inwinters also. Srinagar, Dalhousie,Dharmashala, Chamba, Shimla, Kulu,Manali, Mussoorie, Nainital, Ranikhet,Almora, Darjeeling, Mirik, Gangtok etc. areimportant tourist centres in the Himalayas.

9. Pilgrimage. Apart from places of touristsinterest, the Himalayas are proud of beingstudded with sanctified shrines which areconsidered to be abodes of the Gods. Largenumber of pilgrims trek through difficult

14

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


terrain to pay their reverence to these sacredshrines. Kailas, Amarnath, Badrinath,Kedarnath, Vaishnu Devi, Jwalaji, Uttrkasi,Gangotri, Yamunotri, etc. are importantplaces of pilgrimage.

10. Minerals. The Himalayan region containsmany valuable minerals. There are vastpotentialities of mineral oil in the tertiaryricks. Coal is found in Kashmir. Copper,lead, zinc, nickel, cobalt, antimony, tung-sten, gold, silver, limestone, semi-preciousand precious stones, gypsum and magnetiteare known to occur at more than 100 locali-ties in the Himalayas. Unfortunately manlyof the mineral resources cannot be exploitedat the present level of technological ad-vancement due to adverse geographicalconditions. Further advancements in mod-ern technology may help in exploiting theseresources, so the future possibilities of min-eral exploitation in the Himalayas are great.

THE NORTHERN PLAINS

Lying between the Himalayas in the northand the stable peninsula in the south, it stretchesfrom the arid and semi-arid plains of Rajasthanin the west to the Ganga delta in the east. It isdrained by three major river systems; the Gangasystem, the Indus system, the Brahmaputrasystem. The plain is believed to be formed frominfilling of a marine depression or fore deep,that formed dome to Himalayan uplift andsubsidence of the northern blank of the plateau,by alluvial deposits brought by both riversHimalayan Rivers and Peninsular Rivers.

Origin of the Plain

It is almost universally accepted that thisvast plain has been formed as a result of fillingof a deep depression lying between the Penin-sular and the Himalayan region by the deposi-tional work of the rivers coming from these twolandmasses. However, divergent views havebeen expressed regarding originally a deepdepression or furrow lying between the Penin-sula and the mountain region. The great Aus-trian geologist Edward Suess has suggested that"foredeep" was formed in front of high crust

waves of the Himalayas as they were checkedin their southward advance by inflexible solidlandmass of the Peninsula. This foredeep waslike a large syncline in which alluvium broughtby the Himalayan and the Peninsular Riverswas deposited. In due course of time, this wasfilled with alluvium and the Great Plain ofNorth India was formed. It rests on the hardand crystalline rocks through which the regionis connected to the Himalayan and the Penin-sular blocks. Sir Sydney Burrard, on the otherhand, thinks that the Indo-Gangetic alluviumconceals a great deep rift, or fracture, in theearth's sub-crust, several thousand metres deep,the hollow being subsequently filled up bydetrital. He ascribes to such sub-crustal cracksor rifts a fundamental importance in geotec-tonic and attributes the elevation of the Hima-layan chain to an incidental bending or curbingmovement of the northern wall to the fissure.Such sunken tracts between parallel, verticaldislocations are called 'Rift Valleys'. The riftvalley between the Himalayan ranges and thePeninsula which gave birth to this plain wasabout 2,400 km long and hundreds of metresdeep. His findings were based on some anoma-lies in the observations of the deflections of theplumb line and other geodetic considerations.He described some other rift valleys of theHimalayan region as well as the rift valleys ofNarmada and Tapi in the Peninsular India.Scholars like Hayden and R.D. Oldham as wellas other geologists of the Geological Survey ofIndia have not accepted Burrard's view of theIndo-Gangetic depression. The main objectionto Burrard's views is that there is no trace of riftvalley at the northern edge of the peninsula andthat such vast rift valley is not possible.

According to the recent views expressed bymany geologists and geographers, sedimentdeposited at the bed of the Tethys Sea wasfolded and warped due to northward drift ofthe Peninsula. Consequently the Himalayas anda trough to the south were formed. The originof this depression or trough, lying at the foot ofthe mountain, is doubtless intimately connectedwith the later. The Great plain represents theinfilling of the foredeep warped down between


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

the advancing Peninsular Block and theHimalayas. The infilling has been done by thedeposition of the detritus of the mountainsbrought by the numerous rivers emerging fromthem during the period of great gradationalactivity. Geologically most parts of this plain areof the Pleistocene and Recent formations.

Characteristic & Geo-morphological FeaturesFrom North to South

1. Bhabar: It is a narrow belt of about 8-16kmwidth running in east-west direction alongthe foot of the Shiwaliks with a remarkablecontinuity from the Indus to the Tista, whererivers descending from the Himalayas de-posit their load along the foothills in theform of alluvial fans. These are porous,gravel-ridden plain and due to high porositythe streams in this zone get lost in theground except during the rainy season. It iscomparatively narrow in the east and exten-sive in the western and northwestern hill ofregion. This area is not suitable for agricul-ture and only big trees with large Rootsthrive in this belt.

2. Tarai: The streams that disappear in Bhabarbelt reappear in Terai region. It is 10-20 kmwide, ill drained, marshy, thickly forestedarea having a variety of wildlife. Most of theTerai land, especially in Punjab, UttarPradesh and Uttaranchal, has been reclaimedand turned into agricultural land whichgives good crops of sugarcane, rice andwheat. Dudhwa national park is situated inthis region.

3. Bhangar (Bengha): It is composed of oldalluvium in the form of terrace above thelevel of flood plains. These terraces are oftenimpregnated with calcareous concretionsknown as Kankar.

4. Khadar: It is composed of newer alluviumand forms the flood plains along the riverbanks, which is liable to inundations duringflooding and rainy season.

5. Reh or Kallar: It comprises barren salineefflorescence's of drier areas in Uttar Pradeshand Haryana.

6. Bhur: It represents aeolian deposits duringPleistocene in the middle Ganga - YamunaDoab.

Region-wise Division

a) Western Plains: These plains extend overRajasthan desert, Rann of Kuchchh anddrier parts of Punjab and Haryana, wherewind action predominates over water ac-tion. This area was under sea from Permo-Carboniferous to Pleistocene It is dottedwith salt Lakes, such as Sambhar, Didwana,Degana, Pachpadra, Kuchaman,etc. Dhrian(shifting sandiness), Raun (Playa Lakes),Rohi (fertile plains west of Aravallis) areimportant geomorphological features of thisplain.

b) Punjab - Haryana Plain: This plain is drainedby five important rivers namely. Jhelum,Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Satluj, and the Panj-doabs (Doabs - the land between two rivers)are the most important feature of this sec-tion, which are as follows:-

(a) Bist: (Jalandhar Doab) between Beasand Satluj

(b) Bari -between Beas and Ravi(c) Rachna - between Ravi and Chenab(d) Chaj -between Chenab and Jhelum(e) Sind Sagar - between Jhelum and Indus

The only river between the Yamuna andSatluj is the Ghaggar, which is considered tobe the present day successor of the legend-ary Saraswati river.The Khadar belt liable to flooding but agri-culturally important is known as 'Bets'. TheseKhadar belts are flanked by heavily gulliedbluffs locally known as 'Dhayas'. The north-ern part of this plain adjoining the Shiwalikshas been intensively eroded by numerousstreams called Chos.

c) Ganga Plain: This is the largest unit of theGreat plain of India stretching from Delhi toKolkata in the static of U.P., Bihar and West-Bengal. The general slope of the entire plainis east - and south - east. These plains canbe divided into following: distinct cultural -geographical divisions.

16

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


• Ganga - Yamuna Doab: It is the largestdoab between Ganga and Yamuna. TheBhangar uplands along the Yamuna andChambal courses have been broken intointricate maze of ravines and gulliesgiving rise to the badland topography.Bhabar plains, Terai, Bhangar, Khadarare striking features of this section. Khotsare intervening slopes between Bhangarand Khadar. Another unusual topo-graphic feature of the upper doab isBhur which is formed of aeolian depositsduring Pleistocene period.

• Rohilkhand Plains: To the east of Ganga-Yamuna doab it stretches from the foot-hills of Himalayas to the Ganga. Lyingentirely in U.P. it is drained by Ramganga,Gomati and Sarda rivers. The Bhabarand Terai plains are well developed inthe north. The general slope is towardssouth - east.

• Awadh Plains: The major portion oflowland north of the Ganga, gently slop-ing eastwards, comes within this physi-ographic region. Strips of Khadar andBhangar are very conspicuous in thissection; the Ghaghra is the master -stream traversing the whole length ofthe Awadh plains.

• Bihar Plains: After the end of Awadhplains in U.P., the next stretch of theGreat Plains in the Bihar Plains, whichis narrowed eastwards by the prolonga-tion of the Rajmahal hills. On the basisof differing Relief and river conditionsit can further be subdivided into twoparts.

North Bihar Plain - Lying north ofGanga and drained by it's tributariesGhaghra, Gandak, Kosi it slopes towardsthe south - east in the western part andsouth in the eastern part. A long live ofmarshes extends parallel to the Ganga;locally known as CHAURS. Some ofthem are deep enough to contain waterthroughout the years e.g. the Kabar Tal.

South Bihar Plain - lies west of Rajmahalhills and eastward side of southern bank

of Ganga occur vast depression knownas Jala near Patna and Tal hear Mokama.

• North Bengal Plains: Extending fromthe foot of the Eastern Himalaya to thenorthern limit of the Bengal basin it'seastern part is drained by the riversjoining the Brahmaputra and westernpart by the tributaries of the Ganga.Powerful streams like Tista, Jaldhakaand Torsa drain it. Its northern fringe,known as the western Dhar, is welldrained and is the ideal home of teaplantations. Farther south of Dhars liesthe Bhangar land of Barind plain, whichis the older delta of Ganga, formedduring the Pleistocene period and subse-quently up-warped and eroded into ter-races.

• Bengal Basin: It comprises of most of thealluvial plains of West Bengal and EastPakistan. The Ganga delta occupies themajor portion of the Bengal Basin. Thethickly forested Sunderbans in the southand the east Bhagirathi plains is thenorth, with its dead and dieing rivers,offer contracting features.

• Rarh Plain: Though it is not a part of thedelta proper, it is equally flat lowland tothe west of the Bhagirathi. The naturallevees of the Damodar and other riversof this area are characteristic feature.The prolonged weathering has given riseto Lateritic silks. Damodar River is ac-cused to be the sorrow of Bengal due toits devastating nature.

PENINSULAR PLATEAU REGION

It is roughly triangular in shape whose baselies in the north coinciding with the southernedge of the great plain and apex in south isformed by Kanyakumari. It is surrounded bythe hill ranges on all the three sides- to its northis the Aravali range, The Vindhyas, the Satpurathe Bharmer and the Rajmahal hills whileWestern Ghats (Sahyadris) and Eastern Ghatsforms its western and eastern boundaries re-spectively. It covers a total area of about 16 lakhsq km which is about half of the total land area


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

of the country, and thus it is the largest physi-ographic unit of India. The general slope of theplateau is from west to east with the exceptionof Narmada-Tapi rift which slopes westwards.Following are important plateau and hill rangesof the peninsular plateau -

1. Aravali range - extends in north - east tosouth - west direction for about 800 km fromDelhi to Ahmedabad. It is one of the world'soldest mountains formed as a Result offolding during Archaean era. The generalelevation is 400- 800 m; Mt. Abu (1158m)lies in this range. Guru Shikhar (1722m), thehighest peak, is situated in Mt Abu.

2. Marwar Upland - To the east of the AravaliRange also called upland of easternRajasthan. It is made up of sandstone, shalesand limestones of the Vindhyan Period.Banas river drains this region.

3. The Central Highland - lying to the east ofMarwar upland, also called Madhya BharatPathar. Most of it is thickly forested and inits northern part are the ravines or badlandsof the Chambal river.

4. Bundelkhand Upland - It lies betweenYamuna and Vindhyan scarpland. It iscarved only of granite, known in Indiangeology as 'Bundelkhand Gneiss'.

5. Malwa Plateau - It lies north of Vindhyanrange in M.P. it is composed of extensivelava flow and is covered with black soils. Itis drained by Chambal, Parbati, Sindh, Kali,Betwa and Mahi.

6. Baghelkhand- Lying east of Maikal range,it is made of limestone and sandstone on thewest and granite in the east. The central partof the plateau act as water divide betweenthe son drainage system in the north andMahanadi river system in the south. Thescarps of Vindhyan sandstone between theGanga plain and the Narmada - Son troughis the main physiographic element.

7. Chotanagpur Plateau - The north - easternprojection of the Indian Peninsula, east ofBaghelkhand, lies mostly in Jharkhand,northern part of Chhattisgarh and Puruliadistrict of West Bengal. It is composed mainly

of Gondwana Rocks with patches of Ar-chaean granite and gneisses and DeccanLavas. Pat lands (high level laterite plateau)are the highest points of this region. TheDamodar River flows through the middle ofthis region in a rift valley from west to eastwhere Gondwana Coal fields are found.

a) Hazaribagh Plateau - A Peneplain tothe north of Damodar River havingaverage elevation of 600m. Parasnath(1366m) denotes the highest hill. It ismade of granites and gneisses.

b) Ranchi Plateau - Lying south ofDamodar. Its average elevation is about600 m. Pats, Netarhat Pat (1119m), Gorurise (1142m) are the highest points.

c) Rajmahal Hills - forming the north -eastward edge of Chhotanagpur plateauare mostly made of basalt and are cov-ered by lava flows.

8. Meghalaya Plateau (Shillong Plateau) - Itis north-eastward extension of peninsularplateau which is separated from the mainblock by Garo Rajmahal Gap. It is largelyformed of Archaean quartzites, shales andschists with granite intersections. Garo(900m), Khasi - Jaintia (1500m) and Mikir(700m) are important hills lying in western,central and eastern parts of the plateaurespectively. Shillong (1961m) is the highestpoint.

9. Deccan Plateau - The largest unit of penin-sular plateau (5 lakh sq. km), it is a triangu-lar plateau bounded in north by Vindhyas, Satpura, Mahadev and Maikal ranges,Western Ghats in the west and EasternGhats in the east. Average elevation is about600m (more in south then north) and gen-eral slope in from west to east It is subdi-vided points.

a) Maharashtra Plateau: Looking like arolling plain, done to weathering, mostof the region in underlain by basalticrocks of lava origin. The horizontal lavasheets have led to the formation of typi-cal Deccan Trap. The entire area iscovered by black cotton soil known asRegur soil.

18

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


b) Karnataka Plateau (Mysore Plateau) -Made up primarily of Archaean rocks.The highest peak is at Mulangiri (1918m)in Baba budan Hills. Divided into twoparts -

i) Malnad - hilly region with denseforest.

ii) Maidan - rolling plain with low gran-ite hills.

iii) Telangana Plateau - In AndhraPradesh consists of ArchaeanGneisses, drained by Godavari,Krishna and Penneru.

10. Chhattisgarh Plain - A saucer shaped de-pression drained by the upper basin ofMahanadi, lying between Maikal range andOrissa hills. The basin is laid with nearlyhorizontal beds of limestone and shalesdeposited during the Cuddapah age.

11. Vindhyan Range - Acting as watershedbetween the Ganga system and the riversystems of south India, it is an escarpmentflanking the northern edge of Narmada -Son Trough. Most parts are composed ofsedimentary rocks. Western part is coveredwith lava.

12. Satpura Range - A series of seven moun-tains running in the east - west directionbetween Narmada and Tapi, have threedistinct parts -

a) Western part - locally known as Rajpiplahills and formed of basalt.

b) Central part - bordered on north byMahadev hills and on the south byGawligarh hills. Dhaupgarh is the high-est peak near Pachmarhi hill station.

c) Eastern part - is Maikal Plateau.

Eastern Ghats

The elevation of the Eastern Ghats is lowerthan that of the Western Ghats. They have anaverage height of 450 metres and rarely exceed1200 metres. To the southernmost part of theEastern Ghats are the low Sirumalai andKaranthamalai hills of southern Tamil Nadu. Tothe north of the Kaveri River are comparativelyhigher hills like Kollimalai, Pachaimalai, Shevroy

(Servaroyan), Kalrayan Hills, Chitteri, Palamalai,and Mettur hills. The higher hill ranges experi-ence a generally cooler and wetter type ofclimate than the surrounding plains. These hillsharbour many coffee plantations and dry for-ests. The hill station of Yercaud is located in theShevroy Hills.

In the Nilgiri Hills, which run east from theWestern Ghats to the Kaveri River, there is awooded ecological strip that connects the East-ern and Western Ghats. This region has thesecond-largest wild elephant population in In-dia. The Ponnaiyar and Palar rivers flowingthrough gaps in the Ghats drain into the Bay ofBengal. These two rivers are separated by theJavadi Hills. Some isolated areas have water-falls. The Kiliyur Falls is one of them .To thenorth of the Palar River in Andhra Pradesh, thecentral portion of the Eastern Ghats consist oftwo parallel ranges running approximatelynorth-south; the lower Velikonda range lies tothe east, and the higher Palikonda-Lankamalla-Nallamalla ranges lie to the west. The Velikondarange ultimately descends to the coastal plainsin the northern Nellore district, while theNallamalla Range continues to the KrishnaRiver.

The Krishna and the Godavari are separatedby a range of low hills. To the north of theGodavari river the Eastern Ghats record anabrupt increase in height, acting as the bound-ary between Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. Theregion possesses fertile soil. The Eastern Ghatsare elder than the Western Ghats. The historyof its origin is much complicated and takes offfrom the congregation and fragmentation of theancient supercontinent of Rodinia and the as-sembly of the Gondwana supercontinent.

A chain of highly broken and detached hillsstarting from Mahanadi in Orissa to the VagaiRiver in Tamilnadu is known as Eastern Ghats.The Eastern Ghats are a series of discontinuouslow ranges along the Bay of Bengal coast run-ning from the Mahanadi river valley for about500 metres up to the Nilgiris in the south andforms the eastern edge of the dissected Deccanplateau .The Eastern Ghats start from the stateof West Bengal in the north and culminates in


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

the state of Tamil Nadu in the south. On theway they cover the states of Orissa and AndhraPradesh. They are swept by the four chief riversof southern India, the Godavari, Mahanadi,Krishna, and Kaveri. The Eastern Ghats are cutinto various discontinuous hills by these rivers.They are separated from the Bay of Bengal bythe coastal plains.

Characteristics of Eastern Ghats:

Eastern Ghats are older than Western Ghats.The elevation of Eastern Ghats is lower than theWestern Ghats. It covers a total area of around75,000 sq. km. Sirumalai and Karanthamalaihills of Tamil Nadu lies in the southern mostpart of the Eastern Ghats. North of Kaveri Riveris higher Kollimalai, Pachaimalai, Shevroy,Kalrayan Hills, Palamalai and Mettur hills innorth Tamil Nadu.

One of the biggest characteristics of EasternGhats lies in its being extremely fertile. In fact,the Ghat is said to be the watershed of manyrivers as the Ghat gets higher average waterfall.Due to higher rainfall, the fertile land resultsinto better crops. Often referred as "Estuaries ofIndia", Eastern Ghats gift its inhabitant thepopular profession of fisheries as its coastal areais full of fishing opportunity. Like WesternGhats, thus, Eastern Ghats also carry a heap ofecological importance.

(a) Northern section -

1. Between Mahanadi and Godavari, onlyin this part it exhibits the true mountain-eer character.

2. Composed of khondalites & Charnokites,it is locally known as Maliyas.

(b) Southern Section -

1. Dissected due to large numbers of rivers.2. Biligiri Rangan Hills are famous for San-

dalwood and Teak forests.3. Malagiri range is famous for Sandal-

wood and other valuable timbers.4. Shevroy hills and Javadi hills are com-

posed of Charnokite rocks.5. Nallamalla range in the most prominent

range of this section whose southernpart, the Palkonda range is higher.

6. The Nilgiri (Blue mountain) - It is thenodal point of three mountain systems-The Western Ghats, The Eastern Ghatsand the southern hills. They are com-posed of strong Charnokites. Doda Beta(2637m), Makurti (2554m) and WambadiShola (2470 m) are three highest peaks.This belt is famous for rubber, tea andcoffee plantation. Ooty, the most popu-lar hill-station in South India is locatedin a broad undulating valley at the footof Doda Beta.

Eastern Ghats Flora and Fauna:

The diversified ecological niches and envi-ronmental situation provide habitat for richfauna. Eastern Ghats is home to largest numberof Asiatic elephants in the world. Other largeanimals such as Nilgiri Tahr, Leopards, Gaurs,Sambar, and tigers abound the landscape. Apartfrom this, these Ghats are known for the widevariety of bird species. Eastern Ghats also holdsthe rich floral system. It is region where youmay find large number of medicinal plants.

Eastern Ghats Tribal Population:

The land is also occupied by quite a fewtribes which include Savara, Jatapu, KondaDora, Gadaba, Khond, etc. These indigenouspeople have their own unique cultural heritage.These people follow the age old customs andtraditions. They are still dependent on the forestproduce and hunting for their livelihood. Thesetribes have good knowledge about the regionand its produce and thereby make a good useof its medicinal plants.

Western Ghats

The Western Ghats along the western coastof India separates the Deccan Plateau from anarrow coastal strip along the Arabian Sea. Therange starts from the southern part of the TapiRiver near the border area of Gujarat andMaharashtra. It covers a length of around 1600km running through the states of Maharashtra,Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala finallyculminating at Kanyakumari, in the southern-most tip of the peninsula.

20

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


Mountains, Gaps and Passes

The Western Ghats have an average eleva-tion of 1200 metres. However, in certain placesthey rise abruptly to a height of over 2440metres. The Western Ghats of Maharashtra,extending from the Satpura Range to the north,travels south past Goa to Karnataka. The chiefhill range of the segment is the Sahyadri range.Here we have two high peaks, Kalsubai, havinga height of 1646 metres and Salher having aheight of 1567 metres.

The Western Ghats are home to a number ofgaps and passes, notable among them being theThal Ghat and the Bhor Ghat. They link theinterior of the Deccan with Mumbai. The south-ern part of the Western Ghats harbour theNilgiri which serve as the meeting point o theWestern and Eastern Ghats. The Nilgiris showa steep rise from the plains and enclose betweenthem the Karnataka Plateau. The Nilgiri Hillsare home to two of the highest peaks of theWestern Ghats: Dodabeta (2637 m) and Makurti(2554 m). To the south of the Nilgiri Hills islocated the Palghat gap, extending from the eastto the west of the Ghats. With a width of 24 km,the Palghat gap is an easy passageway acrossthe Western Ghats. To the south of the Nilgirisare the Annamalai, Cardamom and Palni hills.The Anaimudi is the highest peak in PeninsularIndia. It is situated in the Annamalai hills andhas a height of 2695 metres.

The narrow coastal plain between the West-ern Ghats and the Arabian Sea is known as theKonkan Coast in the north and the MalabarCoast in the south. The largest city amidst thesemountains is Pune.

Climate and Rainfall

The lower parts of the Western Ghats recordhumid and tropical type of climate. The el-evated regions (1,500 m and above in the northand 2,000 m and above in the south) have amore temperate climate. Mean temperaturevaries from 24°C in the north to 20°C in thesouth. In the Western Ghats the climate islargely modified by the winds as they play a

major role in the seasonal cycle. In summer theyare responsible for ushering the monsoons whilein the winter these winds provide a soothingeffect. During the monsoon season betweenJune and September, the path of the heavy,eastward-moving rain-bearing clouds is inter-cepted by the Western Ghats. This results inmore rain on the windward side, an average ofabout 3,000 to 4,000 mm with occasional ex-tremes of 9,000 mm. On the other hand theeastern region of the Western Ghats, which isthe rain-shadow region, records a meagre aver-age of 1000 mm. The Coromandel Coast falls inthe rain shadow of the Western Ghats, andreceives a good deal less rainfall during thesummer southwest monsoon, which contributesheavily to rainfall in the rest of India.

Significance of peninsular plateau: Penin-sular area is the oldest and the most stablelandmass of the Indian sub continent. It con-tains rich variety of minerals which occur inlarge quantities as copper, mica, iron; coal etc.a large part of North West plateau is coveredwith fertile black soil that is useful for growingcotton. Some other areas are suitable for culti-vation of tea, coffee, rubber, millets, spices etc.the rivers originating in Western Ghats offergreat opportunity for developing hydroelectric-ity and provide irrigation facilities to the agri-cultural crops.

COASTAL PLAINS

The plateau is flanked by coastal plains ofvaried width extending from Kutch to Orissa.There are striking difference between the east-ern and the western coastal plains; with notableexception of Gujarat the west coast has narrowalluvial margin interspersed by hilly terrain .Ithas indentation except in the south where thebeautiful Lagoons introduce an element of di-versity. The eastern coast on the other hand hasa wide plain with well developed deltas of themajor rivers. The climatic transition betweenthe south west monsoon regime of the northand the north -east monsoon regime of thesouth has given rise to interesting differences inthe alluvial features in the two different stretchesof the east coastal plain.


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

Eastern Coastal Plains

The eastern coastal plains are located on awide stretch of land between the Eastern Ghatsof India and the Bay of Bengal. This stretch ofland stretches to 120 km in width at parts. Theeastern coastal plains extend from Tamil Naduin the south to West Bengal in the north. Theeastern coastal plains have rivers draining intothem and river deltas also occupy the valleys.

The region of the eastern coastal plains is anexpansive area and is divided into six regions.The six regions of the eastern coastal plains ofIndia are the Mahanadi Delta, the SouthernAndhra Pradesh Plain, the Krishna Godavarideltas, the Kanyakumari Coast, the Coroman-del and the Sandy Coastal regions.

Deltas of many of India's rivers form a majorportion of these plains. The Mahanadi, Godavari,Kaveri and Krishna rivers drain these plains.The region receives both the Northeast andSouthwest monsoon rains with its annual rain-fall averaging between 1,000 mm and 3,000mm. The width of the plains varies from 100 to130 km. It is locally known as Northern Circarsbetween Mahanadi and Krishna rivers andCarnatic between Krishna and Kaveri rivers.

The eastern coastal plains are characterizedby a temperature that exceeds 30 degrees Cel-sius and also experiences high levels of humid-ity. The rainfall of the region is also abundantin the region with rainfall amounts in excess of1000mm annually with the amount usuallyapproaching 3000mm. It is also of note that thisregion of the eastern coastal plains is subject toboth northeast and southwest monsoon rainswhen these storms are in season.

It has three broad divisions:-

(i) Utkal Plains: - It is the coastal track ofOrissa including Mahanadi delta. Mostprominent feature is Chilka Lake whichis the largest lake in India.

(ii) Andhra Plains: - It extends from UtkalPlains in the North of the Pulicat Lake insouth (Sriharikota Island is in this lake).Its most important feature is the deltaformation of River Godavari and RiverKaveri. It also has Lakana Lake.

(iii) Tamil Nadu Plains: - It extends fromPulicat Lake to Kanyakumari. Mostimportant feature is Kaveri delta whosefertile soil and irrigation facilities make ita granary of South India where rice is themajor crop.

Its characteristics are-

1. Wider and drier (receives less rainfall) thanthe west coast plain.

2. Contains shifting sand-dunes and stretchesof saline soil.

3. Deficient in rainfall.4. In Madras and Andhra Pradesh, it is called

PYAN GHAT.5. Pulicat Lake near Madras, is a typical

lagoon which is now separated from the seaby the Sriharikota island (an old beachridge).

6. Chilka Lake, Lying south of Mahanadi delta,originated due to the formation of a bay-mouth bar. Two river, Bhargavi and Daya,drain into the Lake, making the water sweetin the rainy season.

Western Coastal Plains

The Western Coastal Plains is a thin strip ofcoastal plain 50 kilometres (31 miles) in widthbetween the west coast of India and the West-ern Ghats hills. The plains begin at Gujarat inthe north and end at Kerala in the south. It alsoincludes the states of Maharashtra, Goa andKarnataka. The western coastal plain of Indiain contrast to the eastern coastal plain is locatedon a narrow strip of land. They extend fromGujarat in the north down 50 km to the southin Kerala and are characterized by numerousbackwaters and rivers that flow into the region.These rivers that flow into the region lead to theforming of estuaries that are found in thewestern coastal plains of India. The westerncoastal plains are smaller than their easterncounterpart and the region is divided into threeparts. The western coastal plains are dividedinto the regions of Konkan, Kanara, and theMalabar Coast.

22

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


Some important facts

North Circars: Between the Mahanadi andthe Krishna River.

Carnatic: Between the Krishna and theCauvery river

Coromandel: Between the Cauvery riverand Kanyakumari.

Sub-divisions of the Coastal Plains:

(i) Kutch Peninsula -

1. It was an island surrounded by seas andLagoons, Later it became a part of main-land and developed as a broad plain bythe sediments deposited by Indus riversystem.

2. It is made of tertiary rock system.3. Due to the scarcity of rain and flowing

surface water it has been developed asarid and semi-arid Landscape and, thus,the work of wind is predominant.

(ii) Kathiawar Peninsula -

1. It is made of Deccan Lava.2. In central part, Mandav hills lies from

which small streams radiates in all direc-tion.

3. Mt. Girnar, (of volcanic origin) is thehighest point.

4. The Gir range having dense forest andfamous as the home of Gir lion, is locatedin the southern part.

5. Most of hills like Osem hills, Barda hills,etc. are of volcanic origin.

(iii) Gujarat Plain -1. Lying east of Kathiawar; slopes west-

wards.2. The eastern part is made of alluvium and

in fertile enough to support agriculturewhile western part is mostly covered bywind blown loess which after weather-ing has given rise to semi-arid Land-scape.

(iv) Konkan Plain -1. Lies south of Gujarat plain; stretches

from Daman to Goa.2. It is characterised by cliffs of basaltic

rocks.

3. The submerged forests near the Bombaycity suggest that the sea level rose on theKonkan coast in the past.

(v) Karnataka Coastal Plains -

1. Stretches from Goa to Mangalore.2. Maximum width is found near

Mangalore.3. Sharavati is the chief river, which makes

Gersoppa (Jog) falls before entering theplain.

(vi) Kerala Plain (Malabar Plain) -

1. Stretches from Mangalore toKanyakumari.

2. Much wider & less hilly than Karnatakaplain and other plain.

3. Presence of Lakes, Lagoons, Backwaters,spits etc. is a significant characteristic ofKerala coast.

4. Rivers are short and many of them dryup in summer.

Significance of coastal plains

Large parts of the coastal plains of India arecovered by fertile soils on which different cropsare grown. Rice is the main crop of these areas.Coconut trees grow along the coast. About 98%of the trade is carried out by the ports. Lowlying areas of Gujarat are famous for producingsalt whereas fishing is the main occupation ofthe people living in coastal areas.

THE INDIAN ISLANDS

Apart from the large number of islands inthe near proximity of the Indian coast, there aretwo main groups of islands in the Indian Oceanfar away from the coast. One of them is theAndaman and Nicobar Archipelago in the Bayof Bengal and the other is a group of tiny islandsknown as the Lakshadweep Islands in ArabianSea. These islands have gained much impor-tance and their study has become almost indis-pensable in view of the increasing interest ofsuper powers in the geopolitics of the IndianOcean.

The Andaman and Nicobar group of islandsform and arcuate chain, convex to the west,extending from 6° 45′ – 13° 45′ N and 92° 10′


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

– 94° 15′ E for a distance of about 590 km witha maximum width of about 58 km. This archi-pelago is composed of 265 big and small islandscovering a cumulative area of about 8249 sq km.The entire chain consists of two distinct groupsof islands. The Great Andaman group of islandsin the north is separated by the north is sepa-rated by the Ten Degree Channel from theNicobar group in the south. The Andaman is aclosely knit group of about 203 islands. It is 260km long and 30 km wide with a total area of6596 sq km. This group of islands is divided intothree major groups viz. North Andaman, MiddleAndaman and South Andaman. Little Andamanis separated from the Great Anadmans by 50km wide Duncan Passage.

The Nicobar group of islands consists of 7big and 12 small islands together with severaltiny islands. They are scattered over a length of262 km with maximum width of 58 km coveringan area of 1,653 sq km. The Great Nicobar, asits name suggests, is the largest island measur-ing 50 × 25 km. It is the southernmost island andis only 147 km away from Sumatra island ofIndonesia.

Most of these islands are made of tertiarysandstone, limestone and shale resting on basicand ultrabasic volcanoes. The Barren and

Narcondam islands, north of Port Blair, arevolcanic islands. Some of the islands are fringedwith coral reefs. Many of them are covered withthick forests and some are highly dissected.Most of the islands are mountainous and reachconsiderable heights. Saddle peak (737 m) inNorth Andaman is the highest peak.

The Lakshadweep Islands in the ArabianSea, though literally mean one lakh islands isonly a group of 25 small islands. They arewidely scattered over and area of 108.78 sq kmsextending from 8° – 12° 20′ N – 71° 45′ 74° Eabout 200-500 km south-west of the Keralacoast. The islands north of 110 N are known asAmendivi Islands while those south of thislatitude are called Cannanore Islands. In theextreme south is the Minicoy island. All are tinyislands of coral origin and are surrounded byfringing reefs. The largest and the most ad-vanced is the Minicoy island with and are of4.53 sq km. Betra has and area of only 0.12 sqkm. Most of the islands have low elevation anddo not rise more than five metre above sea level.Their topography is flat and relief features suchas hills, streams, valleys, etc. are conspicuous bytheir absence. Shallow lagoons are seen theirwestern side, while on the eastern seaboard theslopes are steeper. ��

24

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


CLIMATE OF INDIA

India is a land of contrast of relief andclimate. Geographically India is a peninsular extension of the great Eurasian land-

mass. Climatologically India comes in tropical,sub tropic and temperate regimes.

India is basically a tropical country althoughits northern part is situated in the temperatebelt. In the south, the Indian coasts are washedby the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengalbranches of the Indian Ocean which give it atypical tropical monsoon climate.

FACTORS DETERMINING THE CLIMATEOF INDIA

1. Location and Latitudinal Extent: The Tropicof Cancer passes through the central part ofIndia in east-west direction. Thus, northernpart of India lies in sub-tropical and temper-ate zone and the southern part falls in thetropical zone. The tropical zone being nearerto the equator, experiences high tempera-tures throughout the year with small dailyand annual range. Area north to the Tropicof Cancer being away from the equator,experiences extreme climate with high dailyand annual range of temperature.

2. Distance from the Sea: Arabian Sea andBay of Bengal surround the Indian penin-sula and make climatic conditions mild alongthe coastal areas. Areas in the interior ofIndia are far away from the moderatinginfluence of the sea thus having extremes ofclimate. That is why the annual range oftemperature at Kochi does not exceed 3°Cwhereas it is as high as 20°C at Delhi.

3. The Himalayas: The Himalayan Rangesprotect India from the bitterly cold and dry

winds of Central Asia during winter.Further, these ranges act as an effectivephysical barrier for rain-bearing south-westmonsoon winds to cross the northern fron-tiers of India. Thus, the Himalayas act as aclimatic divide between the Indian Sub-continent and Central Asia.

4. Physiography: Physical map of India is veryclosely related to the climatic conditions ofthe country. Places located at higher altitudehave cool climate even though they arelocated in the southern India, i.e., Ooty.Similarly, though Agra and Darjeeling arelocated on the same latitude, the tempera-ture of Agra in January is 16°C whereas itis only 4°C in Darjeeling. The physiographyof India also affects the direction and speedof wind and the amount and distribution ofrainfall. The windward sides of the WesternGhats and Assam receive high rainfall dur-ing June-September whereas the southernplateau remains dry due to its leewardsituation along the Western Ghats. It is dueto physiography that the funnel shapedCherrapunji valley is the wettest place onEarth.

5. Monsoon Winds: The most dominating fac-tor of the Indian climate is the 'Monsoonwinds' as a result of which it is often calledthe Monsoon Climate. The south-west sum-mer monsoons from the Arabian sea and theBay of Bengal bring rainfall to the entirecountry. The north-eastern winter monsoonstravel from land to sea and do not causemuch rainfall except along the Coromandelcoast after getting moisture from the Bay of

2


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

Bengal.

6. Upper Air Circulations: The changes in theupper air circulation over Indian landmassinfluence the climate of India to a greatextent.

(i) Westerly Jet Stream: All of Westernand Central Asia remains under the

influence of westerly winds along thealtitude of 9-13 km from west to east.These are known as Jet Streams. Tibetanhighlands act as a barrier in the path ofthese jet streams. As a result, jet streamsget bifurcated. One of its branches blowsto the north of the Tibetan highlands,while the southern branch blows in aneastward direction, south of theHimalayas. It is believed that this south-ern branch of the jet stream exercises animportant influence on the winterweather in India as they bring westerndisturbances from the Mediterraneanregion to India.

(ii) Easterly Jet: Reversal in upper air circu-lation takes place in summer due to theapparent shift of the sun's vertical raysin the northern hemisphere. The west-erly jet is replaced by the easterly jetstream which owes its origin to theheating of the Tibetan plateau. This leadsto the development of an easterly cold jetstream centered around 15°N latitudeand blowing over peninsular India. Thishelps in the sudden onset of the south-west monsoons.

The easterly jet stream steers the tropicaldepressions into India. These depressions playa significant role in the distribution of monsoonrainfall over the Indian subcontinent.

7. Tropical Cyclones: Tropical cyclones origi-nate over the Bay of Bengal and the Indianocean. These tropical cyclones have veryhigh wind velocity and heavy rainfall andhit the Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh andOrissa coast. Most of these cyclones are verydestructive due to high wind velocity andtorrential rain.

8. Western Disturbance: The western distur-bances, which enter the Indian subcontinentfrom the west and the northwest during thewinter months, originate over the Mediter-ranean Sea and are brought into India bythe westerly jet stream. They influence thewinter weather conditions over most of theNorthern plains and Western Himalayanregion.

26

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


9. El-Nino Effect: El-Nino is a narrow warmcurrent which occasionally replaces the coldPeru current. This is responsible for widespread floods and droughts in the tropicalregions of the world. It is believed that thesevere drought of 1987 in India was causedby El-Nino.

10. La Nina: The returning of the weatherconditions to normal after an El-Nino iscalled La Nina. The presence of La Nina isthe harbinger of heavy monsoon showers inIndia.

INDIAN MONSOON

Monsoon comes from an Arabic word'MAUSAM' which means season. Thus mon-soon are seasonal winds which reverse theirdirection of flow with the change of season.They flow from sea to land during the summerand from land to sea during winter.

The theories regarding the monsoons aregenerally divided into following two broadcategories:

1. Classical theory: Halley explainedthe monsoon as resulting fromthermal contrasts between conti-nents and oceans due to their dif-ferential heating.In summer the sun shines verti-cally over the tropic of cancer re-sulting in high temperature andlow pressure in central Asia whilethe pressure is still sufficiently highover Arabian Sea and Bay of Ben-gal. This induces air flow from seato land and brings heavy rainfall toIndia and her neighbouring coun-tries.In winter the sun shines verticallyover the tropic of Capricorn. Thenorth western part of India growscolder than Arabian Sea and Bayof Bengal and the flow of themonsoon is reversed.It was lacking in the physical in-gredient of the effect of rotation ofthe earth.

2. Modern theory:

a) Role of ITCZ; according of FEOHNmonsoon is only the normal seasonalmigration of planetary winds followingthe sun. According to him the existenceof Asian monsoon is not due to contrastbetween land and sea but mainly due tothe annual migration of thermally pro-duced planetary winds and pressurebelts under continental influence. Thesoutheast trade winds of the southernhemisphere cross the equator and startflowing from southwest to northeastdirection under the effect of Coriolisforce. These displaced trade winds arecalled south west monsoon and bringmonsoon to the region.

b) Role of jet streams; M.T.Yin had giventhis concept stating that the burst ofmonsoon depends upon the upper aircirculation. Two prominent jet streamseffect the monsoon winds

• The sub tropical westerly jet stream, thisjet stream dominates in winter time in


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

upper troposphere circulation of thenorthern latitudes. It has a global extentbetween latitudes 25-32 ° N and can belocated over south Asia at an elevationof about 12 km. the jet stream is splitowing to the 0presence of Himalayanmountain system in its path.

The winds tend to descend over north-western part of India resulting in atmo-spheric stability.

• Equatorial easterly jet stream, this jet isa prominent feature of the upper aircirculation during the Indian monsoonseason appearing as a band of strongeasterlies extending from south East Asiaacross the Indian Ocean and Africa tothe Atlantic.

The western and eastern jet streamsflow in the north and south of theHimalayas respectively. The eastern jetbecomes powerful and stationed andthis results in more active south westmonsoon.

c) Role of Tibetan plateau, the Tibetan pla-teau is located more than 4500 km above sealevel with a length of 2000 km and with awidth of 600 km in the west and 1000 in theeast.

This plateau is considered to be one of thekey factors in the development of monsoon.The Tibetan plateau exerts its influence as amechanical barrier as well as high heatplateau. An anticyclone appears in uppertroposphere due to latent heating over theTibetan plateau. It generates an area ofrising air, during its ascent the air spreadsoutwards and gradually sinks over the equa-torial part of the Indian Ocean. It picks upmoisture from the Indian Ocean and causesrainfall in India and adjoining countries.

Characteristics of Monsoonal Rainfall

(i) Rainfall from the southwest monsoonsis seasonal in character, which occursbetween June and September.

(ii) Monsoonal rainfall is largely governedby relief or topography. For instancethe windward side of the WesternGhats registers a rainfall of over 250cm. The heavy rainfall in the north-eastern states can be attributed to theirhill ranges and the Eastern Himalayas.

(iii) The monsoon rainfall has a decliningtrend with increasing distance fromthe sea. Kolkata receives 119 cm dur-ing the southwest monsoon period,

28

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


Patna 105 cm, Allahabad 76 cm, Delhi56 cm and Bikaner 24 cm.

(iv) The monsoon rains are characterizedby 'Breaks'. These breaks in rainfall arerelated to the cyclonic depressionsformed at the head of the Bay ofBengal, and their crossing into themainland. The frequency of such de-pressions is 2 to 4 per months, fromJune to September. Besides the fre-quency and intensity of these depres-sions, the passage followed by themdetermines the spatial distribution ofrainfall.

(v) The summer rainfall comes in a heavydownpour leading to considerable runoff and soil erosion.

(vi) Monsoon is the pivot of the agrarianeconomy of India because over three-fourths of the total rain in the countryis received during the southwest mon-soon season.

(vii) Its spatial distribution is quite unevenranging from 12 cm in westernRajasthan to more than 400 cm inMeghalaya.

(viii) The beginning of the rains sometimesis considerably delayed over the wholeor a part of the country. The rainssometimes end considerably earlier thanusual, causing great damage to stand-ing crops and making the sowing ofwinter crops difficult. This is whymonsoons are extremely unpredictiveand uncertain.

Rainfall Distribution

1. Areas of very high rainfall (annual rainfallof 200cm and above)These include the west coast fromThiruvananthapuram in the South toMumbai in the North (Avg. annual rainfall200 - 400 cm). Almost the whole of Assam,Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, ArunachalPradesh, Sikkim, parts of Manipur, Tripuraand northeastern tip of West Bengal alsoreceive 200cm or more, with isolatedpockets receiving over 400 cm. Meghalaya

(The abode of clouds) is the wettest part ofthe country with Mawsynram andCherrapunji getting 1221cm and 1102 cm ofannual rainfall respectively.

2. Areas of High rainfall (100-200cm annualrainfall)These include eastern slopes of theWestern Ghats, major part of the northernplain, Orissa, M.P. Andhra Pradesh, andTamil Nadu.

3. Areas of Low rainfall (50 - 100 cm annualrainfall)

Include large parts of Gujarat, Maharashtra,Western M.P., Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,eastern Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana andparts of Uttar Pradesh.

4. Areas of very Low rainfall (Less than 50cm of annual rainfall)

These are desert and semi-deserts areas.They include large parts of WesternRajasthan, Kuchchh, and most of Ladakhregion of Jammu and Kashmir.

WESTERN DISTURBANCES

With the southward shift of the polar frontin winter, the tracks of middle latitude cyclonespass across the northern portion of the Indiansubcontinent during the period October to June.In the other months the tracks shift far to poleward and do not usually affect the Indianregion.

The temperate cyclones originates in west-ern Asia and Mediterranean Sea and reach theIndian area in the course of their eastwardpassage from west India and refer to as westerndisturbances. These western disturbances causes

� Snowfall in higher reaches of Himalayas� Rainfall in north west plains which are

beneficial for rabi crop� The sudden cold wave that decreases

the temperature of that area and hailalso takes place.

LOCAL WINDS

During summers the atmospheric pressure islow all over the country. In the months of May


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

and June high temperature in North West Indiabuilds up steep pressure gradient and undersuch conditions dust laden and strong windsblows.

a) LOO: it is hot dust laden winds that usuallystarts in the morning and reaches its peakat afternoon. This increases the temperatureof the area and causes high humidity.

b) AANDHIS: these are basically thunder-storms which move like a solid wall of dustand sand. The winds velocity is high and

visibility reduces to few meters only. Suchdust storms are common in Rajasthan,Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh etc.

In West Bengal and adjoining areas ofJharkhand, Orissa the direction of storm ismainly from the North West and are calledNORWESTERS.

c) KAL BAISAKHIS: these are violent stormscauses heavy damage to standing crops,livestock and human beings. Maximum oc-curs in month of March and April.

��

30

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


WATER RESOURCES ANDDRAINAGE PATTERN

Water is essential for human civilization, living organisms, and naturalhabitat. It is used for drinking, clean-

ing, agriculture, transportation, industry, recre-ation, and animal husbandry, producing elec-tricity for domestic, industrial and commercialuse. Due to its multiple benefits and theproblems created by its excesses, shortages andquality deterioration, water as a resource re-quires special attention.

WATER RESOURCES OF INDIA

Rivers, estuaries, groundwater and otherwater bodies constitute the water resource ofIndia.

Water resources of a country constitute oneof its vital assets. India receives annual precipi-tation of about 4000 km3 .The rainfall in Indiashows very high spatial and temporal variabil-ity and paradox of the situation is thatMousinram near Cherrapunji, which receivesthe highest rainfall in the world, also suffersfrom a shortage of water during the non-rainyseason, almost every year. The total averageannual flow per year for the Indian rivers isestimated as 1953 km3 .The total annualreplenishable groundwater resources are as-sessed as 432 km3 .

The annual utilizable surface water andgroundwater resources of India are estimated as690 km3 and 396 km3 per year, respectively.With rapid growing population and improvingliving standards the pressure on our waterresources is increasing and per capita availabil-ity of water resources is reducing day by day.Due to spatial and temporal variability in pre-cipitation the country faces the problem of flood

and drought syndrome. Overexploitation ofgroundwater is leading to reduction of lowflows in the rivers, declining of the groundwaterresources, and salt water intrusion in aquifersof the coastal areas. Over canal-irrigation insome of the command areas has resulted inwater logging and salinity. The quality of sur-face and groundwater resources is also deterio-rating because of increasing pollutant loadsfrom point and non-point sources. The climatechange is expected to affect precipitation andwater availability.

India is gifted with a river system compris-ing more than 20 major rivers with severaltributaries. Many of these rivers are perennialand some of these are seasonal. The rivers likeGanges, Brahmaputra and Indus originate fromthe Himalayas and carry water throughout theyear. The snow and ice melt of the Himalayasand the base flow contribute the flows duringthe lean season. More than 50% of waterresources of India are located in various tribu-taries of these river systems. Average wateryield per unit area of the Himalayan rivers isalmost double that of the south peninsularrivers system, indicating the importance of snowand glacier melt contribution from the highmountains.

Apart from the water available in the vari-ous rivers of the country, the groundwater isalso an important source of water for drinking,irrigation, industrial uses, etc. It accounts forabout 80% of domestic water requirement andmore than 45% of the total irrigation in thecountry. As per the international norms, if per-capita water availability is less than 1700 m3 peryear then the country is categorized as waterstressed and if it is less than 1000 m3 per capita

3


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

per year then the country is classified as waterscarce.

WATER CONSERVATION

Our country being a monsoon land is havinga short period of about three to four months ofrainfall. Thus, water conservation in India ismust to complete the scarce surface watersupply for the greater part of the year. Thisprocess of water conservation in our country isdone because of less water resources whichinclude rainy, ground, sea, pond and riverwater in it. Thus, to improve and to make betterwater facilities for water supply, governmentissued numerous of soil and water conservationplans for it.

Groundwater and Surface watermanagement

To protect the aquifers from overexploitation,an effective groundwater management policyoriented towards promotion of efficiency, eq-uity and sustainability is required.

Agricultural holdings in India are highlyfragmented and the rural population density islarge. The exploitation of groundwater resourcesshould be regulated so as not to exceed therecharging possibilities, as well as to ensuresocial equity. The detrimental environmentalconsequences of over-exploitation of ground-water need to be effectively prevented by theCentral and State Governments.Overexploitation of groundwater should beavoided, especially near the coasts to preventingress of seawater into freshwater aquifers.Clearly, a joint management approach combin-ing government administration with activepeople participation is a promising solution. Incritically overexploited areas, bore-well drillingshould be regulated till the water table attainsthe desired elevation. Artificial recharge mea-sures need to be urgently implemented in theseareas. Amongst the various recharge techniques,percolation tanks are least expensive in terms ofinitial construction costs. Many such tanks al-ready exist but a vast majority of these struc-tures have silted up. In such cases, cleaning ofthe bed of the tank will make them reusable.

Promotion of participatory action in rehabilitat-ing tanks for recharging would go a long wayin augmenting groundwater supply. Due todeclining water table, the cost of extraction ofgroundwater has been increasing over time andwells often go dry. This posses serious financialburden on farmers. Hence, special programmesneed to be designed to support these farmers.Finally, the role of government will have toswitch from that of a controller of groundwaterdevelopment to that of a facilitator of equitableand sustainable development.

Large canal infrastructure network for pro-viding irrigation has been the prime goal of theGovernment of India, since the first five-yearplan, which continued up to seventh five-yearplan. In some of the irrigation project com-mands such as Sarda Sahayak in UP, Gandakin Bihar, Chambal in Rajasthan, NagarjunaSagar in Andhra Pradesh, Ghataprabha andMalaprabha in Karnataka etc , problems ofwater logging are being faced. The main reasonfor excessive use of surface water as comparedto groundwater is it's much lower price forirrigation as compared to the cost incurred inusing groundwater. Water logging problemscould be overcome if conjunctive use of surfaceand groundwater is made. Groundwater utili-zation for irrigation in waterlogged areas canhelp to lower the groundwater table and re-claim the affected soil. Over exploitation ofgroundwater in areas like Mehsana, in Gujarat;parts of Meeurt and Varanasi districts in UttarPradesh, Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and Karnaldistrict in Haryana etc. have resulted in miningof groundwater. Many research workers havefocused the causes of water logging. Severalgroundwater flow modelling studies have fo-cused on assessing the waterlogged areas andmeasures to control problems of water loggingand salinization

It is desirable that the irrigation needs forfulfilling crop water requirements should besatisfied by judicious judicious utilization ofavailable canal water in conjunction withgroundwater so as to keep the water tablewithin the acceptable range.

Thus, the optimal conjunctive use of theregion's surface and groundwater resources

32

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


would help in minimizing the problems ofwater logging and groundwater mining.

Rain water harvesting

Rainwater harvesting is the process to cap-ture and store rainfall for its efficient utilizationand conservation to control its runoff, evapora-tion and seepage. Some of the benefits ofrainwater harvesting are:

• It increases water availability• It checks the declining water table• It is environmentally friendly• It improves the quality of groundwater

through dilution, mainly of fluoride, ni-trate, and salinity, and

• It prevents soil erosion and flooding,especially in the urban areas.

Recycle and reuse of water

Another way through which we can im-prove freshwater availability is by recycle andreuse of water. It is said that in the city ofFrankfurt, Germany, every drop of water isrecycled eight times. Use of water of lesserquality, such as reclaimed wastewater, for cool-ing and fire fighting is an attractive option forlarge and complex industries to reduce theirwater costs, increase production and decreasethe consumption of energy. This conserves bet-ter quality waters for potable uses. Currently,recycling of water is not practiced on a largescale in India and there is considerable scopeand incentive to use this alternative

Drip irrigation

Drip irrigation consists of a network ofporous or perforated piping, usually installedon the surface or below ground, which deliverswater directly to the root zones of the crops.These techniques keep evaporation losses at avery low level (about 5%). Hence, this systemcuts water use upto 60% as compared withgravity systems.

LEPA

The LEPA method delivers water to thecrops from drop tubes that extend from the

sprinkler's arm. When applied with appropriatewater saving techniques, this method also canachieve efficiencies as high as 95%. Since thismethod operates at low pressure, energy costsare reduced by 20 percent to 5 percent com-pared with conventional systems.

DRAINAGE SYSTEMS OF INDIA

India is blessed with hundreds of large andsmall rivers, which drain the length and breadthof the country. The annual yield of water in therivers of the country is 18, 58,100 million cubicmeters, 1/3rd (33.8%) of which is contributedby the Brahmaputra followed by the Ganga(25.2%), the Godavari (6.4%), the Indus (4.3%),the Mahanadi (3.6%), the Krishna (3.4%), andthe Narmada (2.9%).

On the basis of the origin of rivers, theIndian drainage system can broadly be di-vided into–

(1) The Himalayan river system including Indus,Brahmaputra, Ganga and their tributaries,and

(2) The Peninsular river system which includeMahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery,Narmada, Tapi and their tributaries.

Similarly on the basis of orientation to thesea, the Indian drainage system can be di-vided into -

(A) The Bay of Bengal drainage(B) The Arabian sea drainage.

About 77% of the drainage area of thecountry is oriented towards the Bay is Bengaland it consists of large numbers of rivers likeGanga, Brahmaputra, Mahanadi, Godavari,Krishna, Cauvery, Penneru, Vaigai etc. while23% of the country's drainage area is orientedtowards the Arabian sea including the Indus,Narmada, Tapi, Sabarmati, Mahi and largenumber of swift flowing western coast riversdescending from the Sahyadris. Over 90% of thewater carried by the Indian rivers is drainedinto the Bay of Bengal and rest into the ArabianSea or forms inland drainage. Water-divideplays an important role in deciding the directionof the river flow.


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

HIMALAYAN RIVER SYSTEMS

Important features:-• Himalayan rivers are typical example of

antecedent drainage, i.e. they were in ex-istence before the uplift of the Himalayas.It is evident from the deep gorges of therivers like Indus, Satluj, Alaknanda,Bhagirathi, Brahmaputra and Kosi. Also,most of them are not consequent to theHimalayan relief.

• Because these rivers are fed by extensivesnow cover of the Himalayas, they areperennial in nature. During the monsoonseason they receive heavy Rainfall andreach to their maximum discharge.

• The geologically unstable condition andfriable nature of the terrain cause consid-erable meandering or drastic changes intheir courses and uncertainty and capri-ciousness in their behaviour.

• The valleys are in immature stage of devel-opment and, therefore, they are character-ized by a number of rapids, waterfalls, andcascades.

Evolution of the Himalayan drainage

Geologists believe that a mighty river calledShiwalik or Indo-Brahma traversed the entirelongitudinal extent of the Himalayas from Assamto Punjab and onwards to Sind, and finallydischarged into the Gulf of Sind near lowerPunjab during the Miocene period. The remark-able continuity of the Shiwalik and its lacustrineorigin and alluvial deposits consisting of sands,silt, clay, boulders and conglomerates supportthis viewpoint. It is opined that in due courseof time Indo-Brahma river was dismemberedinto three main drainage systems:

(i) the Indus and its five tributaries in thewestern part;

(ii) the Ganga and its Himalayan tributaries inthe central part; and

(iii) the stretch of the Brahmaputra in Assamand its Himalayan tributaries in theeastern part.

The dismemberment was probably due tothe Pleistocene upheaval in the westernHimalayas, including the uplift of the PotwarPlateau (Delhi Ridge), which acted as the waterdivide between the Indus and Ganga drainagesystems. Likewise, the downthrusting of theMalda gap area between the Rajmahal hills andthe Meghalaya plateau during the mid-Pleis-tocene period, diverted the Ganga and theBrahmaputra systems to flow towards the Bayof Bengal.

The Indus System

This is one of the largest river basins of theworld, covering an area of 1,178,440 sq. km (inIndia 321,290 sq. km) and a total length of 2,880km (in India 709 km). The Indus, also knownas the Sindhu, is the westernmost of the Hima-layan rivers in India.

The Indus originates from a glacier nearBokhar Chu (31°15' N latitude and 81°40' Elongitude) in the Tibetan region at an altitudeof 5,182 m in the Kailash Mountain range. InTibet, it is known as 'Singe Khamban' or Lion'smouth until it is joined by the Dhar. It entersIndia and continues to flow in the northwestdirection between Ladakh and Jaskar ranges. InIndia, the Indus flows only through the Lehdistrict in Jammu and Kashmir. The gradient ofthe river is very gentle (30 cm per km). Itreceives a number of tributaries such as theShyok, the Gilgit, the Gortang, the Zaskar, theHunza, the Nubra, the Shigar, the Gasting andthe Dras.

Indus enters Pakistan near Chillar in theDardistan region and finally emerges out of thehills near Attock where it receives the Kabulriver on its right bank. The other importanttributaries joining the right bank of the Indusare the Khurram, the Tochi, the Gomal, theViboa and the Sangar. They all originate in theSulaiman ranges. The river flows southwardsand receives 'Panjnad' a little north of Mithankot.The Panjnad is the name given to the accumu-lated water of the five rivers of Punjab namelythe Jhelum, the Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas andthe Satluj. Indus finally discharges into the

34

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


Arabian Sea, east of Karachi. The averageannual flow of water in the Indus river is110,450 million cubic meters at Kalabagh.

The Jhelum, an important tributary of theIndus, rises from a spring at Verinag situated atan altitude of 4900m in the south-eastern partof the valley of Kashmir. It flows northwardthrough Srinagar and the Wular lake. AtMuzaffarabad, the river takes a hairpin bendsouthwards and receives river Kishenganga onits right bank. Thereafter, it forms the India-Pakistan boundary for 170km and emerges atPotwar plateau near Mirpur. Its main tributar-ies are the Lidar, the Sind, and the Pohru fromKashmir Himalayas. The average annual flowof water in the Jhelum river is 27,890 millioncubic meters at Mangala. It joins the Chenab atTrimmu near Jhang in Pakistan.

The Chenab, the largest tributary of theIndus, originates near Bara Lacha Pass and isformed by two streams, the Chandra and theBhaga, which join at Tandi near Keylong inHimachal Pradesh. Here, it is also known asChandrabhaga. It flows towards northwestthrough Pangi valley and enters Jammu andKashmir. At Akhnur, the Chenab enters theplain. The river flows for 1,180 km beforeentering into Pakistan. The average annual flowof water in the Chenab river is 29,000 millioncubic meters at Marala. It joins the Satluj atPanchnad in Pakistan.

The Ravi has its source in the Kullu hills nearRohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh. Flowing inthe northwest direction, it drains the area lyingbetween the Pir Panjal and the Dhauladharranges. It enters Punjab plains near Madhopurand enters Pakistan 26km south of Amritsar. Itdebouches into Chenab at Sarai Sindhu nearRangpur. Its annual flow at Madhopur is 8,000million cubic meters.

The Beas originates from the Beas Kund nearthe Rohtang Pass at an elevation of 4,000 mabove the mean sea level. The river flows throughthe Kullu valley and forms gorges at Kati andLorji in the Dhauladhar range. It enters thePunjab plains near Pong. Then it takes south-westerly direction and meets the Satluj near

Harike. The average annual flow of the Beas atMandi is 15,800 million cubic meters.

The Satluj, an antecedent river, originatesfrom the Mansarovar-Rakas Lake near DarmaPass at an altitude of 4,570 m in Tibet where itis known as Langchen Khamban. It flows al-most parallel to the Indus for about 400 kmbefore entering India through the Shipki LaPass. It has created a 900 m deep gorge in NariKhorsan province of Tibet. Its main tributarySpiti joins it at Namgia. It is a very importantriver as it feeds the canal system of the BhakraNangal project. After entering the plains atRupar, it turns westward and is joined by theBeas at Harike. From Ferozepur to Fazilka, itforms the boundary between India and Paki-stan for 120 km. Out of its total length of 1,450km, it flows for 1,050 km in India. Its averageannual flow at Rupnagar (Rupar) is 16,600million cubic meters.

The Ganga River System

The Ganga originates as the Bhagirathi fromthe Gangotri glacier at Gaumukh, at an eleva-tion of 7,010 m. Alaknanda, the other head-stream of Ganga, has its source in the Satopanthglacier near Badrinath. The Alaknanda consistsof the Dhauli and the Vishnu Ganga whichmeet at Joshimath. The Alaknanda river meets-

• The Dhauliganga river at Vishnuprayag,� The Pindar river at Karnaprayag,� The Mandakini or Kali Ganga at

Rudraprayag and finally� The Bhagirathi river at Devprayag.

At Devprayag Ganga gets its name. Aftertraversing 280km from its source, Ganga de-bouches on the Gangetic Plain at the pilgrimagetown of Haridwar. Here, some of its waters isdiverted to the Ganges Canal, which irrigatesthe Doab region of Uttar Pradesh. The Ganges,whose course has been roughly southwesternuntil this point, now begins to flow southeastthrough the plains of northern India. The riverfollows a 770 km curving course passing throughthe city of Kanpur before being joined from thesouthwest by the Yamuna at Allahabad. Joinedby numerous rivers such as the Kosi, Son,Gandak and Ghaghra, the Ganges forms a


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

formidable current in the stretch betweenAllahabad and Malda in West Bengal. On itsway it passes the towns of Varanasi, Buxar,Patna and Bhagalpur. At Bhagalpur, the rivermeanders past the Rajmahal Hills, and beginsto run south.

At Pakur, the river begins its attrition withthe branching away of its first distributary, theBhagirathi-Hooghly, which goes on to form theHooghly River. Near the border with Bangladeshthe Farakka Barrage, built in 1974, controls theflow of the Ganges, diverting some of the waterinto a feeder canal linking the Hooghly to keepit relatively silt-free. The Farakka barrage projectconsists of a barrage across the Ganga at Farakkaand another across the Bhagirathi at Jangipur.

After entering Bangladesh, the main branchof the Ganges is known as the Padma River untilit is joined by the largest distributary of theBrahmaputra- the Jamuna River at Goalundo.Further downstream, it is fed by the MeghnaRiver, the second largest tributary of theBrahmaputra, and flows as Meghna to enter theMeghna Estuary near Sagar island.

The total length of Ganga is 2525 km, ofwhich 310 km is in Uttarakhand, 1140 km inUttar Pradesh, 445 km in Bihar, and 520 km inwest Bengal. The remaining 110 km stretch ofthe Ganga forms the boundary between Biharand Uttar Pradesh. The Yamuna and the Sonare its major right bank tributaries. The impor-tant left bank tributaries are the

Ramganga, the Gomati, the Ghaghara, theGandak, the Kosi and the Mahananda in theorder from west to east.

The Yamuna, the western most and thelongest tributary of the Ganga, has its source inthe Yamnotri glacier on the western slopes ofBanderpunch range (6,330 m). Small streamslike Rishiganga, Uma, and Hanuman Gangajoin it in the mountains. Tons joins it near Kalsi.It enters plains at Tajewala. It is joined by theChambal, the Sind, the Betwa and the Ken onits right bank which originates from the Penin-sular plateau while the Hindon, the Rind, theSengar, the Varuna, join it on its left bank. Itjoins the Ganga at Prayag (Allahabad). Thetotal length of Yamuna from its origin to Prayag

is 1,376 km. Much of its water feeds the westernand eastern Yamuna and the Agra canals forirrigation purposes.

The Chambal rises from Janapao hills nearMhow in the Malwa plateau of Madhya Pradeshand flows northwards through a gorge up-wards of Kota in Rajasthan, where theGandhisagar dam has been constructed. FromKota, it traverses down to Bundi, SawaiMadhopur and Dholpur, and finally joins theYamuna in Etawah district of U.P. The Chambalis famous for its badland topography called theChambal ravines. The total length of the riveris 1,050 km. The Banas joins it at SawaiMadhopur.

The Sind originates in Vidisha plateau ofMadhya Pradesh. It flows for a distance of 415km before joining Yamuna.

The Betwa rises in the Bhopal district andjoins Yamuna near Hamirpur after traversing adistance of 590 km. The Dhasan is its importanttributary.

The Ken is 360 km long river rising from theBarner Range of Madhya Pradesh. It joinsYamuna near Chila.

The Son is a large south bank tributary ofthe Ganga, originating in the Amarkantak

plateau. After forming a series of waterfallsat the edge of the plateau, it turns northeast-ward. It reaches Arrah, west of Patna, to jointhe Ganga. The important tributaries of the Sonare the Johilla, the Gopat, the Rihand, theKanhar and the North Koel.

The Damodar occupies the eastern marginsof the Chotanagpur Plateau where it flowsthrough a rift valley and finally joins the Hooghly.The Barakar is its main tributary. Once knownas the 'sorrow of Bengal' for its devastatingfloods, the Damodar has been now tamed bythe Damodar Valley Corporation, a multipur-pose river project.

The Ramganga is a small river rising in theGarhwal hills near Kalagarh.

It changes its course to the southwest direc-tion after crossing the Shiwalik and enters intothe plains of Uttar Pradesh near Najibabad.

36

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


Finally, it joins the Ganga near Kannauj. Itsmain tributaries are the Khoh, the Gangan, theAril, the Kosi, and the Deoha (Gorra).

The Ghaghara originates in the glaciers ofMapchachungo near Gurla Mandhata peaksouth of Mansarovar. It is known as Karnali inwestern Nepal. After collecting the waters of itstributaries - Tila, Seti and Beri, it comes out ofthe mountain, cutting a deep gorge at Shishapani.The river Sarda (Kali or Kali Ganga) joins it inthe plain before it finally meets the Ganga atChhapra. Its other tributaries are the Sarju andthe Rapti. Its average annual flow is 94,000million cubic meter.

The Sarda or Saryu river rises in the Milanglacier in the Nepal Himalayas where it isknown as the Goriganga. Along the Indo-Nepalborder, it is called Kali. After reaching the plainnear Tanakpur, it is called as Chauka. Then ittakes southeasterly course to join the Ghaghara.

The Gandak comprises two streams, namelyKaligandak and Trishul Ganga. It rises in theNepal Himalayas between the Dhaulagiri andMount Everest and drains the central part ofNepal. Gandak is known as narayani in Nepal.It enters the Ganga plain in Champaran districtof Bihar and joins the Ganga at Sonpur nearPatna. The average annual flow is 52,200 mil-lion cubic meters. Its main tributaries are theMayangadi and the Bari.

The Burhi Gandak originates from the west-ern slopes of Sumesar hills near Indo-Nepalborder and flows in south-east direction. It joinsGanga opposite Monghyr. Its length is 610 km.

The Kosi is an antecedent river with itssource to the north of Mount Everest in Tibet,where its main stream Arun rises. After crossingthe Central Himalayas in Nepal, it is joined bythe Sun Kosi from the West and the Tamur Kosifrom the east. It forms Sapt Kosi after unitingwith the river Arun at Triveni. Soon afterdebouching onto the plain the river becomessluggish due to heavy load. The river channelis braided and it shifts its course frequently. Thiscauses devastating floods. Thus the Kosi is

known as 'the Sorrow of Bihar'. HanumanNagar barrage has been constructed in 1965 totame the river. The Kosi joins Ganga nearKursala.

The Brahmaputra River System

The Brahmaputra, one of the largest riversof the world, has its origin in theChemayungdung glacier of the Kailash range.Mariam La separates its source from theMansarovar lake. From here, it traverses east-ward longitudinally for a distance of nearly1,200 km in a dry and flat region of southernTibet, where it is known as the Tsangpo, whichmeans 'the purifier.' The Rango Tsangpo is themajor tributary of this river from the north inTibet. It emerges as a turbulent and dynamicriver after carving out a deep gorge in theCentral Himalayas near Namcha Barwa (7,756m). The river emerges from the foothills underthe name of Siang or Dihang. It enters Indiawest of Sadiya town in Arunachal Pradesh.Flowing southwest, it receives its main left banktributaries, viz., Dibang or Sikang and Lohit;thereafter, it is known as the Brahmaputra.

The Brahmaputra receives numerous tribu-taries in its 750 km long journey through theAssam valley. Its major left bank tributaries arethe Burhi Dihing, Noa Dihing, Dhansiri (South),Dibru, Dikhu, and Kalang whereas the impor-tant right bank tributaries are the Subansiri,Kameng, Dhansiri (north), Manas, and Sankosh.The Subansiri, which has its origin in Tibet, isan antecedent river. The Brahmaputra entersBangladesh near Dhubri and flows southward.In Bangladesh, the Tista joins it on its right bankfrom where the river is known as the Jamuna.It finally merges with the river Padma, whichfalls in the Bay of Bengal.

The Brahmaputra is well-known for floods,channel shifting and bank erosion. This is dueto the fact that most of its tributaries are large,and bring large quantity of sediments owing toheavy rainfall in its catchment area. It has abraided channel for most of its course in Assamand forms the worlds largest river island 'Majuli'.


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

THE PENINSULAR DRAINAGE SYSTEM

The Peninsular drainage system is olderthan the Himalayan one. This is evident fromthe broad, largely-graded shallow valleys andthe maturity of the rivers. The Western Ghatsrunning close to the western coast act as thewater divide between the major Peninsular

rivers, discharging their water in the Bay ofBengal and small rivulets joining the ArabianSea. Most of the major Peninsular Rivers exceptNarmada and Tapi flow from west to east. Themajor river systems of the peninsular drainageare - the Mahanadi the Godavari, the Krishnaand the Cauvery. Peninsular rivers are charac-terized by fixed course, absence of meandersand non perennial flow of water. The Narmada

and the Tapi which flow through the rift valleyare, however, exceptions.

Evolution of the peninsular drainage

Three major geological events in the distantpast have shaped the present drainage systemsof Peninsular India:

(i) Subsidence of the western flank of thePeninsula leading to its submergence be-low the sea during the early tertiary pe-riod. Generally, it has disturbed the sym-metrical plan of the river on either side ofthe original watershed.

(ii) Upheaval of the Himalayas when thenorthern flank of the peninsular block was

38

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


subjected to subsidence and the conse-quent trough faulting. The Narmada andthe Tapi flow in trough faults and fill theoriginal cracks with their detritus materi-als. Hence there is a lack of alluvial anddeltaic deposits in these rivers.

(iii) Slight tilting of the Peninsular block fromnorthwest to the southeastern directiongave orientation to the entire drainagesystem towards the Bay of Bengal duringthe same period.

The Peninsular River Systems

Important features of the Peninsular Riversystem:

• The peninsular rivers originate at loweraltitudes and drain areas which are geo-logically more stable and, therefore, aredevoid of meanders.

• The river Channels have reached the baselevels and have low gradients.

• Larger deltas are formed by larger rivers attheir mouth (except those flowing towardswest).

• The broad, largely graded and shallowvalleys of the peninsular rivers indicatethat they have existed for a much longerperiod than the Himalayan rivers.

• Most of the peninsular river flow towardsthe east because the main watershed lies inWestern Ghats in close proximity to thewest coast. Notable exceptions are Narmadaand Tapi, which flows in a direction op-posed to this general trend.

• There are a large number of river systemsin the peninsular drainage. There are threemain directions of flow of peninsular riv-ers-(i) The Mahanadi, the Godavari, the

Krishna, the Cauvery and several smallrivers draining south-east into the Bayof Bengal.

(ii) The Narmada and the Tapi flowingwest as well as several small streamsoriginating from the Western Ghatsflow westward into the Arabean sea.

(iii) The tributaries of Ganga and Yamunasuch as Chambal, Sind, Betwa, Ken,Son and Damodar flow in north-east-erly direction.

The East Flowing Rivers of the Peninsula

The Mahanadi rises near Sihawa in Raipurdistrict of Chhattisgarh and runs through Orissato discharge its water into the Bay of Bengal. Itis 851 km long and its catchment area spreadsover 1.42 lakh sq. km. Some navigation iscarried on in the lower course of this river. 53per cent of the drainage basin of this river liesin Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, while 47per cent lies in Orissa. The main tributaries arethe Ib, the Mand, the Hasdo and the Sheonathon the left bank and the Ong, the Jonk, and theTel on the right bank. World's longest damHirakud is situated on this river.

The Godavari is the largest peninsular river.It is also called the Vridha Ganga or the DakshinGanga. It rises from the Triambak plateau in theNasik district of Maharashtra and discharges itswater into the Bay of Bengal. Its tributaries runthrough the states of Maharashtra, MadhyaPradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and AndhraPradesh. It is 1,465 km long with a catchmentarea spreading over 3.13 lakh sq. km, 49 percent of which lies in Maharashtra, 21 per centin Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, 24 per-cent in Andhra Pradesh and the rest in Orissa.The Manjra is the only important right banktributary which passes through Nizam Sagardam. The Penganga, the Wardha, theWainganga, the Indravati, the Pranhita, andthe Sabari are its principal left bank tributaries.The Penganga joins the Wardha which in turnjoins the Wainganga to become short-spanPranhita which merges with the Godavari. TheIndravati rises from Kondhan hills of EasternGhats. The Godavari is subjected to heavyfloods in its lower reaches to the south ofPolavaram, where it forms a picturesque gorge.It is navigable for only 300 km in the deltaicstretch. After Rajamundri, the river splits intoGautami Godavari in the east and VashishthaGodavari in the west forming a large Lobatetype delta.


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

The Krishna is the second largest east-flowing peninsular river which rises nearMahabaleshwar in the Sahyadris. Its total lengthis 1,400 km. The Koyna, the Muneru, theGhatprabha, the Malprabha, the Tungbhadra,the Musi, and the Bhima are its major tributar-ies. Of the total catchment area of the Krishna,27 per cent lies in Maharashtra, 44 per cent inKarnataka and 29 per cent in Andhra Pradesh.

The Kaveri rises from Taal Kaveri inBrahmagiri hills in Karnataka. Its length is 800km and it drains an area of 81,155 sq. km. Sincethe upper catchment area receives rainfall dur-ing the southwest monsoon season (summer)and the lower part during the northeast mon-soon season (winter), the river carries waterthroughout the year with comparatively lessfluctuation than the other peninsular rivers.The river descends from the South KarnatakaPlateau to the Tamilnadu Plains through theSivasamudram Falls. The river island Srirangamis in its middle course. About 3 per cent of theKaveri basin falls in Kerala, 41 per cent inKarnataka and 56 per cent in Tamil Nadu. Itsimportant tributaries are the Herangi, theHemavati, the Lokpavani, the Shimsha and theArkavati from the north and theLakshamantirtha, the Kabini, the Suvarnavati,the Bhavani and the Amravati from south.Theother east flowing rivers of the peninsular Indiaare, from north to south, the Subarnarekha, theBrahmani, the Penneru, the Ponnaiyar, and theVaigai. The Brahmani forms after the confluenceof the Koel and the Sankh near Rourkela. Itstributaries are the Kura, the Sankhad and theTikra. The tributaries of the Penneru are theJayamangli, the Kunderu, the Saigileru, theChitravati, the Papagni and the Cheyyeru. TheBaitarni, the Vamsadhara and the Palar areother important rivers.

The West Flowing Rivers of the Peninsula

The Narmada, the largest west flowingriver of the peninsula, originates on the westernflank of the Amarkantak plateau at a height ofabout 1,057 m. Flowing in a rift valley betweenthe Satpura in the south and the Vindhyanrange in the north, it forms a picturesque gorgein Marble Rocks and Dhuandhar waterfall near

Jabalpur. It makes other waterfalls at Mandhar,Dardi and Maheshwar (Sahasradhara Falls).After flowing a distance of about 1,310 km, itmeets the Arabian sea south of Bharuch, form-ing a broad 27 km long estuary in the Gulf ofKhambhat. Its catchment area is about 98,796sq. km. The Sardar Sarovar Project has beenconstructed on this river. The Hiran, the Orsang,the Barna and the Kolar are its major right banktributaries. The major left bank tributaries arethe Burhner, the Banjar, the Shar, the Shakkar,the Kundi and the Tawa.

The Tapi or the Tapti is the second largestwestward flowing river. It is also known as 'TheTwin' and 'The Handmaid' of the Narmada. Itoriginates from Multai in the Betul district ofMadhya Pradesh. It is 730 km long and drainsan area of 65,145 sq. km. Nearly 79 per cent ofits basin lies in Maharashtra, 15 per cent inMadhya Pradesh and the remaining 6 per centin Gujarat. Its main tributary is the Purnajoining it near Bhusawal. Other tributaries arethe Betul, the Patki, the Aner, and Gomai on theright bank and the Khursi, the Girna, the Boriand the Panjhara on the left bank.

The Luni is the largest river system ofRajasthan, west of Aravali. It originates nearPushkar in two branches, i.e. the Saraswati andthe Sagarmati, which join with each other atGovindgarh. From here, the river comes out ofAravali and is known as Luni. It flows towardsthe west till Telwara and then takes a southwestdirection to join the Rann of Kuchchh. Theentire river system is ephemeral.

The Sabarmati is the name given to thecombined streams of the Sabar and the Hathmati.It rises from Mewar in Aravali range and fallsinto the Gulf of Khambhat. Its tributaries are theSedhi, the Meshwa, etc.

The Mahi rises in the Vindhyas and fallsinto the Gulf of Khambhat. Its drainage area isshared by Madhya Pradesh (19%), Rajasthan(47%), and Gujarat (34%). Its tributaries are theSom, the Anas and the Panam.

The West Flowing Rivers of the Sahyadris

The rivers flowing towards the Arabian seahave short courses. These drain 3% of India's

40

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


land area but carry 18% of country's waterresources. In Karnataka, the Kalinadi rises fromBelgaum district and falls in the Karwar Bay.The source of Bedti river lies in Hubli Dharwarand traverses a course of 161 km. The Sharavatiis another important river in Karnataka flowingtowards the west. It originates in Shimogadistrict and drains a catchment area of 2,209 sq.km. The famous Jog or Gersoppa Falls made bythe Sharavati is the highest in India. The Bhadraoriginates near Aniali village in Rajkot districtin Gujrat. The Vaitarna rises from the Triambakin Nasik district at an elevation of 670 m.

Goa has a few rivers which can be men-tioned here. They are Mandovi, Rachol andJuari.

Kerala has a narrow coastline. The longestriver of Kerala, Bharathapuzha rises nearAnnamalai hills. It is also known as Ponnani. Itdrains an area of 5,397 sq. km. The Periyar isthe second largest river of Kerala. Its catchmentarea is 5,243 sq. km. Other rivers of Keralaworth mentioning are the Pamba river whichfalls in the Vembanad lake after traversing acourse of 177 km, the Beypore and the Pannam.

DRAINAGE PATTERNS

A drainage system is the pattern formed bythe streams, rivers, and lakes in a particulardrainage basin. They are governed by the topog-raphy of the land, whether a particular regionis dominated by hard or soft rocks, and thegradient of the land.

Types of drainage system

1. Dendritic drainage system: Dendriticdrainage systems are the most commonform of drainage system. In a dendriticsystem, there are many contributing streams(analogous to the twigs of a tree), whichare then joined together into the tributariesof the main river (the branches and thetrunk of the tree, respectively). They de-velop where the river channel follows theslope of the terrain. Dendritic systems formin V-shaped valleys; as a result, the rocktypes must be impervious and non-porous.

2. Parallel drainage system: A parallel drain-age system is a pattern of rivers caused bysteep slopes with some relief. Because of thesteep slopes, the streams are swift andstraight, with very few tributaries, and allflow in the same direction. This systemforms on uniformly sloping surfaces, forexample, rivers flowing southeast from theAberdare Mountains in Kenya.

3. Trellis drainage system: The geometry ofa trellis drainage system is similar to thatof a common garden trellis used to growvines. As the river flows along a strikevalley, smaller tributaries feed into it fromthe steep slopes on the sides of mountains.These tributaries enter the main river atapproximately 90 degree angles, causing atrellis-like appearance of the drainage sys-tem. Trellis drainage is characteristic offolded mountains, such as the Appala-chian Mountains in North America.

4. Rectangular drainage system: Rectangu-lar drainage develops on rocks that are ofapproximately uniform resistance to ero-sion, but which have two directions ofjointing at approximately right angles. Thejoints are usually less resistant to erosionthan the bulk rock so erosion tends topreferentially open the joints and streamseventually develop along the joints. Theresult is a stream system in which streamsconsist mainly of straight line segmentswith right angle bends, and tributaries joinlarger streams at right angles.


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

5. Radial drainage system: In a radial drain-age system the streams radiate outwardsfrom a central high point. Volcanos usuallydisplay excellent radial drainage. Othergeological features on which radial drain-age commonly develops are domes andlaccoliths. On these features the drainagemay exhibit a combination of radial andannular patterns.

6. Deranged drainage system: A derangeddrainage system is a drainage system indrainage basins where there is no coherentpattern to the rivers and lakes. It happensin areas where there has been muchgeological disruption. The classic exampleis the Canadian Shield. During the last iceage, the topsoil was scraped off, leavingmostly bare rock. The melting of the gla-ciers left land with many irregularities ofelevation, and a great deal of water tocollect in the low points, explaining thelarge number of lakes which are found inCanada. The watersheds are young andare still sorting themselves out. Eventuallythe system will stabilize.

7. Annular drainage pattern: In an annulardrainage pattern streams follow a roughlycircular or concentric path along a belt ofweak rock, resembling in plan a ring likepattern. It is best displayed by streamsdraining a maturely dissected structuraldome or basin where erosion has exposedrimming sedimentary strata of greatly vary-ing degrees of hardness, as in the RedValley, which nearly encircles the domalstructure of the Black Hills of South Da-kota.

NATIONAL WATER POLICY 2012

Water is a natural resource, fundamental tolife, livelihood, food security and sustainabledevelopment. It is also a scarce resource. Indiahas more than 17 percent of the world’s popu-lation, but has only 4% of world’s renewablewater resources with 2.6% of world’s land area.There are further limits on utilizable quantitiesof water owing to uneven distribution over timeand space. Precipitation is confined to onlyabout three or four months in a year and varies

from 100 mm in the western parts of Rajasthanto over 10000 mm at Cherrapunji in Meghalaya.Rivers and underground aquifers often cut acrossstate boundaries. Water, as a resource is oneand indivisible: rainfall, river waters, surfaceponds and lakes and ground water are all partof one system.

In addition, there are challenges of frequentfloods and droughts in one or the other part ofthe country. With a growing population andrising needs of a fast developing nation as wellas the given indications of the impact of climatechange, availability of utilizable water will beunder further strains in future with the possi-bility of deepening water conflicts among differ-ent user groups. Low public consciousness aboutthe overall scarcity and economic value of waterresults in its wastage and inefficient use. Inaddition, there are inequitious distribution andlack of a unified perspective in planning, man-agement and use of water resources.

The objective of the National Water Policy isto take cognizance of the existing situation andto propose a framework for creation of anoverarching system of laws and institutions andfor a plan of action with a unified nationalperspective.

National Water Policy was adopted in Sep-tember, 1987. Since then, a number of issuesand challenges have emerged in the develop-ment and management of the water resources.Therefore, the National Water Policy (1987) hasbeen reviewed and updated in 2012.

The salient features of new National WaterPolicy (2012) are:

a) Constitutionally the States have the rightto frame suitable policies, laws and regu-lations on water, the draft NWP, 2012lays emphasis on the need for a nationalwater framework law, comprehensivelegislation for optimum development ofinter-State rivers and river valleys, publictrust doctrine, amendment of the IndianEasements Act, 1882, etc.

b) The draft NWP, 2012 presents a holisticpicture of ecological need of the riverrather than restricting it to only mini-

42

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


mum flow requirement. It states that theecological needs of the river should bedetermined recognizing that river flowsare characterized by low or no flows,small floods (freshets), large floods andflow variability and should accommo-date development needs. A portion ofriver flows should be kept aside to meetecological needs ensuring that the pro-portional low and high flow releasescorrespond in time closely to the naturalflow regime.

c) It recognizes the need to adapt to climatechange scenario in planning and imple-mentation of water resources projects.Coping strategies for designing andmanagement of water resources struc-tures and review of acceptability criteriahas been emphasized.

d) Need and approaches towards enhanc-ing water availability have been stipu-lated. Direct use of rainfall and avoid-ance of inadvertent evapo-transpirationhave been proposed as the new addi-tional strategies for augmenting utiliz-able water resources.

e) Draft proposes the mapping of the aqui-fers to know the quantum and quality ofground water resources in the countryhas been proposed with provision ofperiodic updation.

f) A system to evolve benchmarks for wateruses for different purposes, i.e., waterfootprints, and water auditing should bedeveloped to ensure efficient use of water.

g) Water Users Associations should be givenstatutory powers to collect and retain aportion of water charges, manage thevolumetric quantum of water allotted tothem and maintain the distribution sys-tem in their jurisdiction.

h) All water resources projects, includinghydro power projects, should be plannedto the extent feasible as multi-purposeprojects with provision of storage to derivemaximum benefit from available topol-ogy and water resources.

i) The draft NWP, 2012 lays emphasis onpreparedness for flood / drought withcoping up mechanisms as an option.Frequency based flood inundation mapsshould be prepared to evolve copingstrategies

j) Appropriate institutional arrangementsfor each river basin should be developedto collect and collate all data on regularbasis with regard to rainfall, river flows,area irrigated by crops and by source,utilizations for various uses by both sur-face and ground water and to publishwater accounts on ten daily basis everyyear for each river basin with appropri-ate water budgets and water accountsbased on the hydrologic balances.

Planning and implementation of water re-sources projects involve a number of socio-economic aspects and issues such as environ-mental sustainability, appropriate resettlementand rehabilitation of project-affected peopleand livestock, public health concerns of waterimpoundment, dam safety, etc. ��


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

SOIL AND VEGETATION

SOIL

Soil is the topmost layer of the earth's sur-face. It consists of a mixture of minute particlesof disintegrated rocks, minerals, organic matterand bacteria. Soil is formed when forces ofnature such as temperature, rain, wind, waves,animals and plants act on rocks and break theminto tiny pieces over a long period of time.

Soil consists of four layers. The first ortopmost layer of soil is made up of minute soilparticles and decayed plant and animal matter.This layer is vital for the cultivation ofcrops. The second layer is made up offine particles like clay; the third layer isa combination of weathered basic rockmaterials and soil while the fourth layerconsists of un-weathered hard rocks.

Each type of soil benefits differenttypes of crops through their unique physi-cal, chemical and biological properties.Alluvial soil is a fertile soil rich in potas-sium. It is highly suitable for agriculture,especially for crops such as paddy, sug-arcane and plantain. Red soil has highiron content and is fit for crops like redgram, Bengal gram, green gram, ground-nut and castor seed. Black soil is rich incalcium, potassium and magnesium buthas poor nitrogen content. Crops likecotton, tobacco, chilly, oil seeds, jowar,ragi and maize grow well in it. Sandysoil is low in nutrient content but isuseful for growing trees such as coconut,cashew and casuarinas in areas withhigh rainfall.

4

SOIL TYPES AND DISTRIBUTION

There are different types of soils in Indiaand climate, altitude and composition of bed-rock are the major factors that control the soilformation in India. Disproportion in the an-nual distribution of rainfall in the country andexcessive heat contribute characteristics to thesoils of the country. Seven major types of soilsin India are Alluvial soils, Black soils, Desertsoils, Red and yellow soils, Saline soils, Lateriticsoils and mountain soils.

44

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


1. Alluvial Soil: This is the most crucial andpervasive kind. It covers forty per cent ofland area. In fact the complete NorthernPlains are made up of these soils. They havebeen brought down and deposited by threeenormous Himalayan rivers- Satluj, Gangaand Brahmaputra-and their tributaries.Through a tapered outlet in Rajasthan, theycontinue into the plains of Gujarat. Theyare common in eastern coastal plains, inthe deltas of Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishnaand Kaveri.

The river deposits extremely refined par-ticles of soil, called alluvium in their plainsduring the path of their long travail, spreadover hundreds of kilometres and thousandsof years. These soils consist of diverse ratiosof sand, silt and clay. They are prevalent inthe coastal plains and deltas. As one movesfurther inland in the river valleys, the soilparticles appear pretty heavier in size. Inthe upper reaches of the river Valleys, i.e.near the place of their origin, the soils arecoarser. Such soils are more familiar inpiedmont plains, i.e. those that are near thefoot of mountains.

Soils are distinguished according to theirage also. They are grouped in old alluviumand new alluvium types. The so called newalluvium may be even ten thousand yearsold. The old alluvium is called `Bhangar`,and the new alluvium is called `khadar`.The old alluvium often contains kankarnodules, with calcium carbonates in sub-soil. The new alluvium is richer comparedto the old.

Alluvial soils all together are exceptionallyprolific. In general, they carry ample pot-ash, phosphoric acid and lime. However,they are lacking in organic and nitrogenoussubstance. Soils in the drier areas are morealkaline. Alluvial soils sustain over half theIndian population.

2. Regur Soil/Black soil: Regur soils are blackin colour and are also known as `blacksoils`. Since they are perfect for growingcotton, they are also called cotton soils, inaddition to their local terminology of 'regur

soils`. These soils are most characteristic ofthe Deccan trap (Basalt) region, spreadover the north-west Deccan plateau andare made up of lava flows. They cover theplateaus of Maharashtra, Saurashtra,Malwa and southern Madhya Pradesh andcontinue eastwards in the south, along theGodavari and Krishna Valleys.

Black soils are made of exceptionally deli-cate that is clayey material. Owing to thehigh proportion of clay, Regur soils aresticky when wet and consequently, it be-comes difficult to plough. They are well-known for their ability to retain moisture.In addition, they are prosperous in soilnutrients, like calcium carbonate, magne-sium carbonate, potash and lime. They areusually poor in phosphoric content. Theydevelop thick fissures in the field duringhot weather. This helps in their ventilation;hence their self-ploughing eminence. Thissoil is viscous and unmanageable to work,unless tilled without delay, after the first orpre-monsoon showers.

Regur soils develop under semi-arid condi-tions specifically in the areas that are cov-ered with basalt. In the southern region ofTamil Nadu, granites and gneisses withiron content also form black soils under therequired semi-arid climatic conditions.Regur soils are formed in Surat and Broachdistricts and also in the Narmada Valleyand Tapti Valley. In these regions, humusis almost absent in the soil and black colourof the soil is because of the presence ofcertain salts. In the hilly region of thecountry, Black soils are usually thin, poorand sandy.

Black soils or Regur soils are rich in limeand it is not unusual to find lime nodulesdeposition under the layer of this type ofsoil. Moreover, this soil is highly retentiveof moisture and is highly productive par-ticularly in the plains and along the rivervalleys where it is clayey and deep. It is saidthat the feature of retaining moisture in thesoil is extremely useful. Thus, the deeper


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

the soil, the larger is the amount of mois-ture held. However, nitrogen which is con-sidered as useful for the growth of plantsis not sufficiently found in the Regur soil.

3. Laterite Soil: Laterite soils are generallyfound capping the Indian flat uplands, andare spread in the western coastal region,getting incredibly heavy rain. Lateritic soilsare also found in areas along the edge ofthe plateau in the east, covering small partsof Tamil Nadu and Orissa and a small partof Chhotanagpur Plateau in the north andMeghalaya in north-east. The soils arehabitually poor and can hold only pasturesand scrub forests. Among the mixed typesof soils, two groups are more substantial.They include the desert soils of westRajasthan and mountain soils of theHimalayas.

Laterite soil is mainly found in the tropicalregions that receive heavy seasonal rainfall.High rainfall promotes leaching of the soilwhere silica and lime are leached awayand a soil rich in oxides of aluminiumpredominate and are in abundance lateriteis called bauxite. Due to the presence ofiron oxides the colour of laterite soil isbasically red. This soil is poor in limecontent and hence it is acidic. Laterite soilsare found on the high level plateau andhilly areas that receive high rainfall and arespecifically well developed on the EasternGhats in Orissa. It is also found in thesouthern part of the Western Ghats includ-ing the adjoining coastal regions in RatnagiriDistrict and Malabar.

Humus is almost absent in this type of soil.However, in the laterite soil developed inthe forested areas in the western part ofKarnataka, humus is present. Further, lat-erite soils of high level areas are very poorand least retentive of moisture and at timesbarren. But, in the low lying areas, regularaddition of soils that are washed downfrom the adjacent higher areas affectslateritization. In those areas, the lateriticsoil being either loam or mud is useful and

is regularly ploughed. For the continuouscultivation of crops, regular application offertilizers is required.

4. Red Soil: Red soils are also known asyellow soils. Like laterite soil, red soils areheavily leached and they contain a consid-erable concentration of iron oxides. Thepresence of iron oxides is responsible forgiving this soil its reddish or yellowishshade. Red soils are sandier and less clayeycomparatively. Moreover, these soils areformed in those areas which receive rela-tively low rainfall and thus they are lessleached as compared with laterite soils.Further, red or yellow soils develop usuallyon metamorphic rocks.

Red soils do not contain any essential nu-trient. Like for instance, they are poor innitrogen, lime and phosphorous contents.Red soils are acidic in nature. This is onesimilarity between laterite soils and redsoils. Red soils are not retentive of moistureand hence, they are cultivated mostly dur-ing the rainy season. For higher yield in thistype of soil, constant application of ma-nures is required. Red soils mostly developin the Indian peninsular plateau. Interest-ingly, in the lowlands and valleys, red soilsare fertile and deep. On the other hand, onthe hill slopes, they are basically poor andthin.

The northwestern half of the peninsularblock is covered by black soil and theremaining southeastern half is covered byred soil of various shades of red and yellow.They basically surround the whole blacksoil region on all sides, and cover theeastern part of the peninsula, comprisingChhotanagpur Plateau, Orissa, easternparts of Madhya Pradesh, Nilgiris andTamil Nadu plateau. They continue north-wards in the west, along the Konkan coastof Maharashtra. They also develop in theEastern Ghats, Bihar plateau, and Shillongplateau. It is found in states like Mizoramand Manipur. Soils are loamy in deepdepressions and in uplands they consist ofgravel. They function well with dosage offertilizers and irrigation waters.

46

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


5. Forest and Mountain Soil: Generally, thereis a huge variety of soils in the HimalayaMountain ranges. Mountain soils are foundin the dry and cold districts like Ladakh,Lahul-Spiti, Kinnaur District, etc. Further,in the river valleys as well as on the riverterraces, alluvial soils are found but acrossthe slopes, one generally comes across soilsof different textures. It varies from siltyloam to rock fragments. Fine textured soilsare mainly found in the river valleys or inthe outwash plains. In other parts of thesehilly districts, soils are in general stony andshallow but are poor in organic matter.

The basic character of the mountain soilsdepend on the climate and are mainlyfound in the warm temperate belt or thecool temperate belt of the Himalaya Moun-tains. Brown forest soil is mainly found inthe warm temperate belt lying at heightsranging from 900 to 1800 metres, whichhas deciduous forests. This belt comprisesenough warmth for decomposition of veg-etation. The typical brown forest soil of thiszone is rich in humus and is deep. They areslightly acidic and are fertile largely usedfor raising different varieties of crops.

6. Desert soils: A large part of the arid regionbelonging to the western Rajasthan,Haryana, Punjab, lying between the IndusRiver and the Aravalli range is affected bythe desert conditions of geologically recentorigin. This part is covered under a mantleof brown sand which, when combinedwith the arid climate results in poor soildevelopment. The most predominant com-ponent of the desert sand is quartz butfeldspar and hornblende grains also occurwith a fair proportion of calcareous grains.It receives little monsoon rain. The sandswhich cover the area are partly derivedfrom the disintegration of the subjacentrocks, but are largely blown in from thecoastal regions and the Indus Valley. Someof these soils contain high percentages ofsoluble salts, high pH, a varying percentageof calcium carbonate and are poor in or-ganic matter.

The Rajasthan desert is a vast sandy plain,including isolated hills or out crops atplaces. Though on the whole the tract issandy, the soil improves in fertility fromwest and north-west to east and north-east. In many parts, the soils are saline oralkaline, with unfavorable physical condi-tions and high pH.

7. Peaty and marshy soil: Peaty soil origi-nates in humid regions as a result of accu-mulation of large amount of organic matterin the soils. These soils contain considerableamount of soluble salts and 10-40 per centof organic matter. Soils belonging to thisgroup are found in Kottayam andAlappuzha districts of Kerala where it iscalled KARI. Marshy soil with high propor-tion of vegetable matter also occurs in thecoastal areas of Orissa and Tamil Nadu.The peaty soils are black, heavy and highlyacidic. They are deficient in potash andphosphate.

8. Saline and alkaline soils: These soils arefound in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.These soils are liable to saline and alkalineefflorescences and are known as reh, kallar,usar, rakar and chopan. These soils containtoxic concentrations of soluble salts in theroot zone. Electrical conductivity in thesaturation extract of such soils taken as ameasure of salts is greater than 4.0 mmhos/cm. Exchangeable sodium percentage isless than 15 and pH is less than 8.5. Thesoluble salts mainly consist of chlorides andsulphates of sodium, calcium and magne-sium. Because of the white encrustationdue to salts, the soil is called white alkali.

The soil salinity or alkalinity or both havemany adverse effects, summarized below:

1. Causing low yield of crops or crop failurein extreme cases.

2. The limiting of the choice of crops be-cause some crops are sensitive to salinityor alkalinity or both.

3. Rendering the quality of fodder as poor,as at times the fodder grown on alkalisoils may contain a high amount of


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

molybdenum and a low amount ofzinc, causing nutritional imbalance anddisesses among live-stock.

4. Creating difficulties in the constructionof buildings and roads and their mainte-nance.

5. Causing excessive run offs and floodsdue to low infiltration resulting in dam-age to crops.

SOIL EROSION AND CONSERVATION

Soil erosion in India is a major cause ofconcern. Almost 130 million hectares of land i.e.approx 45% of total land is affected by serioussoil erosion through gorge and gully, shiftingcultivation, water logging etc.

Soil erosion is the gradual removal of the topsoil cover by natural agencies like water, windetc or by manmade activities as alkanisation,salinization of soil, deforestationetc.

Soil erosion is almost univer-sally reorganized as a serious threatto man's well-being. The two mainagents of erosion are wind andwater. In the case of erosion bywater, the major erosive agents areimpacting raindrops and run-offwater flowing over the soil surface.Erosion and sedimentation embodythe processes of detachment, trans-portation and deposition of soilparticles. Detachments are the dis-lodging of soil particles from thesoil mass by erosive agents.

Most of the land area in thecountry shows evidence of degra-dation thus affecting the produc-tive base of economy. Out of thetotal geographical area of 329 mil-lion hectares, 175 million hectaresare considered degraded.

Although soil-erosion is frequentthroughout the country, it operatesmost intensely in the hilly regions.The precipitation often occurs intorrents which instead of sinkinginto the ground as the light drizzles,

wash away the top layers of the soil. The steepslopes of the hills further stimulate the erodingpower of the rain water. The soils are very thinand all exposed slopes are susceptible to serioussheet erosion or gullying.

Erosion may be of little consequence for hillytracts, but is of great significance to the plains.The whole basin of Kosi river is threatened bythis erosion, as a result of which the rivers bringwith them millions of tonnes of sand and debrisannually. When the rivers reach the plains andbelow and the stream flow slackens the load isdropped and gets deposited in their beds. Thisleads to choking of river channels, which in turnincrease the flood danger and induces shiftingof the course which brings disaster in train tothe whole country-side.

Both surface erosion and deep gullying areconsiderably influenced by the type of soil in

48

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


India, although a given soil type may notbehave consistently under all conditions and notype of soil is entirely safe from erosion. Thus,sandy porous soil in the country are in generalleast subject to gradual weathering down bywater action, since they are capable of absorb-ing a great amount of water in ordinary rains.On the other hand, if the rate of percolation isprevented by frost or by even thin strata of clay,the very lack of "binding" qualities in the sandysoils permit them to be moved at a very rapidpace. Again, however, the coarseness of thematerial may cause it to be deposited before ithas been carried to any great distance.

The most potent and common causes forerosion in India are deforestation and overgraz-ing. Throughout the country, as population hasincreased, more and more forests have beendestroyed mainly by grazing cattle feeding ongrass and herbs and green bushes.

Effects of soil erosiona) Loss of fertile top soil leading to gradual

loss of soil fertility and agricultural produc-tivity.

b) Loss of mineral nutrients from soil throughleaching and flooding

c) Lowering of the underground water tableand decrease in the percentage of soilmoisture

d) Drying of vegetation and extension of aridlands

e) Increase in frequency of droughts and floodsf) Silting of river and canal beltsg) Recurrence of landslidesh) Adverse effect on economic prosperity and

cultural development

Soil conservation

Soil conservation is maintaining good soilhealth, by various practices. The aim of soilconservation methods is to prevent soil erosion,prevent soil's overuse and prevent soil contami-nation from chemicals. There are various mea-sures that are used to maintain soil health, andprevent the above harms to soil. Here are the soilconservation methods which are practiced forsoil management.

Strategies

There are many ways to conserve soil, someare suited to those areas where farming is done,and some are according to soil needs. Here arethe various soil conservation methods that arepracticed.

a) Planting Vegetation: This is one of themost effective and cost saving soil con-servation methods. By planting trees,grass, plants, soil erosion can be greatlyprevented. Plants help to stabilize theproperties of soil and trees also act as awind barrier and prevent soil from beingblown away.

This is also among strategies used for soilconservation methods in urban areas,one can plant trees and plants in thelandscape areas of the residential places.The best choices for vegetation are herbs,small trees, plants with wild flowers, andcreepers which provide a ground cover.

b) Contour Ploughing: Contour farming orploughing is used by farmers, whereinthey plough across a slope and follow theelevation contour lines. This method pre-vents water runoff, and thus preventssoil erosion by allowing water to slowlypenetrate the soil.

c) Maintaining the Soil pH: The measure-ment of soil's acidity or alkalinity is doneby measuring the soil pH levels. Soil getspolluted due to the addition of basic oracidic pollutants which can be counteredby maintaining the desirable pH of soil.

d) Soil Organisms: Without the activitiesperformed by soil organisms, the organicmaterial required by plants will litter andwon't be available for plant growth. Usingbeneficial soil organisms like earthworms,helps in aeration of soil and makes themacro-nutrients available for the plants.Thus, the soil becomes more fertile andporous.

e) Crop Rotation Practice: Crop rotation isthe soil conservation method where aseries of different crops are planted oneafter the other in the same soil area, and


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

is used greatly in organic farming. Thisis done to prevent the accumulation ofpathogens, which occur if the same plantsare grown in the soil, and also depletionof nutrients.

f) Watering the Soil: We water plants andtrees, but it is equally important to watersoil to maintain its health. Soil erosionoccurs if the soil is blown away by wind.By watering and settling the soil, one canprevent soil erosion from the blowingaway of soil by wind. One of the effectivesoil conservation methods in India is thedrip irrigation system which provideswater to the soil without the water run-ning off.

g) Salinity Management: Excessive collec-tion of salts in the soil has harmful effectson the metabolism of plants. Salinity canlead to death of the vegetation and thuscause soil erosion, which is why salinitymanagement is important.

h) Terracing: Terracing is among one of thebest soil conservation methods, wherecultivation is done on a terrace leveledsection of land. In terracing, farming isdone on a unique step like structure andthe possibility of water running off isslowed down.

i) Bordering from Indigenous Crops: It ispreferable to plant native plants, butwhen native plants are not planted thenbordering the crops with indigenous cropsis necessary. This helps to prevent soilerosion, and this measure is greatly optedin poor rural areas.

j) No-tilling Farming Method: The processof soil being ploughed for farming iscalled tilling, wherein the fertilizers getmixed and the rows for plantation arecreated. However, this method leads todeath of beneficial soil organisms, loss oforganic matter and compaction of soil.Due to these side effects, the no-tillingstrategy is used to conserve soil health.

k) Increased use of organic manure:Through manuring, the Indian farmerscan check the deflection of soil nutrients,

which takes place with continuous crop-ping. Manures can be animal and plantresidues. They ensure yet another aspectof soil conservation viz, the building upof soil productivity.

l) Keeping the soil covered: Grasses areeven more firm protectors of soil than thetrees.

m) River embankments: By making riverembankments, soil erosion can be re-duced along the bank of the rivers.

VEGETATION

Located at tropical latitudes, the beautifulland of India is characterized by rainfall regimesand diverse temperature and climate. India'sclimate helps in the growth of forests in thecountry. However, in the past thousand years,various types of human activities have alteredthe climatic formations in the country to a largeextent. The natural vegetation in India prima-rily comprise of forests.

Vegetation growing in correspondence withdifferent environmental conditions is the natu-ral vegetation of a particular place. Severalmajor factors such as soil, topography, tempera-ture and rainfall have influenced the naturalvegetation of India to a large extent. Depend-ing on the atmosphere, weather, position andother factors, there can be several classificationof India's natural vegetation. The many fea-tures that characterize the natural vegetation ofIndia are the tropical deciduous forests, thetropical rain forests, the alpine and tundravegetation, rain forests of Southern India, Hi-malayan vegetation, the desert region, the tem-perature forests and grasslands and many more.

(A) MOIST TROPICAL FORESTS

These forests are found in the areas of quitehigh temperature and rainfall. The forests aredense, multi-layered and have many types oftrees, shrubs and lians. These forests are furthercategorized into 4 types depending on thedegree of wetness in the area and the dominantlife form in the forest.

(1) Tropical moist evergreen forests: Theseare climatic climax forests found commonly

50

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


in areas having annual rainfall above 250cm and temperature 25-30°C. These forestsare chiefly distributed on the western faceof Western Ghats, Assam, Cachar, parts ofWest Bengal, northern Canara, AnnamalaiHills and Coorg in Meysore and AndmanIslands.

The characteristic feature of these forestsis dense growth of very tall trees havingheight of more than 45 m. Climbers, lians,epiphytes and shrubs are abundant butherbs and grasses are rare in these forests.The carpet layer of herbs and grasses can-not grow because very dense layer of leafcanopy of trees does not allow enough lightto reach to the ground.

Dominant trees in forests of west coastare Dipterocarpus indica, Palaquim andCellenia while in forests of Assam areDiptercarpus macrocarpus, D. turbinatus,Shorea assamica, Mesua ferrea andKayea

(2) Tropical moist semi-evergreen forests:These are also climatic climax forests foundcommonly in areas of annual rainfall200-250 cm and temperature 25-32°C.Theseforests are chiefly distributed along theWestern Ghats, in upper parts of Assamand Orissa and in Andman Islands. Theseforests are more developed in the northernIndia than in southern India.

Characteristic feature of these forests isdense growth of evergreen trees intermixedwith deciduous trees that shed their leavesfor very brief period of relative dryness.Average height of trees in these forests is25-35 m and shrubs are common. Forestshave rich carpet layer of herbs, grassesferns and orchids.

Dominant trees in these forests areDipterocarpus alatus, Hopea, Terminalia andSalmalia in Andman Island; Artocarpus,Micheliaand Mangifera in Orissa; Schimawallichii, Bauhinia, Phobe and Ammora inAssam.

(3) Tropical moist deciduous forests: Theseforests are found in the area having tem-perature of 25-30°C and quite high annual

rainfall of 150-200 cm spread over most ofthe year but periods of rain alternatingwith very short periods of dryness. Inseveral areas, the forests have been con-verted into open savannahs due to inten-sive biotic factors. These forests are chieflydistributed in a narrow belt along Hima-layan foothills, on the eastern side of West-ern Ghats, Chota Nagpur, Khasi hills, inmoist areas of Kerala, Karnataka, sothernMadhya Pradesh, parts of northern UttarPradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.

Chief characteristic of these forests is domi-nance of deciduous trees that remain leaf-less for one or two months only along withlower story of smaller trees and evergreenshrubs.

Dominant trees of these forests in northIndia are Tectona grandis, Shorea robusta,Salmella andDalbergia while in south Indiaare Tectona grandis and Shorea sp. .

(4) Littoral and swamp forests: These forestsare found in wet marshy areas, in riverdeltas, in saline or other swampy areas andalong the sea coasts. They are chiefly dis-tributed in deltas of large rivers on theeastern coast and in pockets on the westerncoast (Tidal forests), in saline swamps ofSundarban in West Bengal, coastal areas ofAndhra and Orissa (Mangrove forests) andin less saline or non-saline swampy pocketsthroughout the India.

Chief characteristic of these forests is domi-nance of halophytic evergreen plants ofvarying height with varying density ofplants in different area.

Dominant plants of tidal and mangroveforests are Rhizophora, Bruguiera, Ceriops,Horitora, Avicennia, Nipa, Sonneratia andAcanthus. In less saline swamps, dominantplants are Ipomea, Phoenix, Phragmitis,Casuarina, Manilkara and Calophyllum.In other swamps, the dominant plantsareBarringtonia, Syzygium, Myristica,Bischofia, Trowia, Lagerstroemia, Sophora,Pandanus, Entada andPremna.


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

(B) DRY TROPICAL FORESTS

These forests are found in the areas wherewet season is followed by a relatively longperiod of dryness during which trees remainleafless. These forests are dominated by smallertrees and shrubs and have abundance of shrubsor sometimes grasses. This category includesthree types of forests.

(1) Tropical dry deciduous forests: These for-ests are found in areas having temperatureof 25-32°C and annual rainfall of 75-125cm along with a dry season of about sixmonths. Distribution of these forests innorthern India is in areas of Punjab,Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa.In the southern and central India, theseforests are distributed in dry areas ofMaharashtra, Tamilnadu, Karnataka andMadhya Pradesh.

Chief characteristic feature of the forestsis open canopy of small (10-15 m high)trees and abundance of shrubs.

Dominant species of the forests in northIndia are Shorea robusta, anogeissus,Terminalia, Buchnnania, Somocarpus,Carissa, Emblica, Madhuca, Acacia, Aegle,Diospyros, Bauhinia, Eugenia, Zyzyphus,Lannea, Sterculia, Dendrocalamus,Salmelia, Adina, Grewia, Adathoda andHelicteres. In south India, dominant plantsare Tectona grandis, Dalbergia, Kydia,Terminalia, Pterospermum, Dillenia,Acacia, Diospyros, Anogeissus, Boswellia,Bauhinia, Chloroxylon, Hardwickia,Soymida, Gymnosporia, Zyzyphus,Dendrocalamus and Holorrhena.

(2) Tropical thorn forests: These forests arefound in the areas of high temperature of27-30°C and very low annual rainfall of 20-60 cm with long periods of dryness. Theseforests are distributed in western Rajasthan,parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradeshand Tamilnadu.

Chief charateristic of such forests is sparsedistribution of small (8-10 m high) mostlythorny trees with shrubs being more com-mon than trees. The plants in these forestsremain leafless for most of the year. They

develop leaves only during the brief rainyseason when grasses and herbs also be-come abundant.

Dominant plants in these forests are Aca-cia nilotica, A. leucophloea, A. senegal,Prosopis spicigera, P. juliflora, Albizzia andCapparis.

(3) Tropical dry evergreen forests: These for-ests are found in the areas of relatively hightemperature and small rainfall availableonly during summers. The forests are dis-tributed in some parts of Tamilnadu andKarnataka.

Chief characteristic features of the forestsare dense distribution of mixed small ever-green and deciduous trees of 10-15 mheight, absence of bamboos and abun-dance of grasses.

Dominant plants in the forests areMemecylon, Maba, Pavetta, Foronia,Terminalia, Ixora, Sterculia, Mesua andSchleichora.

(C) MONTANE SUBTROPICAL FORESTS

These forests occur in the areas where cli-mate is cooler than tropical but warmer thantemperate areas i.e. on the hills between thealtitudes of 1000 m and 2000 m. The forests aredominated by semi-xerophytic evergreen plants.This category includes three types of forests.

(1) Sub-tropical broad-leaved hill forests:These forests occur in relatively moist areasat lower altitudes on mountain ranges.Their chief distribution is in easternHimalayas of West Bengal and Assam ,hills of Khasi, Nilgiri and Mahabaleshwar.

Chief characteristic feature of the forestsis dense growth of evergreen browd-leavedtrees with abundant growth of climbersand epiphytic ferns and orchids.

Dominant trees in the forests of north areQuercus, Schima and Castanopsis with sometemperate species. In the southern areas,dominants are Eugenia and members offamily Lauraceae.

52

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


(2) Sub-tropical dry evergreen forests: Theseforests occur in areas having quite lowtemperature and rainfall. The forests aredistributed in the lower altitudes of easternand western Himalayas.

Chief characteristic feature of the forestsis presence of thorny xerophytes and small-leaved evergreen plants.

Dominant plants in the forests are Acaciamodesta, Dodonea viscosa and Oleacuspidata.

(3) Sub-tropical pine forests: These forestsoccur at middle altitudes between 1500-2000 m in Himalayas. They are distributedin western Himalayas from Kashmir toUttar Pradesh. In eastern Himalayas, theforests occur in Khasi Jayantia Hills ofAssam.

Chief characteristics of the forests areopen formations of pine trees.

Dominant trees in the forests are P.roxburghii and Pinus khasiana.

(D) TEMPERATE FORESTSThese forests are found in the areas having

quite low temperature along with comparativelyhigh humidity than the comparable areas ofhigher latitudes. The cause of high humidity isgreater rainfall in Himalayas except in parts ofUttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh andKashmir where humidity is lower. The forestsoccur mainly in the Himalayas at altitudes2000-4000 m. The forests are generally domi-nated by tall conifers or angiospermic evergreentrees with abundance of epiphytic mosses, li-chens and ferns. The category includes threetypes of forests.

(1) Wet temperate forests: These forests arefound at altitudes of 1800-3000 m in thecooler and humid mountains. They aredistributed in the eastern Himalayas fromeastern Nepal to Assam, in the westernHimalayas from Kashmir to western Nepaland in Nilgiri Hills of south Indian.

Chief characteristic feature of the forests inthe Himalayas is dense formation of ever-

green, semievergreen broad-leaved andconiferous trees of up to 25 m height. Insouth India, these forests are termed Sholaforests and mostly have 15-20 m highbroad-leaved trees with dense leaf canopy,abundant epiphytic flora and rich herba-ceous undergrowth.

Dominant trees in the forests of westernHimalayas are angiosperms like Quercus,Betula, Acer, Ulmus, Populus, Corylus,Caprinus etc. and conifers like Abies, Picea,Cedrus etc..

(2) Himalayan moist temperate forests: Theseforests are found at 1700-3500 m altitudein eastern and western Himalayas. Theseoccur in areas having annual rainfall above100 cm but relatively less than that in areasof wet temperate forests.

Chief characteristic feature of the forestsis presence of tall (up to 45 m high) coni-fers, oaks or their mixture along with thinpartly deciduous undergrowth.

Dominant trees in the eastern Himalayasare Tsuga dumosa, Quercus lineata, Piceaspinulosa, Abies densa and Quercuspachyphylla. In the western Himalayas,dominants in lower zones are Quercusincana, dialata, Cedrus deodara, Pinuswallichiana, Picea smithiana, Abiespindrew, Cotoneaster, Berberis and Spirewhile in the higher zones the dominantsare Quercus semicarpifolia and Abiespindrew.

(3) Himalayan dry temperate forests: Theseforests occur in the regions of Himalayashaving very low rainfall. They are distrib-uted in both eastern and westernHimalayas. Chief characteristic feature ofthe forests is dominance of evergreen oaksand conifers. Undergrowth is formed byscrubs.

Dominant trees in the forests of compara-tively drier western Himalayas are Pinusgerardiana andQuercus ilex. In the com-paratively wetter western Himalayan re-gion, the dominants are Abies, Picea, Larixgriffithia and Juniperus wallichiana.


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

(E) ALPINE FORESTS

These forests are found in the regions ofHimalayas having extremely low temperatureand humidity. The forests are dominated byperennial and annual herbs and grasses thoughsome trees may also be present in areas ofrelatively high humidity. Abundant lichen florais characteristic feature of these forests. Thiscategory includes three types of forests.

(1) Sub-alpine forests: These forests are foundin open strands throughout the Himalayasbetween the altitude 3500 m and the treetine.

Chief characteristic feature of the forestsis presence of some evergreen conifers andbroad-leaved trees along with prominentshrub layer.

Dominant trees in the forests are Abiesspectabilis, Rhododendron and Betula.Prominent shrubs in the forests are Coto-

neaster, Rosa, Smilax, Lonicera andStrobilanthus.

(2) Moist alpine scrub forests: These forestsare found in the Himalayas above the treeline up to 5500 m altitude in somewhatmoist areas.

Chief characteristic feature of the forestsis dominance of dwarf, evergreen shrubbyconifers and broad-leaved trees along withprominent shrub layer under them.

Dominant trees in the forests are Juniperusand Rhododendron

(3) Dry alpine forests: These forests are foundin comparatively more dry areas ofHimalaya's upto 5500 m altitude.

Chief characteristic feature of the forestsis open formation of xerophytic scrubs withmany herbs and grasses.

Dominant plants in the forests areJuniperus, Caragana, Eurctia, Salix andMyricaria. ��

56

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


AGRICULTURE5

Agriculture has been a way of life andcontinues to be the single most important live-lihood of the masses. Agricultural policy focusin India across decades has been on self-suffi-ciency and self-reliance in foodgrains produc-tion. Considerable progress has been made onthis front. Foodgrains production rose from 52million tonnes in 1951-52 to 244.78 milliontonnes in 2010-11. The share of agriculture inreal GDP has fallen given its lower growth raterelative to industry and services. However, whatis of concern is that growth in the agriculturalsector has quite often fallen short of the Plantargets. During the period 1960-61 to 2010-11,foodgrains production grew at a compoundedannual growth rate (CAGR) of around 2 percent. In fact, the Ninth and Tenth Five YearPlans witnessed agricultural sectoral growthrate of 2.44 per cent and 2.30 per cent respec-tively compared to 4.72 per cent during EighthFive Year Plan. During the XI Five Year plan,agriculture growth is estimated at 3.28 per centagainst a target of 4 per cent.

India is the largest producer in the world ofmilk, cashew nuts, coconuts, tea, ginger, tur-meric and black pepper, and has the world•fslargest cattle population (281 million).It is thesecond largest producer of wheat, rice, sugar,groundnut and inland fish. It is the third largestproducer of tobacco. India accounts for 10% ofthe world fruit production with first rank in theproduction of banana and sapota. India•fspopulation is growing faster than its ability toproduce rice and wheat.

GREEN REVOLUTION

The introduction of high-yielding varieties ofseeds after 1965 and the increased use of fertil-

izers and irrigation are known collectively asthe Green Revolution, which provided the in-crease in production needed to make India self-sufficient in food grains, thus improving agri-culture in India.

The adoption of HYVs occurred quickly. By1970, about 20 percent of the wheat area and30 percent of the rice area in country wasplanted to HYVs, and by 1990, the share hadincreased to about 70 percent for both crops.

Yields of rice and wheat virtually doubled.Higher yields and profitability also led farmersto increase the area of rice and wheat they grewat the expense of other crops. And with faster-growing varieties and irrigation, they grewmore crops on their land each year. Thesechanges more than doubled cereal productionin India between 1970 and 1995.

Poor infrastructure, high transport costs,limited investment in irrigation, and pricing andmarketing policies that penalized farmers madethe Green Revolution technologies too expen-sive or inappropriate for much of the countrymasses.

Impact of Green Revolution

Like other developing countries, Green Revo-lution has influenced the economy and way oflife in India to a great extent as is evident as isfrom the following points:

1. Increase in agricultureal Production: Theintroduction of Green Revolution in 1967-68 has resulted in phenomenal increase inthe production of agricultural crops espe-cially in foodgrains. From 1967 onwards,the Green Revolution aimed at bringing


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

about a Grain Revolution. The productionwheat increased by more than three timesbetween 1967-68 and 2003-04 while theoverall increase in the production of cerealswas only two times. On account of thisreason, it is said that the Green Revolutionin India is largely the Wheat Revolution.

2. Prosperity of Farmers: With the increase infarm production the earnings of the farm-ers also increased and they became pros-perous. This has, especially, been the casewith big farmers having more than 10 land.

3. Reduction in import of foodrgrains: Themain benefit of Green Revolution was theincrease in the production of foodgrains, asa result of which there was a drastic reduc-tion in their imports. We are not self suf-ficient in foodgrains and have sufficientstock in the central pool. Sometimes we arein a position to export foodgrains also. Theper capita net availability of foodgrains hasalso increased from 395 grams per day inearly 1950s to the level of 436 grams in2003, this inspite of the rapid increase inpopulation. In the words of Dantwala,Green Revolution had given a breathingtime. As a result, there will be relief fromanxiety of food shortage and the plannerswill concentrate more on Indian planning.

4. Capital Farming: Big farmers having morethan100 hectares of land have tended toget the maximum benefit from Green Revo-lution technology by investing large amountof money in various inputs like HYV seeds,fertilizers, machine, etc. This has encour-aged capitalistic farming.

5. Ploughing back of profit: The introductionof Green Revolution helped the farmers inraising their level of income. Wiser farmersploughed back their surplus income im-proving agrucultural productivity. This ledto further improvement in agriculture.According to a study conducted by PunjabAgriculture University, Ludhiana farmersplough back about 55 per cent of theirincome for agricultural progress.

6. Industrial Growth: Green Revolutionbrought about large scale farmmechanisation which created demand fordifferent types of machines like tractors,harvestors, threshers, combines, diesel en-gines, electric motors, pumping sets, etc.Besides, demand for chemical fertilizers,pesticides, insectivides, weedicides, etc. alsoincreased considerably. Consequently, in-dustries producing these items progessedby leaps and bounds. Moreover, seceralagricultural products are used as raw ma-terials in various industries. These indus-tries are known as agro based industries.Textile, sugar, vanaspati, etc. are someoutstanding examples of agro based indus-tries.

7. Rural Employment: While on one hand,large scale unemployment was feared dueto mechanization of farming with the in-troduction of Green Revolution technologyin India, there was an appreciable increasein the demand for labour force due tomultiple cropping and use of fertilizers.According to Gobind Thukral, "Green Revo-lution has generated lakhs of new jobs inPunjab. Almost 15 lakh poor people fromthe impoverished regions of Bihar easternUttar Pradesh and Orissa work here theynot only earn their bread and butter, buttake back home new ideas and technol-ogy". As per findings of Bhalla and Chadhain respect of Punjab, " The drive towardsmechanization was caused mainly by thescarcity of labour and relatively high wagerate especially during peak agriculturaloperations." During the last few years, alarge number of farm labours have mi-grated from Bihar and eastern UttarPradesh to Punjab where they find betteropportunities of earning a livelihood.

8. Change in the Attitude of Farmers: TheIndian farmer had remained illiterate, back-ward and traditional and had been usingconventional methods of cultivation sincethe early times. But Green Revolution hasbrought about a basic change in his atti-tude towards farming. The way he has

58

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


readily adopted the Green Revolution tech-nology are available, no farmer denies theireffectiveness. The desire for better farmingmethods nad a better standerd of living isgrowing not only among the relativelysmall number of affluent farmers using thenew technology, but also among countlessfarmers still from outside looking in."

Demerits or Problems of Green Revolution

Green Revolution is a unique event in theagricultural history of Independent India. Thishas saved us from the disasters of hunger andstarvation and made our peasants more confi-dent than ever before. But it has its own inher-ent deficiency segments. Ever since its inception,the income gap between large, marginal andsmall farmers has increased, gap between irri-gated and rainfed areas has widened and somecrops have benefited more than the others,sometimes even at the cost of other crops. It isneither product-neutral nor region-neutral andleaves uneven effects of growth on products,regions and classes of people. This has givenbirth to a plethora of socio-economic problems.According to Radha Krishna Rao. "The spiral-ing prices of fertilizers, the tendency to use themfrequently and the stagnant wheatand riceyields in Punjab and Haryana have combinedto confirm that Green Revolution has reachedripened old age". The fatigue of the GreenRevolution is already visible. Still the man la-cuna in the Green Revolution is that up till nowit is an unfinished task. Some of the demerits orproblems of Green Revolution are briefly dis-cussed as under :

1. Inter-Crop Imbalances: The effect of GreenRevolutions primarily felt on foodgrains.Although all foodgrains including wheat,rice, jowar, bajra and maize have gainedfrom the Green Revolution, it is wheatwhich has benefited the most. It has areasfrom coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds.The HYV seeds in latter crops have eithernot been developed so far at all, or they arenot good enough for farmers to risk theiradoption. Consequently, their cultivation is

fast becoming uneconomic and they areoften given up in favour of wheat or evenrice. The result is that an excess of produc-tion in two main foodgrains (wheat andrice) and shortages in most others todayprevail side by side. Major commercialcrops like cotton, jute, tea and sugarcaneare also slmost untouched by the GreenRevolution. The rate of growth in produc-tion of pulses has declined from 1.39 percent per annum in the pre-Green Revolu-tion period to only 0.79 per cent annumduring the period from 1967-68 to 1994-95.This is not good for a balanced growth onIndian agriculture. Central Government hastaken some steps to remove these imbal-ances.

2. Regional Disparties: Green Revolutiontechnology has given birth to growingdisparties in economic development at in-ter and intra regional levels. It has so faraffected only 40 per cent of the total croppedarea and 60 per cent is still untouched byit. The most affected areas are Punjab,Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh in thenorth and Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Naduin the south. It has hardly touched theEastern region, including Assam, Bihar,West Bengal and Orissa and arid and semi-arid areas of Western and Southern India.In short, Green Revolution affected onlythose areas which were already betterplaced from agricultural point of view.Thus the problem of regional disparitieshas further aggravated as a result of GreenRevolution.The ratio between the lowestand highest yield-rates among the states forthe 1975-78 period amounted to 1 : 3.2 inpaddy, 1 : 3.7 in wheat, 1 : 3.4 in cereals,1 : 3.2 in pulses, 1 : 3.2 in food grains, 1 :3.0 in oilseeds, 1 : 3.2 in sugarcane, 1 : 4.9in cotton and 1 : 1.6 in jute. Studyof somesample surveys recently conducted by theIndian Agricultural Statistics Research In-stitute (IASRI) revealed that the single mostimportant factor is the 'input differential'which alone can explain extreme yieldvariation seven under similar physical and


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

cultural conditions. According to a studyby Bhalla and Alagh, 69 districts with arelatively high productivity levels accountfor 20 per cent of the cultivated area and36 per cent of output, consume 44 per centof fertilizers, employ 50 per cent of tractorsand 45 per cent of irrigation pumps andhave 38 per cent of India's gross irrigatedare.

Regional disparties in crop yields can bereduced by evolving suitable disease resistanthigh-yield strains of paddy for most easternparts and by developing irrigation facilities anda suitable dry farming technology for the aridand semi-arid western and southern regions.

3. Increase in Inter-Personal Inequalities: Ithas been observed that it is the big farmerhaving 10 hectares or more land. Who isbenefited the most from Green Revolutionbecause he has the financial resources topurchase farm implements, better seeds,fertilizers and can arrange for regular sup-ply of irrigation water to the crops. Asagainst this, the small and marginal farm-ers do not have the financial resources topurchase these farm inputs and aredepreived of the benefits of Green Revolu-tion Technology. There were about 1,053lakh holdings in Indian in 1990-91 out ofwhich only 1.6 per cent exceeded 10 hect-ares n size. Francine R. Rankel has con-cluded from his study of Ludhiana(Paunjab), West Godavari (AndhraPradesh, Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu), Palghat(Kerala) and Bardhaman (West Bengal)that the greater beneficiaries are those farm-ers who own 10 to 12 hectares of land.Similar conclusion was drawn by G.R.Saini from his study of Ferozepur (Punjab)and Muzaffarnagar (U.P.). G.S. Bhallal andG.K. Chadha have found out that GreenRevolution has benefited the farmers ingeneral but one-third of them are smallfarmers with 2.5 acres of land and areliving below poverty line. Another 24.0 percent of the farmers own 2.5 to 5.0 acres ofland and they are also lining below poverty

line. The land holdings are generally smallin rice producing areas and the economicposition of the farmers living in those areasis extremely miserable. In short, Green Revo-lution has made the rich richer and ren-dered the poor poorer resulting in wide-spread social and economic tensions.

4. Unemployment. Except in Punjab, and tosome extent in Haryana, farm mechaniza-tion under Green Revolution has createdwidespread unemployment among agri-cultural labourers in the rural areas. Theworst hit are the poor and the landlesspeople.

5. Other Problem. Agriculture under GreenRevolution has not grown at a rate whichwas expected in the beginning. The differ-ential rates of growth of different crops andtheir regional variations have already beendiscussed. Some scholars have expressedserious doubts about the capability of HYVseeds itself. Analysing the role played bymiracle seeds in the Green Revolution,Vandana Shiva says that the term HYV isa misomer. In acutality, these seeds arehighly responsive to certain key inputssuch as fertilizer and irrigation and as suchthey should have been called highlyresonsive varieties. Shiva says that there isincreasing evidence that the indigenousvarieties could also be high yielding giventhe required doses of inputs. According toShiva, "the inevitability of the Green Revo-lution option was built on neglecting theother avenues for increasing productionthat is more important such as improvingmixed cropping systems, improving indig-enous seeds and improving the effiency ofuse of local resources." Vandana Shivafurther comments that "having destroyednature's mechanisms for controling peststhrough the destruction of diversity, the'miracle seeds' of the Green Revolutionbecame mechanisms for breeding new pestsand creating new diseases". In a case studyof Punjab, M.K. Sekhon and Manjeet Kaurof P.A.U. Ludhiana have warned againstthe excessive use of groundwater, chemical

60

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


fertilizers and pesticide. This will lead tolarge scale depletion of groundwater andwill adversely affect the health of soil.

Suggestions for Strengthening of GreenRevolution

Following suggestions are put forward forsustainability of Indian Agriculture and for thestability of Green Revolution in India.

1. Wider Area. So far Green Revolution hasaffected only 40 per cent of the culturablearea in India. The remaining parts espe-cially the eastern region and larger parts ofpeninsular India (except Andhra Pradeshand Tamil Nadu) are still unaffected byGreen Revolution. These areas need to becovered by Green Revolution Technologyso that agricultural production in India asa whole is increased and at the same timeregional disparties are removed.

2. More Crops: The greatest benefit drawnfrom the Green Revolution is that by wheat,although rice is also benefited to someextent. Other crops such as cotton, jute, teaand sugarcane are not affected by it andpulses and oilseeds have suffered at thehands of Green Revolution. These cropsshould also be brought under the canvas ofGreen Revolution. A greater input of re-search and development is required in thisconnection.

3. Irrigation: Green Revolution has left greaterimpact in areas which were better servedby irrigation facilities. About 2/3rd of thetotal cropped area is still without properirrigation. There is an urgent need toextend irrigation facilities to these areas forthe success of Green Revolution. Minorirrigation schemes especially tube-wells canplay an important role in this direction.

4. Small Farmers: About 85 per cent are smallfarmers in Indian who are almost entirelydeprived of the benefits of Green Revolu-tion. Rather they have suffered a lot be-cause they lost employment opportunitiesdut to mechanisation of farming. Thesepoor farmers should be helped in all pos-sible ways if we want Indian agricultural

development to really become a mass move-ment.

5. High Yields: Though there has been atremendous increase in yields of some cropsas a result of introduction of HYV seedsand other farm inputs; they are still muchless when compared with the world's best.Therefore, there is still a large scope ofincreasing the yields. Moreover, the possi-bility of increasing area under cultivationhas been almost exhausted and the onlyway to increase production is to lay morestress on increasing yields.

6. Intensity of cropping: Intensity of crop-ping is the ratio of gross croppped area tothe net sown area. It is expressed on per-centages and it calculated with the help ofthe following formula:

Intensity of cropping =

In 1999-2000, total cropped area was 189.7million hectares and net sown area was 142.2million hectares. Thus the intensity of croppingcomes out to 134.3. Cropping intensity variesfrom 100 per cent in Mizoram to 194.43 per centin Punjab (1991-2000). Next to Punjab is WestBengal (174%), Himachal Pradesh (173%), fol-lowed by Haryana (169%), and Uttar Pradesh(151%). It is higher than the national average inJammu and Kashmir, Assam, and Manipur,Sikkim, Bihar and Orissa (Fig. 23.1). It is lowand very low in the states of peninsular pla-teaus. The densely populated northern plains.Coastal plains and deltas, which are irrigated orare favoured by sufficient rainfall, are markedwith high intensity of cropping. Very low andlow intensities predominate in the hilly, arid,semi-arid and semi-humid lands of Rajasthan,Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,Karnataka, and north eastern hilly states wheresoils are light or heavy and irrigation facilitiesare absent or negligible.

The index of the intensity of cropping de-pends upon the extent of area sown more thanonce. Higher the extent of area sown more thanonce higher will be the intensity of cropping, Inother words, intensity of cropping is the indica-tor of the efficiency of land use. Higher the


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

index of intensity of cropping higher is theefficiency of land use. The main factors influ-encing intensity of cropping are irrigation, fer-tilizer, early-maturing high-yielding varieties ofseeds, mechanization of agriculture and plantprotection measures through the use of insecti-cides, pesticides and weedicides. The availabil-ity of water for irrigation ensures the use ofhigher doses of fertilizers which, in turn, re-duces the extent of fallow land. The quick-ripening varieties of seeds help in taking morethan one crop from the same field in oneagricultural year.

Intensity of cropping increased from 110 percent in 1950-51 to 134.3 per cent in 1999-2000.This means that even now only 34.3 per cent ofthe net sown area is used for raising more thanone crop in a year. This is too small comparedto 90 per cent in China and 40 per cent inBangladesh. Therefore, there is much scope forincreasing the intensity of cropping.

WHITE REVOLUTION

Operation Flood was a rural developmentprogramme started by India's National DairyDevelopment Board (NDDB) in 1970. One ofthe largest of its kind, the programme objectivewas to create a nationwide milk grid.

It resulted in making India the largest pro-ducer of milk and milk products, and hence isalso called the White Revolution of India. It alsohelped reduce malpractices by milk traders andmerchants. This revolution followed the IndianGreen Revolution and helped in alleviatingpoverty and famine levels from their dangerousproportions in India during the era.

Operation Flood's objectives included:

• Increase milk production ("a flood of milk")• Augment rural incomes• Fair prices for consumers

List of other agricultural revolution

Black Revolution Petroleum produc-tion

Blue Revolution Fish production

Golden Fiber Revolution Jute Production

Grey Revolution Fertilizer produc-tion

Pink Revolution Onion production/Pharmaceutical (In-dia)/Prawn pro-duction

Red Revolution Meat & Tomatoproduction

Round Revolution Potato production

Silver Fiber Revolution Cotton production

Silver Revolution Egg/Poultry pro-duction

White Revolution Milk/Dairy pro-duction (In India -Operation Flood)

Yellow Revolution Oil Seeds produc-tion

Evergreen Revolution Overall develop-ment of Agriculture

SOCIAL FORESTRY

India's population has crossed the figure of1000 million. Cultivable land per capita hasdeclined significantly. With the present rate ofdeforestation, there would be hardly any forestcover in the coming fifty years. Already thereare acute shortages of fuel wood and fodder.Even to sustain present demand, fuel woodproduction must be increased. Survival for thepoor is becoming precarious. Women are forcedto walk miles in search of fuel wood, fodder andwater. Scant supply of forest-based raw mate-rials has devastated the livelihood of millions oftribals and others dependent on forests, as alsotheir culture and way of life. India's future ishinged to the revival of its degraded forests anddifferent cultivable and non-cultivable land re-sources.

One of the most serious problems threaten-ing the country today is its population growth.Although the foodgrain production in the lastfew years has kept pace with the populationincrease, the daunting task of feeding each andeveryone in the next century is the biggestchallenge before us. In our attempts to meetsuch increasing demands, the improper andover-use of chemical inputs had deteriorated

62

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


the agro-ecosystems to a considerable extent.Moreover, the pressure due to growing humanand cattle population on the land has added tothe deterioration of land status of the country.The increasing deterioration of land due to soil-erosion, injudicious use of chemical fertilizers,water logging, salinity/alkalinity, shifting culti-vation etc. necessitates a more scientific ap-proach towards the utilization of these lands,often termed as degraded or waste-lands. Thegrowing awareness in the world on the environ-ment conservation and the emphasis on theconcept of sustainability has focused on the areaof 'wasteland utilization' as an important com-ponent of sustainable development.

Why Social Forestry?

Social forestry is seen as an instrument ofsustainable development. This is due to itspotential of resolving the three basic issues ofrural poor simultaneously. It has a capacity toprovide food security, fuel security and liveli-hood security with eco-friendly approach todevelopment thus leading to sustainable devel-opment.

As a source for meeting the daily needs ofpublic requirements viz., timber, fuel, fodder,industrial and medicinal products, forests arequite significant. In view of the various devel-opmental schemes, the pressure on forest re-sources to cope up with the increasing demandhas become much more severe. As such, the gapbetween the demand and supply is on theincrease. To bridge this gap to a certain extent,it is inevitable to raise forests on all availablegovernment and private lands.

Social forestry assumes an important role inremoving the regional imbalances which occurin vegetation. Since there is no chance of in-creasing the area under forests, the only alter-native is to bring as much private land underforests as may be possible. Hence the need tohave a vigorous social forestry programme isrealised.

Government for social forestry

In 1976, the National Commission on Agri-culture in its review of the forestry sector

sugggested two new directions. A greater em-phasis on production forestry by establishingForest Development Corporations and aprogramme on Social Forestry to deal primarilywith fuelwood and fodder production for therural poor.

Social forestry was to be a programme of thepeople for the people, and by the people. Be-cause social forestry is labour intensive, it wasalso hoped that it would contribute significantlyto rural employment. Social forestry, with itsvillage woodlots, farm forestry and other affor-estation activities seemed to promise the green-ing of the country. And, in the long run, thiswould have meant halting deforestation andsignificant contribution to the ecological regen-eration of the country.

Social forestry was maintained by govern-ment and significant funds set apart for itsprogress, particularly from the Sixth Plan on-wards. Centrally sponsored schemes wereaccepted for increasing fuel-wood in the fuel-wood deficient districts. International agenciesgave generous support for social forestry notonly to increase the supply of fuel-wood andfodder, but also to ensure the participation ofthe rural poor so that the control of theseresources would be in the hands of the poor.

It may be recalled that the National Com-mission on Agriculture (1976) spelt out theobjectives of social forestry as:

(1) fuelwood supply to replace cowdung(2) small timber supply(3) fodder supply(4) protection of agricultural fields against

winds, and(5) recreational needs.

Local Organization efforts

Significance of local organization is broad inachieving the prospect of social forestry. Volun-tary agencies can set up a model after carefullystudying the local needs. They have to identifythe areas and species suitable for a specific typeof land to meet the needs. The achievement ofthe programmes rest on association of the people.People should involve themselves in planning,execution and management of resources meant


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

for them. One suggestion that could be given forthis is forming a village council for planning andimplementing various activities at the villagelevel. Grass roots level planning is the strengthof voluntary agencies. They should have cred-ibility and it is reinforced by the enthusiasm ofthe local people. A village should have a dy-namic local leader who can motivate people forthe cause.

The main role of local agencies involved inthe cause of forest development is regenerationof forests and rebuilding the tribal community.The voluntary sector is not homogenous but hasa great variety. Some voluntary agencies viewafforestation as a source of income generation,some as regeneration of environment and othersas part of community building. So the successalso depends on the approach of the localagencies.

In West Bengal, social forestry has beenmore successful because the village panchayatswere actively involved in identifying land ben-eficiaries. The revitalisation of village panchayatsin West Bengal was based on implementation ofland reforms and distribution of surplus lands.The protection of forests by village communitieshas been so successful that the West BengalGovernment has extended the scheme to otherparts in the state as well. Without a localorganisation, active participation and involve-ment of people is difficult to achieve.

In many successful projects of afforestationand the sustainable use of forests, the principleof equity in distribution of local resources hascontributed significantly to the success of theproject. In the Chipko village in the Himalayas,the women in the villages have organised them-selves for safeguarding their ecosystems and indeveloping fuelwood and fodder resources intheir common lands. They identified fragileslopes and planted them to prevent landslides.

Another successful example of a localorganisation based on equitable sharing of re-sources is the Sukhomajri project in the Shivalikhills. The Sukhomajri village has been able toprotect its watershed, save the village fromfalling into a widening gorge because of massiveerosion and has been able to increase the social

and economic well-being of the village commu-nity in a span of three to four years. Sukhomajrihas established a Water Users Association, whichprovides an equal share of the rain- watercollected by building a small dam. Even thelandless are entitled to an equal share, whichthey can barter for share-cropping, money etc.Everyone in the village has a vested interest insafeguarding the watershed, so that the damdoes not get silted.

Earlier the trees were planted in the water-shed by the Forestry Department to stop soilerosion, but the villagers did not cooperate. Theforest officials threatened the villagers and im-posed heavy fines when caught with their cattlegrazing in the watershed. But these mecha-nisms, as we know from experience elsewhere,did not work. Only when the community estab-lished its own organisation and assured equi-table distribution of benefits that every memberof the community endeavored to safeguard theafforestation in the watershed.

With the building of the check-dam, withavailability of harvested rain-water, with theconsensus on equitable sharing of water, theeconomy of the village boomed.

Selecting suitable Species

To meet the needs, proper species should beidentified specific to the land capabilities andenvironmental conditions. Voluntary agenciescan select the species which can meet the localdemand for fuel, fodder and timber. Sometimes,despite firewood shortage people do not showany preference for better varieties. This is per-haps due to the perception of the farmers thatthey will not be profitable. A multipurposeindigenous tree would assume greater impor-tance which has quick growing provenance.Acute fodder shortage is a major problem thatis faced by the farmers. So, due importanceshould be given to the fodder species.

Any of the following species combinationcan be planted by an individual to meet hisrequirement: Artocarpus for fruit, fuel andfoldder, Tectona grandis for timber, Eucalyptus,Neem etc. for medicinal value, bamboo fortimber, etc.

64

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


Barriers blocking the Success

Despite reasonable development in the rightdirection further acceleration in social forestrycalls for identification of major barriers blockingthe success of the programme. On the basis ofseveral studies and reports they can be listed asfollows:

1) Critical analysis of objectives of social for-estry and actual outcome show that thereis a priority over fodder and fuel wood treeplantation which has resulted into insig-nificant contribution to improving the con-sumption of poor families. As a result, thepressure on forest land has not significantlyreduced. Block plantation on degradedwaste land has remained much less thanstrip plantation.

2) Bureaucratic and departmental imperativesare more powerful than poor people's in-terests which reflect in the decision regard-ing choice of plantation. Consequentlyprojects that given the government help,people would be willing to invest theirlabour and capital has failed to a largerextent.

3) One of the observations of a social forestryevaluation report notes that ever increasingtargets and complex and intensified ad-ministration provide little time for exten-sion or seeking the 'participation' whichremained 'an ideology without amethodolgy.'

4) People's participation is not forthcoming asspecies selection and spacing are left to theforestry sector which emphasize on rev-enue generating plants and environmen-tally significant plants but not people'scurrent needs oriented plants. In the nameof next generation the needs of presentgeneration is neglected. Benefits which couldflow to the poor from species yieldingintermediate products were not properlyappreciated. Thus, productions of grasses,legumes, fodder, fruit and minor forestproducts are neglected.

5) The structure of marketing arrangementsand pricing of minor forest produce are

totally ignored in comparison to produc-tion efforts under the social forestryprogrammes. Forest co-operatives whichhad once played very significant role havealmost disappeared now.

6) People's participation in social forestryprojects is much less than desired. Staffsengaged on project implementation havedifferent approach. 'I manage, you partici-pate' has been a dominant underlying prin-ciple behind government projects. How-ever, the FAO defines people's participa-tion "as the process by which the ruralpeople are able to organize themselves andthrough their own organization are able toidentify their needs, share in design, imple-mentation and evaluation of the participa-tory action."

7) The role of NGOs is very significant indeveloping non-forest area through socialforestry, besides promoting people's par-ticipation in the social forestry. NationalWaste Land Development Board has devel-oped specific guidelines for participation ofNGOs. However, recent project report ofthe department on "Integrated Forest De-velopment" has made sad remarks aboutthe performance of NGOs.'

8) Small and marginal farmers, despite therecognition of Tree as a ready saving bank,do not show enthusiasm to plant trees. Theresponse is poor because of problems ofsecurity, ownership, pricing, marketing andeven benefits.

9) It is notable that employment programmesunder Anti-Poverty schemes have specifictarget provision to cover forest develop-ment work which could be easily linked upto social forestry programmes. Such link-age is missing due to lack of co-ordinationamong government departments.

Thus, critical review of social forestryprogrammes help us to identify specific issues topromote them with accelerated momentumthrough participation of people and active sup-port of Government and non-government orga-nizations.


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

Suggested Policy ActionsThe specific and pragmatic policy actions

are not easy to suggest. However, a modesteffort could be made to point out broad policyactions:

A) Specific measures are needed to be takenup to reach the poor. Now that forestpersonnel have developed friendly imagethrough social forestry programmes, peoplewill be approachable through Panchayatsand NGOs.

B) Educating people for understanding theimportance of ongoing social forestryprogrammes. However, apart from dis-semination of information and knowledgeof social forestry, it should be "one facilitycentre" for adoption of social forestry bythe people.

C) Aghakhan Rural Development supportProgramme (AKRSO) has not only receiveddue recognition by the department as themodel of NGO participation but it has alsoshown an approach to deal withafforestration through landless laboures.Efforts could be made to replicate suchmodels.

D) Decision making process of the programmemust be highly decentralized with adequateparticipation of the beneficiaries whichwould help balancing the needs of the poorand society and economy at large. A bal-ance between ecological stability and eco-nomic progress will be achievable only bythis way.

School Nursery Programme

Nursery establishment is the foremost im-portant activity in the social forestry programme.The nurseries should be easily accessible to thefarmers; that means, decentralised nurseriesshould be established so that the enthusiasmand interest of the people in planting trees canbe boosted. A classic example of the nurseryestablishment by the Tarabalu Rural Develop-ment Foundation in Chitradurga district ofKarnataka can be quoted. It runs 157 educa-tional instiutions which is a tremendous devel-

opment resource for social action. It started aproject, viz Tarabalu Seedlings (TS), in 1985with the assistance of the society for the Promo-tion of the Wasteland Development and theSocial Forestry Department of Karnataka. Theobjectives include rising of experimental nurser-ies in 60 schools involving students and teach-ers, developing scientific afforestation of de-graded land and initiating social forestry.

The School Nursery Development Programmehas evoked good response from students andteachers. Kisan nurseries that are developed bythe Social Forestry Department of Karnatakaalso supply seedlings to farmers. But peoplewould like to go in for seedlings from TS becausethere they have a sense of belonging. They thinkthat the seedlings are grown by their ownchildren. So they prefer these seedlings to thosesupplied by Kisan nurseries, since an element ofattachment is present there. If social forestry hasto become a social movement, it has to take rootsin the minds of the people and not just in theminds of the foresters and bureaucrats. TheSchool Nursery Development Programme hasto clearly focus on nutrition habits among schoolchildren.

Tree Patta Scheme

As part of social forestry and rural develop-ment a 'tree patta' scheme was jointly evolvedby the National Wastelands Development Board(NWDB) and the Ministry of Rural Develop-ment. The scheme involved access to commonland for afforestation purposes. The patta holderwas given access to land with usurer rights oftrees and grasses grown on the land. Thescheme did not take off primarily because landwas not available for the purpose. Only veryrocky and degraded land was offered and eventhat meant various political and bureaucratichurdles. The policy in terms of treeless forestland-about 35 to 40 m ha has been that it is tobe safeguarded and not allowed to be used evenfor afforestation purposes under the guidanceof the Forestry Department. Without access toland, social forestry and other afforestationschemes can only be on paper and rhetoric forthe birds.

66

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


Conclusion

Social Forestry was conceived as people-centred programme, a programme to empowerthe rural poor for their fuelwood, fodder andother timber needs. In time, social forestrybecame a government programme, a programmeof the Forest Department. Major funds of socialforestry were used in protected and reservedforests, and the only benefit to the poor was interms of employment; it is sad to observe thateven here, in some instance it was found thatminimum wages were not paid.

Lack of appropriate policies regarding ac-cess of land to the poor for afforestationpurposes, defunct Acts and laws, which hinderrather than motivate people, resulted in vestedinterests controlling the social forestryprogramme. Instead of fuelwood and fodder,social forestry has largely provided raw mate-rials to paper, pulp and building industry,bypassing the rural poor.

New programmes require new strategiesand new structure. Social Forestry too needs tobe doused in an appropriate organisation struc-ture which encourages and promotes people'sparticipation. One such structure promoted wasthe Rashtriya Virkshamitra Sahyog Mandal(RVSM), an agency jointly sponsored by theNational Wastelands Development Board, andthe National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).The RVSM has promoted tree growers coopera-tives for fuelwood and fodder in several states.

Social forestry and massive afforestation bythe people cannot be a programme of a singlegovernment department. Social forestry must bea people's movement. Schools, colleges, munici-palities, government departments, and otheridentified institutions should share the respon-sibility to plant trees and maintain them eitherdirectly or through a contract system with localpeople.

AGROFORESTRY

The land management patterns in Indiavary from area to area depending upon landcharacteristics and the climate. The land has a

limited-population supporting capacity, beyondthat there will be degradation and irreversibleloss of productivity because of improper andexcessive use.

Agroforestry systems hold promise to pro-vide such sustainable land management. Theproduction of food grains, fruits, fodder, fuel-wood, timber etc. can be obtained simulta-neously through these systems. The total pro-duction-mix can be selected depending uponthe area, climate, demand etc.

Agroforestry is a way to reduce the existingpressure on the forest. The practice is very old,but the term is definitely new and for the lastone decade it has taken a scientific approach.The need is for diversification of agriculture toreduce the risk of crop failure due to uncertaintyof weather conditions and erosion hazards.People raise trees, crops and animals tradition-ally on the same farm. This practice of mixedfarming has developed over centuries for meet-ing most of the requirements of family.

Agroforestry is a collective name for landuse systems and technologies where woodyperennials (trees, shrubs, palms, bamboos, etc.)are deliberately used on the same piece of landmanagement unit as agricultural crops and/oranimals in some form of spatial arrangement ortemporal sequence.

In agro forestry, there are both ecologicaland economical interactions between the differ-ent components. In simple terms, agriculture isa land use system where agricultural crops aregrown for the production of food grains, fodder,etc. Forestry, on the other hand, is land usesystem where forest trees, shrubs etc. are grownfor the production of wood, fodder and otherbenefits. Agroforestry is a hybrid of both landuse systems where the object is to obtain yieldof grains, fodder, fuelwood, fruit, wood andother benefits.

Advantages of Agro-forestry

There is serious concern over degradation ofenvironment. Serious adverse ecological mani-festation, increase of carbon-dioxide (CO2) inthe atmosphere, global warming, serious soillosses, repeated droughts, floods and serious


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

pollution, etc. are the results of dwindling forestresources. An agroforestry system helps to in-crease the tree cover. It also makes available topeople the required quantity of timber, fruit,fuel-wood, fodder etc. for which they tradition-ally depend on forests. Thus, this system helpsin reducing the pressure on forests and helps inconservation and development.

Different areas are gravely under the threatof pollution. Air, water and noise pollution arecommon. Trees guard from distinct kinds ofpollutants. The best safeguard against land-slides is through agroforestry i.e. mixed forestsand grasses. This requires careful selection oftree species, grasses etc. Agroforestry sys-tems maintain soil fertility through recycling ofnutrients and prevent soil erosion and loss ofnutrients through leaching and runoff. Reduc-tion in erosion and surface run off helps inreducing flood damage. Many leguminous treespecies fix nitrogen from the atmosphere andreturn much more in leaf-fall than they takefrom the soil. Leaves of the trees could be usedas green manure and help the farmer in increas-ing soil fertility.

Agroforestry system is therefore helpful inmaintaining land productivity at optimum lev-els over a long period of time. These systemsconstitute sustainable land management.

These systems are capable of meeting thedemands of raw materials of several agricul-tural and forest based industries. Some of theindustries e.g. paper and pulp mills, sportsgoods, furniture, saw mills, etc. are meetingrequirements from forestry and agroforestationproduce. Poplar has been widely cultivated inthe Tarai area of Uttar Pradesh and Haryanaand is being used by several industries, e.g.,match splints, plywood, packing cases etc.

Such systems improve the productivity ofplants and animals since they are based onsustainable land management and maximumutilisation of natural resources, to increase theecological and economic benefits.

Various Forms of Agroforestry

• Silvipastoral System: In this system ofsustainable land management, improved

pasture crops are grown along with treespecies.

• Agri-Silvipastoral System: This system isthe result of the union between silvipastoraland agri-silvicultural systems. Under thissystem, the same unit of land is managedto get agricultural and forest crops wherefarmers can also rear animals.

• Agri-Horticultural System: If agriculturalcrops are grown along with fruit trees, thesystem is referred to as agri-horticulturalsystem.

• Silvi-Horticultural System: In this system,tree species are managed to get timber, fuelwood etc. and horticultural crops are grownin the interspace.

• Silvi-Horti pastoral System: A combina-tion of tree species, horticultural crops andgrasses are practiced in this system. Thethree combinations are based on the prin-ciple that each of its components drawsnutrients from different layers of soil.

• Silvi-Agri-Sericultural System: This is avery complex system of agro-forestry. Inthis system, crops/vegetables are grownalong with tree species (silk host plants).The larval excreta are good manure for thecrops/vegetables.

• Silvi-Agri-Lac Cultural System: In thissystem, crops are grown along with lachost plants. It is very common in ChotaNagpur plateau of Jharkhand.

• Horti-Silvi-Agri-Apicultural System: Theland is managed for concurrent productionof flowers, crops and honey. Floweringplants often favour increases of parasitesand predators of crop pests and thus anantiregulatory bio-control system operateshere.

• Multi-Storeyed Agroforestry System: Thissystem is managed by the combinationbetween cultural practices and the naturalprocesses of vegetation production andreproduction. It represents a profitable pro-duction system and constitutes an efficientbuffer between villages and forests. This iscommon in coastal parts of Southern India

68

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


where coconut is grown with black pepperand tapioca (cassava).

• Aqua-Agri-Hortipastoral System: In thissystem, fruit trees are planted on the ter-raced land around the water tanks, ponds,etc. and crops (agricultural and pastoral)are grown in the interspace. The fallenleaves of trees enrich the pond nutrients forfish.

SERICULTURE

Sericulture is an agro-based industry. It in-volves rearing of silkworms for the productionof raw silk, which is the yarn obtained out ofcocoons spun by certain species of insects. Themajor activities of sericulture comprises of food-plant cultivation to feed the silkworms whichspin silk cocoons and reeling the cocoons forunwinding the silk filament for value addedbenefits such as processing and weaving.

India has the unique distinction of being theonly country producing all the five kinds of silk- Mulberry, Eri, Muga, Tropical Tasar andTemperate Tasar.

Sericulture Activities� Moriculture: Cultivation of mulberry plants

is referred to as Moriculture. It is anagricultural activity. In Tamil Nadu, mul-berry cultivation is mainly taken up inirrigated condition. Flat, deep, fertile, welldrained loamy and clay loamy with goodmoisture holding capacity soil is ideal formulberry cultivation.

� Silkworm Rearing: Silkworm Rearing isconsidered to be an agro based cottageindustry since it involves mulberry cultiva-tion. Silkworms are reared for the produc-tion of "cocoons" which is the raw materialfor silk production. The farmers rear silk-worms and produce cocoons. By market-ing the cocoons the farmers earn money. Itis ideally suited for the rural areas ofSericulture States. Silkworms are reared inwell ventilated rearing shed following shootrearing method

� Silk Reeling: Extraction of silk filamentfrom cocoons by employing a set of pro-

cesses is known as silk reeling. Presentlysilk reeling is done using three types ofreeling devices viz. Charka, Cottage basinsand Multi-end basins. Poor quality co-coons can be reeled economically on charka.About 50% of silk produced is of charkaand about 35 - 40% is at cottage basins anda small quantity of silk is from multiendreeling. The silk obtained out of the reelingprocess is referred to as "Raw Silk".

� Silk Weaving: The raw silk cannot bedirectly used for weaving. The raw silk isto be twisted before they are fed into looms.The operation of conversion of raw silk intotwisted silk, is termed as twisting. Thetwisted silk is referred to as Ready Silk.Twisting is undertaken either by separateentrepreneurs or by the weavers them-selves. The silk weaving is done either onhandlooms or power looms. The tradi-tional silk sarees and dhoties are made onhandlooms whereas the printed sarees,dress materials, etc., are made on powerlooms.

Eco- friendly activity

• As a perennial crop with good foliage androot-spread, mulberry contributes to soilconservation and provides green cover.

• Waste from silkworm rearing can be re-cycled as inputs to garden.

• Dried mulberry twigs and branches areused as fuel in place of firewood andtherefore reduce the pressure on vegeta-tion/forest.

• Being a labour intensive and predominantlyagro-based activity, involvement of smoke-emitting machinery is minimal.

• Developmental programmes initiated formulberry plantation are mainly in uplandareas where un-used cultivable land ismade productive.

• Mulberry can also be cultivated as inter-crop with numerous plantations.

• Mulberry being a deep-rooted perennialplant can be raised in vacant lands, hillslopes and watershed areas.


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

• Currently, only about 0.1 % of the arableland in the country is under mulberrycultivation.

DRY ZONE FARMING

Dry zone agriculture basically belongs tofragile, high risking and low productive agricul-tural eco-system. This spreads over those areasof country where annual amount of rainfall isless than 75cm. dry lands cover about 22%ofcountry's area. More than three-fifth ofRajasthan and one - fifth of Gujarat and someareas of Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, AndhraPradesh and Karnataka come under dry lands.

Due to low productivity it grows jowar,bajra, maize, cotton, groundnut, pulses andoilseeds.

Problems of dry zone agriculture:• Here rainfall is scarce and uncertain which

makes the region susceptible to draughtsand famines

• Here soil is sandy which lacks nutrientmaterials for soil fertility

• The area is prone to problem of soil erosion• Low yield and more susceptible to pests

and diseases• Fields are scattered and the use of new

farm machineries lacking• These areas lack infrastructural facilities as

transport, market, storage etc.With the growing emphasis on food security

of the masses need of the hour is to launchsecond green revolution related to coarse grainsand oilseeds which should be based on organicfarming methods to counter the drawbacks offirst green revolution.

LAND RESOURCES OF INDIA

Major Land Forms of India

1. Plain 43%

2. Mountain & hills 30%

3. Plateau 27%

The utilization of land depends upon physi-cal factors like topography, soil and climate as

well as upon human factors such as the densityof population duration of occupation of thearea, land tenure and technical levels o thepeople.

Net sown Area

1. Agriculture land means cultivated area itincludes net cropped area and fallow lands.Cropped area in the year under consider-ation in called net sown area.

2. India stands seventh in the world in termsof total geographical area but second interms of cultivated land.

3. Net sown area to total geographical areavaries from state to state.

4. Net shown Area is 46%

5. Percentage wise Punjab and Haryana arehighest and Arunachal Pradesh is Lowest(3.2% )

6. Area wise largest Net shown area- MadhyaPradesh- Maharashtra-U.P- Rajasthan-Andhra Pradesh- Karnataka.

Culturable Waste

Culturable Waste' is the land available forcultivation but not used for cultivation for onereason or the other.

1. It is not being used at present due to suchconstraints as lack of water, salinity oralkalinity of soil.

2. of total area of Goa is Culturable waste.

3. Rajasthan has maximum culturable waste-land about 36% followed by Gujarat M.P,U.P., and Maharashtra.

Land not available for cultivation

This can be classified in two types:a) Land put to non-agricultural use.b) Barren and uncultivable land.

These areas cannot be brought under ploughexcept at high input cost with possible Lowreturns. In India land not available for cultiva-tion is 13.8 percent. The largest areas in thiscategory Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan. M.P,Gujarat, U.P. Bihar.

70

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


Permanent Pastures and other grazingland1. About 4 percent of total area, Grazing

takes place mostly in forest and otheruncultivated land where pastures are avail-able.

2. Permanent pastures land- HimachalPradesh, M.P. Karnataka, Gujarat, andRajasthan.

Land under tree crops and groves1. Land under tree crops and groves include

all cultivable land which are not includedin net shown area, but have been put tosome aquaculture use.

2. Land State wise tree crops- Orissa, UttarPradesh, Bihar, Karnataka. ��


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

MINERALS6

Minerals are valuable natural resources be-ing finite and non-renewable. They constitutethe vital raw materials for many basic industriesand are a major resource for development. Thehistory of mineral extraction in India dates backto the days of the Harappan civilization. Thewide availability of the minerals in the form ofabundant rich reserves made it very conducivefor the growth and development of the miningsector in India.

The country is endowed with huge resourcesof many metallic and non-metallic minerals.Mining sector is an important segment of theIndian economy. Since independence, there hasbeen a pronounced growth in the mineralproduction both in terms of quantity and value.

India continued to be wholly or largely self-sufficient in minerals which constitute primarymineral raw materials to industries, such as,thermal power generation, iron & steel, ferro-alloys, aluminium, cement, various types ofrefractories, china clay-based ceramics, glass,chemicals like caustic soda, soda ash, calciumcarbide, titania white pigment, etc. India is, byand large, self-sufficient in coal (with the excep-tion of very low ash coking coal required by thesteel plants) and lignite among mineral fuels,bauxite, chromite, iron, manganese ores, andrutile among metallic minerals; and almost allthe industrial minerals with the exception ofchrysotile asbestos, borax, fluorite, kyanite,potash, rock phosphate and elemental sulphur.Despite high degree of self-sufficiency, somequantities of flaky and amorphous graphite ofhigh fixed carbon, kaolin and ball clay forspecial applications, very low silica limestone,dead-burnt magnesite and sea water magnesia,battery grade manganese dioxide, etc. were

imported to meet the demand for either blend-ing with locally available mineral raw materialsand/or for manufacturing special qualities ofmineral-based products. To meet the increasingdemand of uncut diamonds, emerald and otherprecious and semi- precious stones by the do-mestic cutting and polishing industry, Indiacontinued to depend on imports of raw uncutstones for their value-added re-exports.

MINERAL BELTS OF INDIA

(1) North-Eastern Peninsular Belt:

1. It is the richest mineral belt of India.2. Comprises of Chotanagpur plateau and

Orissa plateau in Jharkhand, W. Bengaland Orissa.

3. The Chhotanagpur plateau is known asthe mineral heart land of India, alsoRuhr of India.

4. It contains large quantities of coal, iron,manganese, mica, bauxite, Copper,Chromites, and Kyanite.

(2) Central Belt:

1. It is the 2nd largest mineral belt of India.2. Comprises of Chhattisgarh, M.P, Andhra

Pradesh and Maharashtra.3. It has large deposits of Manganese, baux-

ite, limestone, marble, coal, gems (Panna),mica, iron ore, graphite etc.

(3) Southern Belt:

1. It comprises mostly of Karnataka plateauand contiguous T.N. upland.

2. It lacks coal deposits except lignite atNeyveli (T.N.).

3. It is more or less similar to northeasternpeninsular belt as far as deposits of fer-rous minerals and bauxite is concerned.

72

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


(4) South-Western Belt:

1. Southern Karnataka & Goa are included.2. It has deposits of iron-ore, garnet and

clay.

(5) North-West Belt:

1. Extends along the Aravallis in Rajasthanand in adjoining parts of Gujarat.

2. Important minerals - Copper, lead, zinc,Uranium, mica, bauxite, gypsum, man-ganese, salt.

(6) The Indian Ocean

1. Along with availability of petroleum andnatural gas in the off shore areas the seabed contains manganese nodules, phos-phorite nodules and barium sulphateconcentration

2. The best quality nodules are found inwater depths of more than 4000m.

3. Phosphate nodules are mainly found nearAndaman Islands.

DISTRIBUTION OF MINERALS

IRON ORE:

Types of iron-ore:

(A) Magnetite - contains 72% pure iron.(B) Hematite - contains 60-70% pure iron.(C) Limonite - contains 40-60% pure iron.(D) Siderite - contains 40-50% pure iron.

(A) Magnetite ores:• This type of ore in India is either of igneous

origin or metamorphosed banded magneticsilica formations probably of sedimentarytype.

• It occurs in Dharwar and Cuddapah sys-tem of the peninsula.

(i) Karnataka: Kudremukh deposits.(ii) Tamil Nadu: Salem, Nilgiri, and

Dharampuri.(iii) Andhra Pradesh: at the trijunction of

Adilabad, Karimnagar and Nizamabaddist. and Khammam and Warangal dist.

(iv) Kerala: Kozhikode dist.

(B) Hematite Ores: It also occurs in Dharwar& Cuddapah system of the peninsula.

(i) Jharkhand & Orissa: Gurumahisani-Badampahar belt

(ii) M.P. and Eastern Maharashtra region:

(a) Bailadila, Raoghat (Bastar dist.)(b) Dalli-Rajhara group (Durg dist.)(c) Lohara-piplagaoh and surajgarh deposits

(Eastern Maharashtra).

(iii) Karnataka:

(a) Sandur range (Bellary dist.)(b) Bababudan Hills (Chikmanglur dist.)(c) Tumkur, Shimoga & Chitradurg dist.(d) North Kanara deposit.

(iv) Goa-Ratnagiri area:

(a) Goa: North (rich), Central (medium), South(poor

(b) Ratnagiri dist.

(v) Rajasthan: Bhilwara & Udaipur dist.

(C) Limonite & Siderite: Damuda series(Raniganj coal field), Garhwal (Uttaranchal)and Mirzapur dist. of U.P. and KangraValley (H.P.)

• Largest reserves: (i) Karnataka (ii) Orissa(iii) Chhattisgarh (iv) Andhra Pradesh

• Largest producers: (i) Orissa (ii) Karnataka(iii) Chhattisgarh (iv) Goa

MANGANESE ORE:• India has the 2nd largest manganese ore

reserves in the world after Zimbabwe.• India is its 5th largest producer after Brazil,

Gabon, S.Africa and Australia.• Orissa, Maharashtra, M.P, Karnataka and

Andhra Pradesh produce more than 99%of it.

• Manganese Ores Occurs in Dharwar sedi-mentary socks.

Production centres:

1. Orissa - Sundergarh, Kalahandi,Koraput, Keonjhar, & Mayurbhanj

2. Karnataka - Sandur, N.Kanara, Tumkur,Shimoga

3. M.P. - Balaghat, Chhindwara, Jabalpur,Jhabna

4. Maharashtra - Nagpur, Bhandara, SouthRatnagiri

5. Jharkhand - Singhbhum


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

6. Rajasthan - Udaipur, Banswara7. Andhra Pradesh - Vishakhapatnam,

Srikakulam.• Largest reserves - (i) Orissa (ii) Karnataka

(iii) M.P.• Largest producers - (i) Orissa (ii)

Maharashtra (iii) M.P.

COPPER:• Important ores - cuprite, Malachite,

chlcocite, Bronite, Chalcopyrite, and Azur-ite.

• Production centres:

Rajasthan - Khetri copper belt - (a) MandanKaddhan section (b) Kolihan section (c)Dariba.Jharkhand - Singhbhum copper beltM.P. - Balaghat

• Largest reserves: - (i) Rajasthan (ii) M.P. (iii)Jharkhand

• Largest producers: - (i) M.P. (ii) Rajasthan(iii) Jharkhand

LEAD:• Galena (lead sulphide) is the chief ore.• It is found in the reins of limestone, sand-

stone & slates.• Major deposits are in Precambrian series.

Production center: - Zawar mines (Udaipurdist.) in Rajasthan

• Largest reserves: - Rajasthan• Largest producers: - Rajasthan

GOLD:• It is found in quartz veins or reefs of quartz

(Lead-gold), occasionally associated withiron and copper sulphide.

• Three important gold fields of India:

(i) Kolar gold field - Kolar dist. (Karnataka)(ii) Hutti gold field - Raichur dist.

(Karnataka)(iii) Ratnagiri gold field - Anantpur dist.

(Andhra Pradesh)

• Alluvial gold - Gold is also found in thealluvial sand and gravels of many streamsand rivers.

• Important mines are:

Jharkhand - Subarnarekha, Sona nadi,streams draining Sonapat Valley.

• Kerala - River terraces along Panna Puzha& Chakiye Puzha.

• Largest producers - (i) Karnataka (ii) AndhraPradesh (iii) Jharkhand.

SILVER:• Chief ores: Argentine, Stephanite,

Pyrogyrite and Pronstite• It occurs in mixed form with Zinc, Copper,

Lead and Gold.• Silver is also found in lead-Zinc ores of

Zawar mines (Rajasthan), Kolar gold fieldsand Hutti gold mines of Karnataka.Largest producer - (i) Rajasthan (ii)Jharkhand (iii) Karnataka.

ZINC:• Main Ore: Zinc-blend.• It is a mixed ore containing lead and zinc

(Pb+Zn).• More than 99% of the total zinc of India is

produced in Zawar area in Udaipur dist. ofRajasthan.

• Small quantity of this Ore is also producedin Sikkim.

• Some deposits have been found inUdhampur dist. (J&K) and South Arcotdist. (Tamil Nadu)

BAUXITE:• An important ore of Aluminium.• The deposits were formed mainly in ter-

tiary period.• It is associated with Laterite rocks.• Largest reserves: (i) Orissa (ii) Andhra

Pradesh (iii) Gujarat• Largest Producers: (i) Orissa (ii) Gujarat

(iii) Jharkhand.

MICA:

• Three major types of mica found in Indiaare: (i) Muscovite (Potash mica) (ii) Biotite(Iron-magnesium mica) (iii) Phlogopite.

• About 95% of India's mica is found in threestates of Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan andJharkhand

74

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


• Productions areas:

Rajasthan:

� Mica belt from Jaipur in NE to Udaipurin SW Rajasthan.

� Bhilwara is the most important centre.� Light green or pink colour, high quality

mica.

Andhra Pradesh:

� Nellore mica belt between Guntur andSangam (100 km long and 25 km wide.)

� Nellore mica is generally light green incolour.

Jharkhand & Bihar:

� A belt of 150 km length and 20 km widthruns from Gaya to Bhagalpur throughHazaribagh, Giridih and Munger.

� Kodarma is the most important centreand world's largest mica market.

� This belt contains the richest deposits ofhigh quality Ruby-mica & Bengal-mica.

� Largest producers: (i) Andhra Pradesh(ii) Rajasthan (iii) Jharkhand.

FOSSILS FUEL MINERALS:

COAL:• Coal is the primary source of energy ac-

counting for about 68% of the total com-mercial energy consumption in the coun-try.

• There are two main categories of the coalbearing strata in the country:-

(i) Gondwana Coalfields: It accounts for98% of the total reserves and 99% of thetotal production of coal in India. Of the113 major coalfields found all over theIndia, 80 are located in the rock systemof lower Gondwana age. There are about75 separate basins, mainly confined topeninsular India, in the valleys of certainrivers viz. Damodar (Jharkhand-WestBengal), Mahanadi (Chhattisgarh-Orissa), Son (M.P.-Jharkhand), Godavari& Wardha (Maharashtra-Andhra),Indravati, Narmada, Pench and Kanha.

(ii) Tertiary Coalfields:

• Contains the coal of younger age.• Primarily confined to extra peninsular re-

gion, viz. Assam, Meghalaya, ArunachalPradesh, Nagaland, Himalayan foothills ofDarjeeling in W.Bengal, J&K, U.P. Rajasthan,Kerala, T.N. and U.T. of Pondicherry.

• Assam coal is of high grade as fuel whilecoals of Kashmir and T.N. have a lowerpercentage of fixed carbon.

Types of Indian Coal:

1. Anthracite - (80-95% carbon) it is foundonly in J&K and that too in small quantity.

2. Bituminous - (40-80% carbon) most of it isfound in Jharkhand, Orissa, W.Bengal,Chhattisgarh and M.P.

3. Lignite (Brown Coal) - (40-55% carbon) itis found in Palan (Rajasthan), Neyveli (T.N),Lakhimpur (Assam) Karewa (J&K).

Distribution:

Most of the coalfields are found in theeastern part of India particularly to the east of78° E longitude. Maximum concentration is inthe north-eastern part of the peninsular plateaucomprising parts of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh,Orissa and eastern M.P. and western part of W.Bengal adjoining parts of Maharashtra alsohave large deposits of coal.

Gondwana Coal:• Jharkhand: Jharia, Bokaro, Giridih,

Dhanbad, Karnapura, and Ramgarh (mostof the coal fields are located in a narrowbelt in east west direction almost along24°N latitude).

• Orissa: Dhenkanal, Sambalpur andSundergarh dist. (Talcher coalfield is themost important.

• Andhra Pradesh: Singrauni, Tandur,Kathagudam (Godavari Valley has the larg-est reserves)

• Maharashtra: Kamptee, Wardha Valley,Ballarpur and Warora (Chandrapura dist.)

• W. Bengal: Raniganj, Burdawan, Purulia,Virbhum, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling.(Raniganj is the largest coalfield).


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

• U.P: Singrauli coal fields (Mirzapur dist.)

Tertiary Coal:

• Assam: Makum, Nazira, Mikir hills, andDilli-Jeypore (Makum coalfield in Sibsagardist. is most developed)

• Rajasthan: Palan-Bikaner.• Meghalaya: Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills.• Arunachal Pradesh: Namchick-Namrup

coalfield (Tirap dist.)• Largest coal reserves: (i) Jharkhand (ii)

Orissa (iii) Chhattisgarh (iv) W. Bengal• Largest coal producers: (i) Jharkhand (ii)

Chhattisgarh (iii) Orissa (iv) M.P

PETROLEUM:

In India petroleum resources are confined tothe sedimentary rocks Mesozoic and tertiaryperiods. However, most of the areas are of pre-Cambrian age, which are regarded as highlyunfavorable regions for oil fields.

Important Potential Basins:

Upper Assam, Southern Assam-Surma Val-ley, Tripura, Sunderbans (W. Bengal), coastalregion of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, T.N. Kerala,Kutch region, Saurashtra, Southern Gujarat(Ankleshwar), Narmada valley (M.P.) WesternHimalaya and Ganga basin. The only off-shorebasin is Bombay High.

Important Oil fields:

(i) Assam: Digboi, Naharkatiya, Hagrijan-Moran, Surma valley, Rudrasagar andLakwa are new areas.

(ii) Gujarat: Cambay, Ankleshwar, Kabul,Nawgam, Kosamba, Dholka, Sanand.

(iii) Bombay High (Mumbai High): It is anoffshore structure in 2500 km2, 176 km offMumbai coast, where production started in1976.

Produces about 2/3 of the total productionof India.

(iv) Bassein: Newly discovered off shore regionsouth of Mumbai High.

(v) Aliabet: Located at Aliabet Island in theGulf of Cambay. Commercial production isexpected to start soon.

(vi) Krishna-Godavari Basin: Ravva field

• Largest producers -

(i) Mumbai High(ii) Gujarat

(iii) Assam(iv) T.N.(v) Andhra Pradesh

• The first boring was made at Nahar Pungin 1866 in Makum area of Assam.

Oil Refineries:

At present there are 18 refineries in thecountry, of which 16 are in Public sector, oneis joint sector and one in private sector.

Public Sector Refineries: Digboi, Nunmati,Bongaigaon and Numaligarh in Assam, Barauni(Bihar), Haldia (W. Bengal), Vishakhapatnam(Andhra Pradesh), Chennai & Narimanam(T.N), Kochin (Kerala) Trombay (Maharashtra),Koyali (Gujarat), Karnal, Panipat (Haryana),Mathura (U.P.)

76

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


• Joint sector Refineries: Mangalore(Karnataka).

• Private sector Refinery: Jamnagar(Gujarat).

• The first refinery was established at Digboiis 1901.

• Jamnagar (Gujarat) refinery has the largestcapacity followed by Koyali

Natural Gas:

It is available both alone and in associationwith crude oil but most of the output comesfrom associated sources. The associated gasfields are Ankleshwar and Cambay in Gujarat,Mumbai High and in Assam. Petroleum refin-eries also produce fuel gas as by product.

Recent findings:

• Largest producers - (i) Mumbai High (ii)Gujarat (iii) Andhra (iv) Assam, and (v)Tripura.

• Krishna-Godavari basin, Ravva field, Barmer(Rajasthan).

ATOMIC MINERALS

THORIUM:

• Main Ores - Thorianite (38-80% of tho-rium), Monazite (upto 18% thorium).

• Monazite deposits of commercial value arefound in about 160 km belt between capeComorin and Quilon (in Kerala)

• India possesses the largest reserves of Mona-zite known in the world.

URANIUM:

• Main ores: Pitch blend (50-50% uranium),Uranite (65-80% uranium)Production: Jharkhand - Jadugoda mines(Singhbhum)Rajasthan: Bissundi (Ajmer), Umra(Udaipur)Andhra Pradesh: Sankara mines (Nellore)

ZIRCONIUM & ILMENITE:

Deposits of commercial value occur is thebeach sands of Kerala coast.

PROBLEMS POSED BY MINERALRESOURCES

a) Depletion of mineral resources: Due toexcessive exploitation many minerals aregoing to be depleted in near future. Thusproper mineral policy for scientific conser-vation of minerals is needed.

b) Ecological problems: Mineral extractionshave lead to serious environmental prob-lems. Rapidly growing mining activitieshas rendered large agricultural tracts al-most barren. Natural vegetation has beenremoved from vast tracks. In hilly miningareas landslides are frequent phenomenacausing loss of human beings and property.

c) Pollution: Mining extraction process causesair pollution, water pollution, soil pollu-tion, noise pollution and radioactive pollu-tion.

d) Social problems: New discoveries of minesor establishment of new mining industrylarge amount of local masses has to bedisplaced. This simply converts them torefugees. The pollution by mining extrac-tion makes them more prone to diseases.

CONSERVATION OF RESOURCES

In world of diminishing resources, it be-comes essential that the mineral resources shouldbe judiciously used by the present generation toensure a resource base for future generations.

The strategies include:a) New researches should be undertaken to

find out and develop replacement mineralsfor use in place of scarce minerals whichare in short supply and are going to bedepleted soon.

b) Researches should be carried on to developnew technology which should avoid wast-


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

age and promote maximum utilization ofby- products

c) There should be curbing on wastage min-ing methods that deplete the environmenttoo.

d) Use of alternate sources of energy like solarenergy, hydroelectric energy etc.

e) Walking on a path that leads to sustainabledevelopment.

f) Use of renewable sources of energy.g) Avoid over-exploitation of the mineral re-

sources.h) Use of biogas as a fuel for cooking instead

of the non-renewable sources of energy.

��

78

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


INDUSTRIES OF INDIA7

India started her quest for industrial devel-opment after independence in 1947.There hasbeen many industrial policies in the countrysince that time, the latest being the New Indus-trial Policy of 1991. With three-fourths of India'spopulation residing in rural areas, 60% of thelabour force constitutes agricultural industry.The remaining 23% is in services and 17% is inindustry.

Some of the important industries are textiles,steel, food processing, cement, fertilizer andmachinery.

TEXTILE INDUSTRY

1. Cotton-Textile Industry

It in the largest organized modern industryof the country and provides 2nd largest employ-ment after Railways. Though the first moderntextile mill was started at Fort Gloster (Howrah)in 1818 but it could not survive. The realbeginning of the industry goes back to 1854 inMumbai. Earlier it was heavily concentrated incotton growing region due to infrastructuralfacilities but later it started to disperse to themarket region since the raw cotton is neitherweight losing nor weight gaining. Still it ismostly concentrated in the cotton providingregion.

On modern pattern, first mill come up in1854 in Mumbai and later on in Ahmedabad.These two centers are virtually having one-fifthof total cotton mills even today the underlyingfactors are:-

1. Mumbai, being a port facility was con-nected with the hinterland and as well asworld market.

2. Located in the heartland of cotton growingarea,

3. Cheap labour in nearby Konkan belt4. Natural humid climate of Mumbai has been

of special advantage.5. Local Parsi and Bhatia merchant's financial

condition and their considerable experi-ence in business matters.

Maharashtra, Gujarat, M.P., U.P., WestBengal and Tamil Nadu are leading in cottontextile production.

Maharashtra is the largest producing state- 122 mills in the organized sector out of which59 are only in Mumbai. Mumbai is known ascottonpolis of India or Manchester of India.. Thefactories have the advantage of local cotton,cheap and easily available hydel power, near-ness of Mumbai ports help in import of rawmaterials and machines and simultaneously inexport of finished products. Mumbai, Akola,Amravati, Sholapur, Kolhapur, Jalgaon, Hubli,Pune, Nagpur, Billmiori are notable centres.

Gujarat ranks second in production. Thereare the numbers of mills, 130 out of which 70lies only in the Ahmedabad. Surat, Bhavnagar,Rajkot and Vadodara are other notable centers.Location in the cotton belt, cheap labour, andcapital availability are main factors of locationof a number of cotton textile industries.

West Bengal: Kolkata is the most importantcenter. There are 45 mills in the districts ofChaubis Pargana, Hooghly and Howrah dis-tricts. Howrah has 14 and Srirampore has 10mills. Port facility, cheap labour, availability ofcoal and vast market are main factors of loca-tion of a large number of cotton textile indus-tries.


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

Uttar Pradesh- There are 41 mills out ofwhich 14 are located in Kanpur. Kanpur isknown as Manchester of North India. Varanasi,Agra, Moradabad, Aligarh, Modinagar, Bareliand Saharanpur are other centers.

Tamil Nadu- The numbers of mills arehighest in India - 208 mills. Chennai, Coimbatore,Madurai are main centers of productions.Coimbatore in known as Manchester of SouthIndia. Main factors of localization are localcotton, power facility from Pykara projects,cheap and abundant labour, and lignite coalfrom Neyveli coal mines. Tamil Nadu ranks firstin the production of cotton yarn in the countryfollowed by Maharashtra.

2. Woollen Textile

First woolen textile mill came up in 1876 atKanpur and second one at Dhariwal in 1883.These are mainly concentrated in Punjab,Maharashtra and U.P. which account for about¾ of the total spindlage capacity.

1. Punjab: Largest producer of Woolen tex-tile. New Isserton Mill at Dhariwal is thelargest center of hosiery in India. Othercenters are -Amritsar, Ludhiana, andKharar.

2. Maharashtra: 2nd largest producer. Thereare two centers of production inMaharashtra-Mumbai and Thane. Mumbaiis the most important center. Two units inMumbai are Modella textile Industries andthe Raymond Woolen mills.

3. U.P.: Kanpur is the largest center in thestate. Other centres are - Mirzapur,Varanasi, Shahjahanpur, Agra, andModinagar. Kanpur is the main centerwhere woolen mills are famous by thename of Lal Imli Mills.

4. Gujarat: Jamnagar, Ahmedabad, Kalol andVadodara.

5. Haryana: Panipat is other center of pro-duction in Haryana.

6. Jammu & Kashmir: Srinagar is importantcenter where Pashmina and Namda arefamous wool.

3. Silk Textile

India is the only country in the world whichproduces all the four silk varieties - Mulberry,Eri, Tasar and Muga. India produced 15% of theworld's silk. It is the second largest producer ofnatural silk after China. 95% of Indian silkcomprises of Mulberry category. It gives em-ployment to more than 6 million people. Only15% of the total output is exported becauseremaining part is consumed in sari.

1. Karnataka is the largest producer with60% of mulberry silk. 5% of its populationis engaged in silk industry especially insouth Karnataka, Bangalore, Raidurg,Belgaum, Harihar, and Hubli.

2. West Bengal stands second with 13% oftotal silk. Murshidabad and Bankura aremain centres.

3. In Jammu & Kashmir 3.6 lakh persons areengaged in this industry. Udhampur,Jammu, Srinagar, Baramula and Anantnagare main centers of production.

4. Assam is the largest producer of muga silkin the country.

5. In Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh pro-duction is concentrated in Bilaspur, Bastar,Mandla, Balaghat, Shahdol, Sarguja,Raipur and Raigarh. Bastar produces 15%of national and 50% of state silk. There are215 centers of production in the State.

6. Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradeshare other states of mulberry silk produc-tion. In Punjab Amritsar, Ludhiana,Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur are important cen-ters.

7. Bihar, Orissa, U.P. and Maharashtra areTasar silk producers. Bhagalpur is famousfor Tasar silk. In U.P. Mirzapur, Varanasi,Shahjahanpur, Pratapgarh are importantcenters.

4. Jute Textile

Known as 'Golden Fiber' - The first mill wasestablished at Srirampore in 1855 which rose to26 mills till 1895 and 111 in 1945-46. Thepartition had most severe impact on this indus-

80

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


try as three fourth production areas lies inBangladesh. About 8 lakh hectares land wasdevoted to jute cultivation and production was10 million tones. West Bengal is the largestproducer followed by Bihar, Assam and Orissa.

Presently there are 73 mills in India out ofwhich 40 are on the bank of the Hooghly fromBansberia to Birlapur in a length of 90 kms. Thefollowing factors are responsible for unusualconcentration in this belt (i) the natural humidclimate, availability of clean water from theHooghly, nearby availability of coal fromRaniganj mines and the dense population pro-vides cheap and abundant supply of labour. (ii)The beginning was made from the export pointof view; hence nearby port location was highlybeneficial (iii) the cheapest mode of transporta-tion for moving the jute from field to factories.

Chandernagar, Noakhali, Chandrahati,Bansberia, Titagarh, Agarpara, Rishra, SalikaHowrah, Behighat are main centers. In Biharthe units are located at Katihar, Purnea andDarbhanga. In A.P. jute industries are atVishakhapatnam, Ellury, and Guntur.

METALLURGICAL INDUSTRY

1. Iron and Steel Industries

For the first time pig iron was produced in1874 at Burnpur by Bengal Iron Works butfinancial crunch forced to down the shutter in1877. It was in 1907 at Sakchi (now Jamshedpur)where first successful attempt was made by J.N.Tata by establishing Tata Iron and Steel Com-pany. In TISCO pig iron was produced in 1911and steel in 1913. The Indian Iron & SteelCompany (IISCO) was set up in 1919 at Burnpurfollowed by the setting up of Mysore SteelWorks at Bhadravati (now Visveshwaraya Ironand Steel Works) in 1923. After independencedevelopment of iron and steel industries wasenvisaged in 2nd Five Year Plan.

Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO): Itis the largest steel plant in private sector. Itenjoys the following facilities -

(a) Coal form Jharia and Raniganj coalfields(only 60 kms. away);

(b) Iron-ore from Noamundi (Singhbhum disttof Jharkhand) and Gurumahisani(Mayurbhanj dist. Of Orissa);

(c) Manganese from Joda mines (Keonjhar,Orissa)

(d) Limestone and dolomite form Sundergarhand Birmitrapur, Orissa

(e) Cheap electricity form Damodar ValleyCorporation;

(f) Industrial region around Kolkata serves asa valuable outlet for the disposal of finishedproducts;

Indian Iron and Steel Company (IISCO):IISCO has three plants in Kulti, Hirapur andBurnpur in West Bengal. IISCO enjoys thefollowing facilities:-

(a) Iron ore from Guna mines (Singhbhum)(b) Coal from Raniganj and Jharia(c) Manganese from Keonjhar(d) Limestone from Birmitrapur(e) Hydel power from DVC

Visveshwaraya Iron and Steel Works(VISL): Formerly known as Mysore Iron andSteel Company, it was set up in 1923 atBhadravati on the Bank of River Bhadra on theDirur-Shimoga branch of Southern railway. Allraw materials are available within the radius of50 kilometers.

(a) Iron ore from Kemangundi mine ofBababudan hills (40 kms.);

(b) Limestone is obtained form the distance of20 kms;

(c) Manganese from Shimoga and Chitradurg(98 km);

(d) Adjacent reserve fulfils the need of coal;

Hindustan Steel Limited (HSL): Govern-ment of India established the HSL in order toincrease the production of iron and steel. Con-sequently, three plants under the public sectori.e. Bhilai, Rourkela and Durgapur came intoexistence during the 2nd Five Year Plan. During3rd Five Year Plan a steel plant at Bokaro wasalso proposed.

Rourkela Steel Plant: Rourkela Steel Plantwas established in 1954 with the help of Ger-man technology (Krupps Demag) 431 km southof Kolkata on Kolkata- Bombay railway line.


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

The capacity is of 1.8 million tonnes of steel. Thisunit enjoys the following facilities -

(a) Iron-ore from mines in Keonjhar andSundergarh Dist.;

(b) Good quality coal from Jharia, Bokaro (240km), Talcher;

(c) Limestone form Hathibari and Birmitrapurlying only 25 kms away;

(d) Manganese form nearby Baspam and Bolanimines;

(e) Hydel power from Hirakud Project;

Bhilai Steel Plant: It lies in Durg district ofChhattisgarh. It is the largest steel Plant inIndia. The plant has installed capacity of 4.0million tonnes of steel, which is to be enhancedupto 6.0 million tones. It receives:-

(a) Iron ore from Dalli-Rajhara which is only32 kms form the plant;

(b) Coking coal from Jharia and Bokaro (225km) and low quality coal form Korba;

(c) Limestone form Nandi mine, (24 km) anddolomite form Hirni mine of Bilaspur.

(d) Manganese form Balaghat district-220 km;(e) Water from Tandulla and Gandhi Canals;

Durgapur Steel Plant: It lies 175 km west ofKolkata in Bardhaman district. The capacity is1.6 million tonnes of ingots steel. The facilitiesavailable to this unit are:-

(a) Iron-ore from Gua and Noamundi (190km);

(b) Coal from Raniganj and Jharia - 70 kms;(c) Limestone form Birmitrapur,

Bhawanathpur and Hathibari mines ofOrissa;

(d) Hydel power form DVC; Water formDurgapur dam;

(e) Nearness form Kolkata provides marketfacility;

Bokaro Steel Plant: Established at Bokaroon Bokaro River in Hazaribagh district ofJharkhand. The capacity is of 4.0 million tonnesof steel. The unit enjoys the following facilities:-

(a) Coal form Jharia coalfield and local mines;(b) Availability of cheap power form DVC;(c) Iron-core form Kiriburu mine in Keonjhar

district and limestone form Palamau dis-trict;

Vijayanagar Steel Plant: It lies near Hospetin Bellary district of Karnataka. The capacity isof 3.0 million tonnes of steel ingots. The Unitsenjoys these facilities

(a) Iron ore from local mines (Hospet region);(b) Coking coal form Kanhan valley (C.G) and

Singareni (A.P.);(c) Water from Tungbhadra dam (32 km);(d) Dolomite and limestone form nearby mine

(200 km);Salem Steel Plant: It is in Salem district of

Tamilnadu. The magnetic iron-ore, limestoneand dolomite are available in nearby mines.Lignite coal is obtained from nearby mines.

Vishakhapatnam Steel Plant: This is firstand only shore-based steel plant in India. Theunit has installed capacity of 3.0 million tonnesof ingots steel. The production began in 1992.It receives

(a) Coals form Jharkhand;(b) Iron-ore from Bailadila mines;(c) The port facility;

Mini Steel Plants: Presently there are 199mini steel plants with the installed capacity of6.2 million tonnes. In private sector Lloyds SteelIndustries, Nippon Denro in Maharashtra. EicherSteel in Gujarat, Jindal Strips in M.P. andMalvika Steel in U.P. are fast emerging. Thereare several units of sponge iron in India. Indiais ninth largest producer of steel in the worldbut per capita consumption is very low, 32 kgagainst the world average of 150 kg a person.Now India is exporting iron and steel.

2. Aluminium Industry

The availability of raw material (Bauxite)and power is the most important factors for thelocation of this industry. Since the raw materialis weight loosing, the industries are mostlylocated in areas producing bauxite and wherecheap hydro-electricity in available.

The first aluminum plant of the country wasestablished in 1937 at Jaykaynagar (W. Bengal),which was primarily a coal region. The 2ndplant was established in 1938 at Muri(Jharkhand), which was bauxite producingregion. Presently there are six units in India twoin public sector and four in private sector.

82

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


Bharat Aluminium Co. Ltd. (BALCO): It isa public sector company having two units:Korba (Chhattisgarh) and Ratnagiri(Maharashtra). The annual capacities of thesetwo units are 40000 and 50,000 tonnes a yearrespectively.

National Aluminium Co. Ltd. (NALCO): Itis the largest unit in India and lowest costproducer in the world, established in 1981 inOrissa with installed capacity of 2.18 lakhtonnes. The plant is at Damanjodi and thesmelter is at Angul.

Hindustan Aluminum Corporation Ltd.(HINDALCO): This was set up in 1958 havingits main factory at Renukut in Mirzapur districtof U.P. Its capability is 1.75 lakh tonnes.

Indian Aluminum Co. Ltd. Kerala(IANDALCO): It is an integrated plant havingunits at different places. The first plant in thedevices is located at Muri (Jharkhand) second atAlwaye (Kerala) and third at Belur (W.Bengal).New Plant has been established at Belgaum inMaharashtra.

Madras Aluminium Company (MALCO):It was established in 1965 at Mettur.

3. Copper Smelting Industry

Hindustan Copper Ltd. (HCL), estd. in 1967is the sole producer of primary copper in thecountry. It has 6 plant complexes.

1. Khetri copper complex (Rajasthan)2. Indian Copper complex (Maubhandar near

Ghatsila)3. Malanjhkhand copper project (M.P.)

4. Rakha copper project (Singhbhum)5. Dariba copper project (Alwar)6. Chandmari copper project (Jhunjhuna)

Agnigundala Copper-Lead project in Gunturdistrict of Andhra is coming up at fast rate.Sterlite Industries is a private sector which hascommissioned its copper smelter at Tuticorin.Birla Copper Ltd. Has set up a copper projectat Dahej in Gujarat. Swil Copper Ltd. is settingup a plant at Bharuch in Gujarat.

4. Lead Industry

1. The first Lead smelting plant was set up atTundoo near Dhanbad by Metal Corpora-tion of India. It was taken over byHindustan Zinc Ltd. The ore is suppliedfrom Zawar and Dariba mines of Rajasthan.

2. Another plant has been established atVishakhapatnam based on the ore supplyfrom Agnigundala.

3. The Lead-Zinc Complex was constructedat Chanderia in 1991 under the British aidprogramme.

5. Zinc Industry

At present there are 4 zinc smelters in thecountry, one each at Alwaye (Kerala), Debariand Chanderia (Raj) and Vishakhapatnam.

Alwaye Plant: The Alwaye plant is totallydependent upon imported supplies of zinc con-centrates. It started production in 1967.

Debari Plant: It started production in 1968.Besides, it also produces Sulphuric acid,Cadmium, Phosphoric acid and Super Phos-

Aluminum Cooperation of Important Resource Availabilities

Company Countries Centers Bauxite ElectricityElectricity

BALCO Russia Korba (Chhattisgarh) Amarkantak Plateau Thermal

Ratnagiri (Maharashtra) Amarkantak Plateau Hydel

NALCO France Damanjodi (Orissa) Eastern Ghat Hirakud Hydel Plant

HINDALCO U.S.A. Renukut (U.P) Jharkhand Rihand Project

INDALCO Canada Jaykaynagar (W. Bengal) Jharkhand Thermal

Muri (Jharkhand) Local Thermal

Hirakud (Orissa) Eastern Ghat Hirakud Hydel Plant

Alwaye (Kerala) Belgaum (Karnataka) Hydel

MALCO Italy Chennai, Mettur,Salem (T.N.) Shevroy & Javadi Hills Hydel


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

phate. Half of ore is supplied by Balaria andRajpur-Dariba mines and rest is imported.

Chanderia Plant: It was set up in 1991based on the supplies from Bhilwara andChittorgarh. It also produces lead and silver.

Vishakhapatnam Plant: It receives ore fromAgnigundala mines and gives a production of40000 tonnes per annum.

FERTILIZERS INDUSTRY

There are three types of chemical fertilizers,viz.

(i) Nitrogenous fertilizers (67%)(ii) Phosphatic fertilizers (21%) and

(iii) Potash fertilizer (12%).

The first fertilizer (Nitrogen based) plantwas established in 1906 at Ranipet (T.N.). Indiais the third largest producer and consumer offertilizer in the world. It produces mainly twotypes of fertilizers: (1) Nitrogenous (2) Phos-phate. Potash based fertilizer is produced invery limited quantity due to lack of raw materialand is completely dependent on import of pot-ash. Majority of chemical fertilizer factories arelocated near oil refineries.

Gujarat and Tamil Nadu lead in productionfollowed U.P., Punjab, Maharashtra, Jharkhand,Kerala, Haryana, A.P., Assam and West Bengal.Gujarat is the largest producer of nitrogenousfertilizer (14.7%) and second largest producer ofphosphate fertilizer (30.6%). Units at Bharuchand Kandla produce phosphate fertilizer. Ni-trogenous fertilizer is produced at Vadodaraand Kalol. Tamil Nadu is the largest producerof phosphate fertilizer (37%) and second largestof nitrogenous fertilizer. Four units are locatedat Tuticorin, Neyveli, Chennai and Ellore.Tuticorin is the largest unit.

In U.P. 95% of nitrogenous fertilizer is pro-duced from four units at Kanpur, Gorakhpur,Phulpur and Varanasi. In Punjab two units areat Nangal and Bhatinda. In Maharashtra ni-trogenous fertilizer and phosphate fertilizer isproduced. Trombay has the largest nitrogenousfertilizer factory in the country. Andhra Pradeshcontributes phosphate and nitrogenous fertil-izer. Ramagudam and Vishakhapatnam are

two important centers. Kerala, Orissa, Haryana,Rajasthan, West Bengal and Assam are otherproducing states. Per hectare consumption offertilizer is highest in Punjab. High domesticconsumption force India to import fertilizers.

Public Sector:

(1) Fertilizer Corporation of India - Sindri,Gorakhpur, Talcher and Ramagundam.

(2) National Fertilizer Ltd. - Nangal, Bhatinda,Panipat, Vijaipur, Durgapur, Barauni,Namrup and Trombay.

(3) National Chemical & Fertilizer ltd. -Trombay

(4) Madras Fertilizer ltd. - Always, Cochin(5) Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd.

- Udyogmandal and Kochi.(6) Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd. -

Trombay and Thal.(7) Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Ltd.-

Namrup, Durgapur and Barauni.

Joint Sector: Madras Fertilizer ltd.

Under the Ministry of Mines: Rourkela,Neyveli, Khetri

Co-operative sector: IFFCO (Kalol, Kandla,Phulpur and Aonla)

Gas based plant along HBJ pipeline:Vijaipur, Aonla, Hazira, Jagdishpur, andBabrala.

CEMENT INDUSTRY

Manufacturing of cement started at Ranipet(Chennai) in 1904. But this attempt provedabortive and the successful attempt was madein 1912 when Indian Cement Co. Ltd. set up aplant at Porbandar. India is the 2nd largestproducer of cement in the world after China.All the raw materials (limestone, dolomites coal,gypsum etc.) are heavy and weight losing,therefore, the industry is concentrated in thesource region of these raw materials, mainly inlimestone producing region, and is influencedby the minimization of transportation cost.There are 103 large and 252 small cementfactories in India with installed capacity of740.7 lakh tones a year. Madhya Pradesh,

84

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnatakaand Maharashtra produce 80% of total nationalproduction of cement.

1. Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh is thelargest producer of cement of India pro-ducing one fifth of total production. 14large and 15 small factories are locatedhere. Satna, Katni, Durg, Kymore, Maihar,Mandhar, Damoh, Bilaspur and Raipur areimportant centers.

2. Andhra Pradesh is the second largest pro-ducer (10.7%). There are 10 factories in thestate of Karimnagar, Adilabad,Cementnagar, Vijayawada, Vijayanagar,Mancherla, Vishakhapatnam and Krishna.Pedapalli is the biggest plant.

3. Rajasthan produces 11% cement-Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Sirohi, Nimbaheda,Sawai Madhopur and Lakheri are maincenters of production.

4. Gujarat produces 9% of cement - Sika,Ahmedabad, Dwarka, Porbandar, Sevolia,Ramarao, Bhavnagar and Okha are maincenters.

5. Tamil Nadu produces 8.7% of cements.Nine factories are there at Shankridurga,Talaiyathu, Dalmiapuram, Talukkapatti,Alangulam and Salem.

6. Jharkhand, Karnataka, U.P. and Orissaare other cement producing states in India.The highest consumption is in the state ofMaharashtra followed by Uttar Pradesh.

7. Sea-conch based cement industry: Dwarka(Gujarat), Thiruvanantapuram (Kerala),Chennai (T.N.)

8. Sludge based cement factories: Sindri(Jharkhand), Talcher (Orissa)

9. Other Important Centers: Sindri, Jhinupani,Khalari, Chaibasa, Kalyanpur (all inJharkhand); Dalmia Nagar, Japla (Bihar)

LEATHER INDUSTRY

Tamil Nadu is the largest producer of leatherin the country, contributing 65% followed byKolkata, Kanpur, Bombay, Aurangabad,Kolhapur, Dewar, Jalandhar and Agra. Kanpur

is the largest market of hides in the country.Only 10% of the total production comes fromorganized sector. Though India is the largestcountry in animal wealth its share in the leathermarket is only of 3.0%. Germany is the largestimporter of India leather goods.

Tanning

The first tannery was set up at Kanpur in1867. At present Kanpur, Chennai and Kolkataare the largest tanning centres. Other centersare Agra, Bangalore, Belgaum, Bhopal, Mokama(Bihar), Phulbani (Orissa), Sherbaug (Guj),Kapurthala, etc. Central Leather Research Insti-tute is at Chennai.

Leather Goods

The main centres are Chennai, Ranipet,Ambur, Vaniambadi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Kanpur,Agra, Kolhapur, Jalandhar, Delhi, Batanagar,Faridabad and Jaipur.

Sugar Industry

It is the 2nd largest agro-based industry aftercotton textile. India is the 2nd largest producerof sugar after Cuba but if Gur & Khandsari aretaken into account it is the largest. In 1950-51the production was 11.4 lakh tones, whichincreased 280 lakh tones in 2006-07. The num-ber of sugar mills was 139 in 1950-51 rose to 530in 2007-08. Since sugarcane in a heavy, weightlosing and perishable raw material, most of theindustries are located in the region of sugarcultivation. More than 85% sugar is producedin the states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra,Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh andKarnataka.

Maharashtra is the largest producer of sugarin India with 90 sugar mills. It produces 40% oftotal sugar production in India. Ahmednagar,Nasik, Kolhapur, Sholapur, Pune, Satara, Sangliand Aurangabad are main producing districts.

Uttar Pradesh is the second largest pro-ducer; number of sugar mills are 103 - produces28% of sugar. In western U.P. Saharanpur,Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad and


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

Bulandshahar and in Terai belt - Deoria, Gonda,Basti, Pilibhit, Bahraich and Gorakhpur aremain producing districts.

Tamil Nadu is the third largest producerwith 32 sugar mills. Coimbatore, Arcot,Tiruchirapalli and Madurai are main producingdistrict. Per hectare production is highest in thisstate.

Karnataka has 30 mills located at Belgaum,Mandya, Bijapur, Bellary, Shimoga andChitradurg.

Gujarat - 16 mills mainly in, Bhavnagar,Jamnagar, Amreli, Banaskantha, Junagarh Suratand Rajkot.

Andhra Pradesh - 35 mills mainly in Krishna,Nazimabad, Medak, Chittur, East and WestGodavari.

Haryana (Rohtak, Ambala), Punjab(Amritsar, Jalandhar) and Bihar (Darbhanga,Saran, Champaran and Muzzafarpur) are othermain producers.

INDUSTRIAL REGIONS

86

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


Industrial region refers to the continuousdevelopment of industrial landscape over alarge area by the concentration of a number offactories of different industries.

Industrial region has followingcharacteristics:

a) Predominance of industries and concentra-tion of factories.

b) Emergence of many big and small townssupporting residential colonies of industrialworkers and markets for industrial goodsand raw materials.

c) Dense network of transport and communi-cation lines.

d) Sparse rural populatione) Emphasis on the production of consumer

goods.

On the basis of workers employed, B.N.Sinha classified industrial regions into threecategories.

1) Major Region: Those employing a mini-mum daily number of 1.5 lakh workers aremajor industrial regions.

2) Minor Region: Those employing 25000workers daily as minor industrial regionsand

3) Industrial Districts: Those employing lessthan 25000 workers are industrial districts.

Major industrial regions are:--1. Kolkata - Hooghly Belt: It is an old and

important region of the country stretchingalong the either side of the river - fromNaihati to Budge- Budge along the leftBank and from Tribeni to Nalpur in theright bank. Cotton textile, silks, jute engi-neering chemical and pharmaceuticals,leather and foot-wears industries are lo-cated here. The region is facilitated withrich hinterland of Ganga, BrahmaputraPlain, and the enough availability of goodcoal, cheap local labour and the port facil-ity of Kolkata.

The region is experiencing stagnation andrelative decline in industrial growth inrecent years.

The main problems are: -

• High degree of congestion.lGradual filling of Kolkata port making theshipping facilities somewhat difficult.

• Bottle-neck in South-East and Eastern rainy-days.

• Paucity of space.• Shortage of drinking water and civic ameni-

ties.• Environmental pollution.• The state government is pursuing the policy

of liberalization but problem of land acqui-sition is acting as a main obstacle forredevelopment of the region.

2. Mumbai-Poona Belt: It is the most impor-tant industrial region of the country. It hasa heavy concentration of cotton textile,engineering, oil refiners, fertilizers andchemical industries. The belt consists ofMumbai, Kurla, Ghatkopar, Andheri,Jogeshwari, Thane, Bhandrup, Kalyan,Pimpri and Poona.

Cheap labour, easy availability of hydro-electricity, raw cotton along with the portfacilities; act as the main assets of this area.

The industrial development of this regionhas almost reached its saturation stage.After partition cotton producing area re-duced thus effected the raw material sup-ply and high transport cost of coal andother minerals effected the growth. Butnow it has developed as an economic hub.

3. Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Surat Belt: It is thethird largest industrial region comprisingwithin its fold the centers of Kalol,Ahmedabad, Nadiad, and Vadodara, Surat,Nava sari and Ankleshwar, leather goodsand a wide variety of engineering units areestablished here. The initial advantage wasthe availability of raw cotton from thehinterland and the transport network alongwith the Kandla port.

4. Madurai-Coimbatore-Bangalore Region:Cheap and skilled labour, large marketwere the chief factors, which attracted anumber of industries. Availability of cheaphydel power helped in various ways.


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

Cotton textile, sugar plants, leather goods,chemicals, H.M.T. Bharat Electricals, Ironand Steel, Hindustan Aeronautics haveassisted the development of this area.

5. Chotanagpur Plateau Region: Locally avail-able coal, iron-ore mica, bauxite copper,limestone, manganese have given rise toheavy industries like iron and steel atJamshedpur, Durgapur, Kulti, Burnpur,Bokaro along with many associated indus-tries. Proximity to Kolkata port, vast net-work of railways, cheap labour supplyfrom the tribal areas and the developmentof DVC and numerous thermal powerstations helped the area to develop as amajor industrial region on the map of

India. Besides, many more mini industrialregions and industrial districts are fastemerging in different parts of the countryin recent times.

6. Mathura-Delhi-Saharanpur Ambala belt:It has the advantage of the proximity of thenational capital; availability of cheap rawmaterials; nearness of large market andregular supply of power. This regionspreads in two separate belts running innorth-south direction between Faridabadand Ambala in Haryana and Mathura andSaharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

The capital city has predominance of engi-neering, electronic, chemical, glass andconsumer industries. ��

88

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


TRANSPORT8

INTRODUCTION

A well-knit and coordinated system of trans-port plays an important role in the sustainedeconomic development of a country. Develop-ment being a multi dimensional process; restsupon the resources of the region andinfrastructural facilities like transport and com-munication. It is the transport which helps inmovement of goods and materials from pro-ducer to consumer ends. The transport facilityincreases the linkage between backward anddeveloped regions of the country thus reducingregional disparity among regions. The transportalso helps in maintaining the uniformity in theprices, remove scarcity of goods during time ofcrisis, promotes national integration and cohe-siveness.

India's transport sector is large and diverse;it caters to the needs of 1.2 billion people.

The present transport system of the countrycomprises several modes of transport includingrail, road, coastal shipping, air transport, pipe-lines etc. Transport has recorded a substantialgrowth over the years both in spread of networkand in output of the system. The Ministry ofShipping, Ministry of Road Transport and High-ways, Ministry of railways and civil aviation isresponsible for the formation and implementa-tion of policies and programmes for the devel-opment of various modes of transport.

However, the sector has not been able tokeep pace with rising demand and is proving tobe a drag on the economy. Major improvementsin the sector are required to support the country'scontinued economic growth and to reducepoverty.

Each transport sector is discussed below indetail with recent developments and problemsand solution of present era.

RAIL TRANSPORT

The Indian railway system is the secondlargest system in the world under the singlemanagement. Railways virtually forms the life-line of the country, catering to its needs for largescale movement of traffic, both freight andpassenger, thereby contributing to economicgrowth as well as promoting national integra-tion. It is a multi gauge system operating onthree gauges - the broad, the metre and thenarrow.

The Indian railway had a modest beginningin 1853 when first train flagged off from Mumbaito Thane. The detailed railway expansion planwas chalked out under Lord Dalhousie. Duringthe post independence era the new strategy waschalked out that included expansion of theroute length, gauge conversion, electrificationon tracks, modernizing the signaling system,improvement in passenger safety and amenities,better management of freight and passengertraffic, Introducing high speed passenger trainsetc.

Factors effecting distribution pattern ofRailways

1. Geographical factors; this includes theprofile of terrain. As northern plain with leveltopography, high population density and richagricultural presence have attracted high levelof railway network. There are practically norailways in the flood plains of many rivers inBihar and Assam. The plateau region of south


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

India sometimes hinders railway development.The Himalayan region in the north is almostdevoid of railways due to rugged topographybut by using new technologies new railwaynetwork has been established in Jammu andKashmir. Similarly Konkan railway acts as amasterpiece of engineering passing throughrugged Western Ghat. But the density of rail-way network decreases in sandy areas, hillyareas where cost of installation exceeds theprofit dimension.

2. Economic factors; as railways developmore in economically advanced areas where theneed for railway network is felt more. This isbecause of the economic linkages we find thehighest density of railways near big urban andindustrial centres and in areas rich in mineraland agricultural resources. The rich coal, ironore deposits of Chotanagpur region createdhigh demand for rail network. The cotton grow-ing tract of Deccan favoured rail developmentdespite physical constraints arising out of west-ern ghat topography.

3. Political and administrative factors; Brit-ish administration developed railway networkto enhance their penetration to interior India aswell as to provide better connectivity to majorports. After independence the government fol-lowed this only policy but for uniform inclusivegrowth the rail network has been enhanced toall over country with passage of time.

Trains as a Social Campaigner

1. SANSKRITI EXPRESS

Indian Railways will run an exhibition trainSanskriti Express to celebrate Nobel laureateRabindranath Tagore's 150th birth anniversaryand showcase his life and philosophy.

The train, to be flagged off by RailwayMinister Mamata Banerjee May 9, 2011 willtouch important stations in various parts of thecountry before returning to Kolkata May 8 nextyear.

Five air-conditioned coaches have beenmodified at the LILUAH RAILWAY WORK-SHOP in Howrah to depict Tagore's achieve-ments and thoughts.

The first coach, named 'JIBON SMRITI', willdepict the life of Tagore through photographs,while the second 'GITANJALI' will exhibit hispoems and songs. 'JOGAJOG''MUKTODHARA' will exhibit his literature;the fourth 'CHITRAREKHA' will depict paint-ings of Tagore and other eminent artists. Thelast 'SMARANIKA' will exhibit and sell handi-craft and other items from SANTINIKETAN,founded by the poet.

Tagore, who was born in 1861 and died in1941, is among the most revered writers in theworld who churned out poems, plays, songs,novels and short stories. He was the first Indianto win the Nobel Prize in 1913.

2. MOTHER EXPRESS:

Mother Express', an exhibition train to com-memorate the birth centenary of Mother Teresa,was launched by railway ministry.

The train focuses on the life, work andmessage of Mother Teresa, would travel allover the country in the six months. The traincomprises three air-conditioned coaches, inwhich photographs, write-ups on the life andmessage of Mother Teresa have been kept forpublic viewing. The Missionaries of Charityhelped the railways by supplying photographsand various materials.

Mother Teresa loved the poor and servedthem and was the embodiment of peace. MotherTeresa saw Christ in the poorest of the poor, thelepers, the homeless, the HIV and AIDS patientsin the slums of Calcutta and also those sufferingfrom Poverty of Loneliness and Abandonmentin the Western World

3. RED RIBBON EXPRESS:

Red Ribbon Express is an AIDS/HIV aware-ness campaign train by the Indian Railways.The motto of the Red Ribbon Express is"Embarking on the journey of life"

To provide awareness among the peopleboth urban & rural population of our country,the Red Ribbon Express project was developed.The concept of the project was to provideknowledge, precautions to the public to fightagainst the dreadful disease "AIDS"

90

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


On-platform and off-site communicationactivities such as exhibits, street plays anddemonstrations are used. Treatment and coun-seling services were also available on the coach.

The projects target audience was broad,including youth groups, women's groups, stu-dent communities, urban slum dwellers andfarmers.

In its first phase the train was expected totravel 27,000km, reaching 180 stations andholding programmes in over 50,000 villages. Toreach outer districts, buses and bicycles areused.

The Red Ribbon Express, in its second phase,also devotes information to general health,hygiene and communicable diseases such asswine influenza, tuberculosis and reproduc-tive and child health services.

Ongoing Developments

1. DEDICATED FREIGHT CORRIDORPROJECT (DFC)

The DFC project was first proposed in April2005 to address the needs of the rapidly devel-oping Indian economy. The existing quadrilat-eral railway network, also known as the Goldenquadrilateral, which links the major metropoli-tan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata,is unable to support the growing demand dueto capacity constraints. A dedicated freightcorridor was, hence, required to address theseconcerns.

Ministry of Railways, under the direction ofthe Indian Government, has taken up the dedi-cated freight corridor (DFC) project. The projectinvolves the construction of six freight corridorstraversing the entire country. The purpose ofthe project is to provide a safe and efficientfreight transportation system.

The DFC project envisaging a Western DFC(1534 km) from Mumbai to Rewari to caterlargely to the container transport requirementand an Eastern DFC (1839 km) from Ludhianato Dankuni largely to serve coal and steel trafficis being implemented by the Dedicated FreightCorridor Corporation of India Ltd. (DFCCIL).Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor is also coming

up. Considering the need for DFCs on otherimportant routes, a preliminary engineeringcum traffic survey (PETS) is being undertakenon the following routes---north-south (Delhi toChennai), east-west (Kolkata to Mumbai), east-south (Kharagpur to Vijayawada), and south(Goa to Chennai)

The DFC project is expected to reduce con-gestion at various terminals and junctions. Itwill provide the efficient and fast movement offreight along the corridor. The project is cur-rently facing land acquisition problems.

2. MONO RAIL IN MUMBAI

Considering the increase in population, in-creased travel demand and narrow road net-works running through congested structures,there is a need of a system which will occupyless space as well as reduce travel time.

With the objective, to support public rapidtransit system such as suburban rail system andmetro rail system and where public rapid transitsystem is not available or impossible to providesuch system and where widening of roads is notpossible due to structures on either sides, MonoRail system is proposed to be implemented in "city of dreams" MUMBAI. Once completed itwill be world's second longest Monorail corri-dor.

Larsen and Toubro along with Scomi hasreceived the contract to build and operate themonorail.

Salient features of Monorail system:

1. In Monorail System train runs on a narrowGuide way Beam, wheels of which aregripped laterally on either side of the beam.

2. Monorail is a Light Weight System and itscost of execution is less compared to heavyrail systems and it takes approximately 1.5to 2 years for execution.

3. Mono rail System requires 1.00 m widespace (Column Size 0.8 m × 1.5 m) thespace of a footpath or a divider and it restson a single pillar of height 6.5 m withoutdisturbing the existing traffic.

4. As compared to other systems Monorailproduces less noise and is eco-friendly and


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

hence easily acceptable in dense residentiallocale.

5. Monorail System is in use in Tokyo (Japan)from 1963, in Kuala-Lumpur (Malaysia) forlast 5 years and in china for last 3 years.

6. Monorail System is Safe and reliable sys-tem.

Effect on Indian Economy• The construction and expansion of the

railways have been proved to be beneficialfor the economic and inclusive growth ofthe economy. It provides a better linkagebetween producer, retailer and consumer.

• It has played a significant role in the devel-opment of cotton textile industry, jute in-dustry as it provides free flow of rawmaterials with proper penetration to mar-ket areas.

• Railways have been very helpful in thedevelopment of Indian agriculture. Nowfarmers can send their agricultural goods todistant places and can fetch good incomes.

• Railways also help in maintaining uniformprice level for agricultural products throughbetter movement.

• New industrials hubs have been emergedas higher mobility of raw materials reducedthe concentration of industries mainlyaround raw material centres. As Kanpur isknown for cotton garments whereas theraw materials are present in Maharashtraand Gujarat.

• Railways are playing significant role inrunning country's administration and safe-guarding its freedom and integrity, as itprovides easy movement of police, troops,defence equipments etc.

Environmental side Effects

The penetration of railway networks in ev-ery nook and corner of the country; on onehand enhancing the economy, cultural linkages,and national integration but on the other handleading to environment depletion. The laying ofnew tracks requires clearance of forests thataffects the biodiversity and forest dwellers both.

Recently we have seen in news that due topresence of railway track in elephant corridoraccidents and death of around five elephantstook place. Similarly for the establishment ofrailway tracks in hilly areas dynamites are usedto break hills which in turn cause air pollutionas well as lead to frequent landslides.

Thus environmental angle has to be in-cluded along with economic and cultural anglewhile developing railway networks.

Problems and Solutions

Indian railway have progressed a lot, bothquantitatively and qualitatively but this systemis still plagued by a number of problems whichrequire immediate attention.

1. SAFETY: Safety has become a prime con-cern for railways after frequent accidentsoccurred recently killing about hundreds ofpassengers. There are several factors whichare responsible for increasing number ofaccidents as over raged tracks, wagons,coaches, bridges and signaling system. Thetracks suffer from fatigue and wear andtear in due course of time. The railwayzones should monitor safety measures andimplement them on priority basis in thelarger interest of passengers. All vacanciesrelated to safety should be filled soon.Proper training to railway personnel, par-ticularly in safety segments needed to re-duce the implementation time after acci-dents.

2. COST AND REVENUE PROBLEMS:Railways used to face the problem of finan-cial crisis. The annual rate of increase incost has overtaken that of revenue. Newtrains have been launched and frequencyof mobility have too increased a lot thus upgradation of tracks, amenities, safety mea-sures causes a heavy burden on exchequerof railway. The solution can be allowingPPP model in railways for up gradation ofinfrastructure.

3. SOCIAL BURDEN: A railway has a dualrole of being commercial organization alongwith social organization .it has to providefacilities at low cost. Suburban passenger

92

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


services, concessionary travel to certainsection of society, being a social campaigneretc creates the financial crisis on railways.

ROAD TRANSPORT

Road is the indigenous mode of transport.Roads offer door to door services and construc-tion can be undertaken even in areas of difficultterrain. In developing country like India road isa harbinger of economic development and pros-perity.

Importance of Roads

1. Roads play a very important role in thetransportation of goods and passengers forshort and medium distances.

2. It helps farmers to move their perishableagricultural products soon to markets andmandis. Thus encourage farmers to switchto more commercially viable agriculturalproducts.

3. Road transport system establishes easycontact between farms, fields, factories andmarkets, thus leading to better linkage be-tween consumer and producer.

4. Mobility is one of the most fundamentaland important characteristics of economicactivity as it satisfies the basic need of goingfrom one location to the other, a needshared by passengers, freight and informa-tion. Road transport provides a bettermobility that leads to economic develop-ment.

5. It is suitable for transportation of bothperishable and non perishable goods con-trolling the price in the economy.

Urban Transport

India is transiting from a developing todeveloped country with high pace of economicdevelopment. Urbanization is too increasing athigh pace as mega cities, cities and towns areproviding better economic opportunities. Fast-growing cities have nurtured business and in-dustry and have provided jobs and higherincomes to many migrants from rural areas.

Thus, it is important that cities function effi-ciently - that their resources are used to maxi-mize the cities' contribution to national income.

City efficiency largely depends upon theeffectiveness of its transport systems, i.e., effi-cacy with which people and goods are movedthroughout the city. Poor transport systemshampers economic growth and development,and the net effect may be a loss of competitive-ness in both domestic as well as internationalmarkets

Thus proper development of urban trans-port to meet the needs of growing populationis urgently needed in country like INDIA. Thepublic transport system helps in improvingurban-rural linkage and improves access of therural/semi-urban population in the peripheryto city centres for the purpose of

labour supply without proliferation of slumswithin and around cities.

The major objective of urban transport ini-tiative is to provide efficient and affordablepublic transport. A National Urban TransportPolicy (NUTP) was laid down in 2006, with theobjective of ensuring easy, accessible, safe, af-fordable, quick, comfortable, reliable, and sus-tainable mobility for all. In order to providebetter transport, proposals for bus rapid transitsystem (BRTS) were approved.

The quality and quantity of roads had beenimproved by providing better signaling system,foot over bridges for pedestrians, over bridgesand flyovers to decrease travelling time, diverg-ing heavy vehicles directly to highways withoutaccessibility to city roads etc.The new conceptof low floor buses has been introduced in capitalcities to control pollution as well as for improv-ing the conditions of local government buses.

Metro rail projects as already present inDelhi/NCR has been further sanctioned fornew cities as Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai as(monorail) to decrease the travelling time andenvironmental effects of vehicular emissions.

Urban Transport Problems

• Traffic injuries and fatalities pose a seriousthreat to the urban population. The causescan be poor conditions of roads, burgeon-


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

ing fleet of motor vehicles, unsafe drinkingbehaviour, overcrowding of buses, autos etc.

• Environmental pollution as Noise, air bothare contributed by vehicles. BHARATSTAGE EMISSION NORMS have beenlaunched by government to decrease airpollution from vehicles. Switching publictransport to CNG has reduced the pollu-tion content drastically.

• Roadway congestion is probably the mostvisible, most pervasive, and most immedi-ate transport problem plaguing India's cit-ies on a daily basis. It affects all modes oftransportation and all socioeconomicgroups.

l• Vast improvements are needed in India'spublic transport systems, but the necessaryfunding is not available Most buses andtrains in small and medium size Indiancities are old and poorly designed, inad-equately maintained, dangerously over-crowded, undependable, and slow.

Grameen Sadak Yojana: Enhancing RuralDevelopment

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana(PMGSY) was launched on 25th December 2000by the Government of India as a 100% CentrallySponsored Scheme to provide road connectivityin rural areas of the country. The programmeenvisages connecting all habitations with apopulation of 500 persons and above (250persons and above in respect of hill States, thetribal and the desert areas) through good all-weather roads

This will enhance the pace of rural develop-ment as follows:

• New business opportunities will emergedue to better transport.

• Transportation cost of agricultural goodswill get reduce.

• This will increase connectivity to schoolsand hospitals.

• This will provide employment to poor andunemployed people.

• This will increase penetration of govern-ment assistance in inaccessible areas too.

• This will enhance the better implementa-tion of government schemes

Ultimately till will help in better connectivityto nearby cities that will lead to rural develop-ment economically as well as socially

Public Private Partnership Model in RoadTransport

Traditionally, the road projects were fullyfinanced and controlled/ supervised by theGovernment. The implementation of roadprojects was purely dependent on the availabil-ity/allocation of funds out of the budget of theGovernment. It was assessed, at the time of thepreparation of the Tenth Plan that for NationalHighways alone, Rs. 1, 65,000 crore is requiredfor removal of the deficiencies. . It was in thiscontext that the necessity for exploring theinnovative means of financing the highly capitalintensive road projects was felt. Thus govern-ment has to switch to PPP model of working sothat the burden of cost of labour and resourcescan be divided between government and pri-vate sector.

Highways are a critically important infra-structure for an emerging nation. And thedesign of appropriate contracts is the criticalinstrument for meeting the challenge of high-ways. What are these challenges? To put it inone sentence, the challenge is to maximize thedifference between:

(a) The additional welfare that our citizens getfrom having more and better roads and,

(b) The present value of the cost of building(henceforth, building should be taken tomean building or renovating) those roads.

The involvement of private sector willbring 3's to the system: Efficiency, Economyand Effectiveness thus in present scenariowhere fast pace economic development is tran-siting from a developing world to emergingworld; slow pace of transport sector can act asobstacle. So PPP model is need of the hour.

While there are a number of forms of PublicPrivate Partnership, the common forms that arepopular in India and have been used for devel-opment of National Highways are -

94

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


• Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) Tollbasis: The concessionaire (private sector) isrequired to meet the upfront cost and theexpenditure on annual maintenance. Theconcessionaire recovers the entire upfrontcost along with the interest and a return oninvestment out of the future toll collection.

• Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) Annu-ity basis: In an BOT (Annuity) Model, theConcessionaire (private sector) is requiredto meet the entire upfront/constructioncost (no grant is paid by the client) and theexpenditure on annual maintenance

The Concessionaire recovers the entireinvestment and a pre-determined cost of returnout of the annuities payable by the client everyyear. The selection is made based on the leastannuity quoted by the bidders (the concessionperiod being fixed).The client (Government/NHAI) retains the risk with respect to traffic(toll), since the client collects the toll.

Central Road Fund

The Central Government has created a dedi-cated fund, called Central Road Fund by collec-tion of cess from petrol & diesel. Presently,Rs. 2/- per litre is collected as cess on petrol andHigh Speed Diesel (HSD) Oil. The fund isdistributed for development and maintenanceof National Highways, State Roads, and RuralRoads and for provision of road over bridges/under bridges and other safety features at un-manned Railway Crossings as provided in Cen-tral Road Fund Act, 2000. Fifty percent of thecess levy on diesel will be used to improve ruralconnectivity whereas remaining for the devel-opment of state roads and national highways

Major National Highways

• NH 1- Delhi - Ambala - Jalandhar -Ludhiana - Amritsar - Wagah Border.

• NH 1A- Jalandhar - Jammu - Udhampur -Banihal - Srinagar - Baramula - Uri

• NH 1D- Srinagar - Kargil - Leh• NH 2 - Delhi-Agra-Allahabad-Kolkata• NH 3 - Agra-Gwalior-Indore-Dhule-Nasik-

Mumbai

• NH 4 - Thane-Pune-Bangalore-Chennai.(Mumbai-Pune-1st 6 lane express highway)

• NH 5 - Baharagora - Cuttack -Bhuvaneshwar - Vishakhapatnam -Chennai

• NH 6 - Hazira - Surat - Dhule - Nagpur -Raipur - Baharagora - Kolkata

• NH 7 - Varanasi-Nagpur-Hyderabad-Ban-galore- Kanyakumari (Longest Highway)

• NH 8 - Delhi-Jaipur-Ajmer-Udaipur-Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Surat-Mumbai

• NH 24 - Delhi - Moradabad - Bareilly -Lucknow

• NH 47A-Kundannur-Willington Island inKochi (Shortest NH-6 km)

Golden Quadrilateral Project

The Golden Quadrilateral is a highway net-work connecting India's four largest metropo-lises: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata,thus forming a quadrilateral of sorts. Four othertop ten metropolises: Bangalore, Pune,Ahmadabad, and Surat, are also served by thenetwork. It is the first phase of the NationalHighways Development Project (NHDP), andconsists of building 5,846 km (3,633 mi) of four/six lane express highways.

The GQ project establishes better and fastertransport networks between many major citiesand ports. It provides an impetus to smoothermovement of products and people within India.It enables industrial and job development insmaller towns through access to markets. Itprovides opportunities for farmers through bet-ter transportation of produce from the agricul-tural hinterland to major cities and ports forexport, through lesser wastage and spoils. Fi-nally, it drives economic growth directly throughconstruction as well as through indirect de-mand for cement, steel and other constructionmaterials. It gives an impetus to Truck transportthroughout India

Organisations Related to Road Transport

1. THE NATIONAL HIGHWAYS AUTHOR-ITY OF INDIA

The National Highways Authority of Indiawas constituted by an act of Parliament, the


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

National Highways Authority of India Act,1988. It is responsible for the development,maintenance and management of NationalHighways entrusted to it and for matters con-nected or incidental thereto. The Authority wasoperationalised in February, 1995 with the ap-pointment of full time Chairman and otherMembers.

It aims at meeting the nation's need for theprovision and maintenance of National High-ways network to global standards and to meet-ing user's expectations in the most time boundand cost effective manner, within the strategicpolicy framework set by the Government ofIndia and thus promote economic well being asquality of life of the people."2. CENTRAL PUBLIC WORKS DEPART-

MENTThe Central Public Works Department of

India is a central government owned authoritythat is in charge of public sector works in thecountry. Central Public Works Department(CPWD) under Ministry of Urban Developmentis entrusted with construction and maintenanceof buildings for most of the Central GovernmentDepartments, Public undertakings and Autono-mous bodies3. BORDER ROAD ORGANISATION

The Border Roads Organization [BRO] playsa very vital role in connecting the inaccessibleborder areas. BRO was raised on May 7, 1960with the mission of developing communicationin hither to forlorn areas of the north andNorth-East states of India and also fortificationof the turbulent borders. BRO, the brain childof first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehrucame into existence on May 7, 1960 as a pioneerroad construction agency. Border Roads Orga-nization, popularly known as BRO, is a civilengineering institution responsible to providecivil (construction) engineering cover to theArmed Forces of India, during war and peace.

Environmental Effects

Road transport no doubt has increased theaccessibility of people to interiors of the nationbut the environmental effects are increasing dayby day with the development of roads.

The major environmental effect is air pollu-tion. The burning of petrol and diesel releasesmany harmful gases as sulphur, lead, carbonmonoxide that causes respiratory diseases inhuman beings.

As the four lane highways and six lanehighways are coming up for which the clear-ance of the roadside trees are required thusdepleting the biodiversity at large.

The construction of roads in hilly areasaffects the topography, biodiversity of that areaand leads to frequent landslides


1. INADEQUACY OF ROAD NETWORK:despite the large progress in road networkof the nation road length of 75.01km per100 sq km of area is present whereas inother nations as Japan (294.6km), France(147.2km) etc. Lakhs of villages are still notconnected by surface roads.

Government is implementing schemes forup gradation of roads but poor implemen-tation effects the whole scenario.PPP modelshould also be used in village road con-tracting.

2. LOW SURFACED ROADS: around 40%of roads are unsurfaced. They can be onlyused in fair weather and become muddyand unfit for transportation in rainy sea-son. Government should concentrate onincreasing area of surfaced roads as it isimplementing Grameen Sadak Yojana.

3. POOR INFRASTRUCTURE: nationalhighway network will have to be improvedto meet the growing traffic of men andmaterials. A large section has insufficientroad pavement thickness, weak and dis-tressed bridges, congested city sections andweak road safety measures.

4. POOR FINANCIAL STRUCTURE OFSTATE ROAD TRANSPORT UNDER-TAKINGS: these are facing financial con-straints due to social commitment to oper-ate at low cost and even on uneconomicroutes, absence of rationalized cost basedfare structures and overstaffing. Private

96

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


parties should be allowed to enter in roadtransport sector to increase the efficiencyand effectiveness of road transport butwith regulations.

AIR TRANSPORT

Air transport is the fastest and modernmeans of transportation that has lead to shrink-ing of the world. Air transport plays a vital rolein times of emergencies and calamities as floods,famines, epidemics for transportation of menand materials.

Air transport in India begins in 1911 whenair mail operation commenced between Nainiand Allahabad. In 1953 air transport was na-tionalized and two corporations were formed:Air India Internationals and Indian Airlines.Further the two airlines officially merged ineach other on 27 February 2011. As part of themerger process, a new company called theNational Aviation Company of India Limited(now called Air India Limited) was established,into which both Air India (along with Air IndiaExpress) and Indian Airlines (along with Alli-ance Air) had merged. There are many privateplayers also as jet airways, kingfisher, spice jet,indigo etc.

International Airports

International Airports are located at Mumbai,Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Jaipur,Panaji, Amritsar, Guwahati, Kochi, Hyderabad,Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram and Goa.

1. INDIRA GANDHI INTERNATIONALAIRPORT, DELHI

a) It is the busiest airport in South Asiahandling the most traffic movementsand passengers on the subcontinent.

b) The airport was previously operatedby the Indian Air Force and was a partof the Palam Airport until its manage-ment was transferred to the AirportAuthority of India.

2. CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI INTERNA-TIONAL AIRPORT, MUMBAI

a) Formerly called SAHAR (international)Airport and SANTA CRUZ

(domestic) Airport. The two airportswere merged and renamed asChhatrapati Shivaji International Air-port.

b) India's and South Asia's largest airport.

c) Country's second busiest airport. It,along with Delhi's Indira Gandhi In-ternational Airport, handles more thanhalf of the air traffic in South Asia.

3. NETAJI SUBHASH CHANDRA BOSEINTERNATIONAL AIRPORT,KOLKATA

a) It is located at Dum-Dum near Kolkata,West Bengal.

b) The airport was originally known asDum-Dum Airport.

c) The airport is the largest in easternIndia.

4. MEENAMBAKAM INTERNATIONALAIRPORT, CHENNAI

a) It is located in Tirusulam, 7 km southof Chennai.

b) This is the third-busiest airport in In-dia (after Delhi and Mumbai).

c) It is the second-largest cargo hub inthe country, after Mumbai.

5. BENGALURU INTERNATIONAL AIR-PORT, BENGALURU

a) The airport is located 4 km south ofDevanahalli in Bengaluru covering4,000 acres.

b) It replaced the old HAL BangaloreInternational Airport.

6. RAJIV GANDHI INTERNATIONALAIRPORT, HYDERABAD

a) Earlier it was known as Begumpetairport.

b) It is the second public-private partner-ship venture in the Indian airports, thefirst being the Cochin InternationalAirport.

7. SARDAR VALLABHBHAI PATEL INTER-NATIONAL AIRPORT, AHMEDABAD

a) It is India's eighth busiest airport withan average of 150 aircraft movementsa day.


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

8. NEDUMBASSERY AIRPORT INTERNA-TIONAL AIRPORT, KOCHI

a) It is the fourth busiest airport in Indiain terms of international traffic & isthe busiest airport in Kerala in termsof domestic and international traffic.

b) The airport is the first internationalairport in India incorporated as apublic limited company.

9. RAJA SANSI INTERNATIONAL AIR-PORT, AMRITSAR

a) It is also known as Guru Ram DasInternational Airport.

b) It handles about 90 commercial flights aweek, both international and domestic.

10. TRIVANDRUM INTERNATIONAL AIR-PORT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

a) It is the first International airport in anon-metro city in India.

b) It is considered as an "all weather"airport in the country and is ISO 9001-2000 certified.

c) It is the 8th busiest airport in thecountry in terms of international pas-senger traffic and 10th busiest in termsof overall passenger traffic.

11. DABOLIM AIRPORT INTERNA-TIONAL AIRPORT, GOA

a) It is the only airport in the state andoperates as a civil enclave in a militaryairbase named INS Hansa.

12. LOKPRIYA GOPINATH BORDOLOI IN-TERNATIONAL AIRPORT, GUWAHATI

a) Known as Guwahati International Air-port and formerly as Borjhar Airport.

b) The airport is managed by AirportsAuthority of India and also serves asIndian Air Force base.

c) It is named after Gopinath Bordoloiwho was a freedom fighter and alsothe first CM of Assam after indepen-dence.

Air Ambulance

An air ambulance is an aircraft used foremergency medical assistance in situations where

either a traditional ambulance cannot reach thescene easily or quickly enough, or the patientneeds to be transported over a distance orterrain that makes air transportation the mostpractical transport. These and related opera-tions are referred to as Aero medical. Air am-bulance crews are supplied with equipmentthat enables them to provide medical treatmentto a critically injured or ill patient. Commonequipment for air ambulances includes ventila-tors, medication, an ECG and stretchers

The air crash in Faridabad of air ambulancehas pointed on its safety provisions. Govern-ment has set up Accident Investigation Com-mittee (AIC) to work under supervision of theCivil Aviation Ministry. It would identify thecauses of accident in an independent mannerand assist the formal probe panels like courts orcommittees of inquiry. It would also coordinateand provide support for the probe panels andfollow up and monitor the compliance of therecommendations made in the Accident andSerious Incident Investigation Reports.

Pawan hans Helicopters Limited (PHHL)

Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. (PHHL) anISO 9001:2000 certified company, is one ofIndia's leading helicopter companies and isknown for its reliable helicopter operations. Thecompany was incorporated in 1985 with theobjective of providing helicopter services to thepetroleum sector, linking inaccessible areas ofthe country and operating charters for promo-tion of tourism.

Pawan Hans is a leader in providing off-shore helicopter support in India. Its helicoptersfly under a variety of conditions for carrying outONGC tasks at Bombay High. The Companyhas a strong presence in the North-East havingits helicopters deployed in the States ofArunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim andTripura. Regular passenger services are beingrun under the aegis of these State Governments.Helicopter has also been provided to Ministry ofHome Affairs in the North-East for VIP trans-portation. PHHL runs the helicopter servicesfrom Agustmuni and Phata to the Holy shrineof Kedarnath in the months of May-June and

98

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


September-October every year. The Companyhas also deployed two Bell 407 helicopters foroperations at Katra (for Mata Vaishno Devi)from April 2008 onwards.

The company has provided helicopters toAndaman & Nicobar Islands and LakshadweepIslands for inter-island helicopter services. Italso meets the requirements of Government ofPunjab (VIP transportation) and PSUs such asGAIL for pipelines surveillance.Pawan Hans isthe largest helicopter Company in India and it'soperating and maintenance standards are of ahigh order with in-house workshops and main-tenance facilities.

Jal Hans

It is a commercial seaplane facility toAndaman and Nicobar Islands. "The launch ofthe sea plane service is a step towards fasterpromotion of the tourism sector in the islands".Besides developing tourism infrastructure, theplane service will also help improve connectiv-ity between different islands of the Union ter-ritory. The sea plane service, a joint venturebetween Pawan Hans Helicopter and Andamanand Nicobar administration will be used toconnect Port Blair with Havelock Island andsubsequently others islands in the North andMiddle Andaman. The sea plane is a CessnaCaravan 208 Amphibian and has a seatingcapacity of nine passengers and can land onwater.

Gagan Project: Enhancing Safety

GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation''Gagan'' is an augmentation system to enhancethe accuracy and integrity of GPS signals tomeet precision approach requirements in CivilAviation and is being implemented jointly byAAI and ISRO. The goal is to provide naviga-tion system for all phases of flight over theIndian airspace and in the adjoining area. It isapplicable to safety-to-life operations, and meetsthe performance requirements of internationalcivil aviation regulatory bodies.

GSAT IV being fabricated by ISRO will carryGAGAN payload. The footprint of this satellite

will cover a vast geographical area from Africato Australia and hence would facilitate expan-sion of the service area of ''Gagan'' far beyondIndian airspace. When implemented this wouldreplace most of the ground based navigationalaids and it would be possible to provide preci-sion approach and landing guidance up tocategory I to aircraft hitherto not available dueto terrain conditions precluding the provision ofInstrument Landing System.

Flight Management System based onGAGAN will then be poised to save operatorstime and money by managing climb, descentand engine performance profiles. The FMS willimprove the efficiency and flexibility by increas-ing the use of operator-preferred trajectories. Itwill improve airport and airspace access in allweather conditions, and the ability to meet theenvironmental and obstacle clearance con-straints. It will also enhance reliability andreduce delays by defining more precise terminalarea procedures that feature parallel routes andenvironmentally optimized airspace corridors.

GAGAN will increase safety by using athree-dimensional approach operation withcourse guidance to the runway, which willreduce the risk of controlled flight into terraini.e., an accident whereby an airworthy aircraft,under pilot control, inadvertently flies into ter-rain, an obstacle, or water.

GAGAN will also offer high position accu-racies over a wide geographical area like theIndian airspace. These positions accuracies willbe simultaneously available to 80 civilian andmore than 200 non-civilian airports and air-fields and will facilitate an increase in thenumber of airports to 500 as planned. Theseposition accuracies can be further enhancedwith ground based augmentation system


AIR TRANSPORT industry of India is facinga number of problems. AIR INDIA is facing stiffcompetition from the private players in terms offacilities and fare charges. These airlines sufferfrom mismanagement as frequent pilot strikes,political interference occurs.


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

The primary step would be to enlarge andupgrade airports and allied infrastructural fa-cilities to meet the growing traffic. For theseprivate players should be welcomed as inGreenfield airport of Hyderabad.

The recent fraud pilots' cases have mini-mized the credibility of airlines. Governmentshould take strict action against the culprits andproper regulations should be made to curb thispractice in future.

WATER TRANSPORT

Water transport is the cheapest means oftransport and is therefore suitable for carryingheavy and bulky materials. It is a fuel-efficientand eco-friendly mode of transport. Accordingto one estimate the construction of each kilome-ter of railway and road needs an investment ofaround 1 crores whereas only 0.10 crores isrequired to develop same length of waterways.The salient features of India's shipping policyare the promotion of national shipping to in-crease self-reliance in the carriage of the country'soverseas trade and protection of stakeholders'interest in EXIM trade. National shipping makessignificant contribution to the foreign exchangeearnings of the country. Their development isfaster and maintenance cost is much lower.Water transport in India has been divided into:1. Inland Waterways2. Seaways.

Inland Waterways

Inland waterways refer to using inland waterbodies like rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks etc.for transporting goods and people from oneplace to another. Inland Waterways Authorityof India was set up in 1986 for the development,maintenance and regulation of national water-ways in the country. In other to increase thesignificance of inland waterways and to im-prove their efficiency, the government has iden-tified important waterways and designated themas national waterways of India.

� National Waterway No 1 (NW-1) - TheGanga (North India)

The Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly River Sys-tem connecting Haldia-Kolkata (Calcutta) -

Farakka - Munger - Patna - Varanasi - Allahabadis navigable by mechanized boats up to Patnaand by ordinary boats up to Haridwar.

The NW-1 stretches to more than 1620 Kmsof potentially navigable waterways. Night navi-gational facilities are in the process of imple-mentation.

� National Waterway No 2 (NW-II) - TheBrahmaputra (North-East India)

The river Brahmaputra connecting Dhubri-Pandu (Guwahati)-Tezpur-Neamati-Dibrugarh-Sadiya stretching to about 891 Kms was de-clared a National Waterway in 1988. Provisionsfor 2-meter depth channels, night navigationalfacilities are under consideration.

An inland Water Transport transit and tradeprotocol exists between India and Bangladesh.The NW-2 connects the North East region withCalcutta and Haldia ports through Bangladeshand Sunderbans waterways.� National Waterway No 3 (NW-III) - TheWest Coast Canal (South West India)

The West Coast Canal located in Gods OwnCountry - Kerala runs from Kollam toKottapuram and was declared a NationalWaterway in 1993.The NW-3 is one of the mostnavigable and tourism potential area in Indiaand has much to offer to the potential tourist.� National Waterway 4 (NW 4)

The Kakinada-Puducherry stretch of Canalsand the Kaluvelly Tank, Bhadrachalam -Rajahmundry stretch of River Godavari andWazirabad - Vijayawada stretch of River Krishnahas been declared as national waterways No. 4.� National Waterway 5 (NW 5)

The Talcher-Dhamra stretch of riverBrahmani, Geonkhali - Charbatia stretch of EastCoast Canal, Charbatia- Dhamra stretch ofMatai River and Mangalgadi-Paradip stretch ofMahanadi delta rivers has been declared asnational waterway No. 5.

Factors affecting Inland waterways:

1. Diversion of river water for irrigation ca-nals has reduced the flow of water anddeclined the navigation capacity of therivers.

100

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


2. The presence of waterfalls, cataracts andsharp bends hinders the development ofwaterways.

3. Silting of river bed reduces the depth ofwater and creates problem for navigation.

4. Lack of funds.

The government is promoting Inland Watertransport in the form of interest subsidies andinducing private investment. For promoting theuse of this mode by private operators, they areencouraged to use Central Inland Water Trans-port Corporation vessels free of hire charges.

Inland water transport has a good potentialto be exploited and efforts should be made inthis direction. Passenger transport should beencouraged. Intermodal connections with ship-ping, railways and roadways can improve theperformance of Inland Water transport.

For overall development of IWT sector in thecountry it is necessary that national waterwaysas well as other waterways are developed sideby side. A large number of smaller rivers fromtributaries of National Waterways Rivers ifdeveloped with IWT infrastructure, many ofthese smaller rivers can become suitable fornavigation by smaller/medium size inland ves-sels and can act as feeder routes to the mainwaterways. While the development and regula-tion of National Waterways is the responsibilityof Central Govt./IWAI, the respective StateGovernments should develop other waterways.However, due to fund constraint, it has not beenpossible for the States to provide adequate fundsfor IWT development. Therefore, to encouragethe States for IWT development, there was aCentrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for IWTsector. Under the CSS, 100 per cent grant isprovided for the projects of North-Eastern Statesincluding Sikkim and 90 per cent grant to otherStates. The Planning Commission has discontin-ued the scheme for areas other than North EastRegion from the year 2007-08. The scheme hasbeen continued for the North-Eastern regionaland classified as a Central Sector Scheme

SEAWAYS

Shipping plays an important role in thetransport sector of India's economy. Almost

98% of India's overseas trade in terms of volumeis moved by sea. Coal and petroleum productsconstitute the bulk of the cargo.

India has a vast coastline of about 7,516 kmand over two million square kilometers of Ex-clusive Economic Zone. The entire coastline isstudded with 12 major and 185 minor ports.India has the largest merchant shipping fleetamong the developing countries and ranks 20thamongst the countries with the largest cargocarrying fleet with 8.83 million GT.

Major Sea Ports in India

The coastline of India is dotted with 12Major Ports and about 200 Non-major Ports.The Major Ports are under the purview of thecentral government while the Non-major Portscome under the jurisdiction of the respectiveState Governments. On the western coast themajor ports are: Mumbai, Marmagao, Kandla,New Mangalore, Nhava Sheva (JawaharlalNehru Port) and Kochin. Whereas on the east-ern coast are Madras, Kolkata- Haldia,Vishakhapatnam, Tuticorin, Paradeep andEnnore.

1. Kandla - It is a tidal port located at theeastern end of Gulf of Kuchchh about 48km away from Bhuj. It has been developedafter independence to relieve congestion onMumbai port and to compensate for theloss of Karachi port to Pakistan after par-tition. It is a port with natural shelteredharbour in Kandla creek. Leather, petro-leum products, chemicals, salt, cement,cotton and silk textile, edible oils are mainitems of export. Crude oil, good qualitycoffee, potash, and machines are mainitems of import.

2. Mumbai - It is situated on SALSETTEISLAND on the western coast. It is anatural harbour and the largest port ofIndia handling about 1/5th of India's for-eign trade. Oilseeds, groundnut, raw leatherand leather-wears, tobacco, cotton textileand engineering goods are the main itemsof exports. High quality cotton, chemicalsand chemical fertilizer, petroleum, machin-eries and paper are main import items.


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

It handles foreign trade with Western andEast African countries and Gulf countries.Opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 broughtit much closer to the European countries

3. Jawaharlal Nehru port - It has been builtat Nhava Sheva Island across the Elephantacaves, about 10 km from Mumbai. Mainobjective is to relieve the pressure on theMumbai Port. It is equipped with mostmodern facilities having mechanized con-tainer berth for handling dry bulk cargoand service berth etc. It is the largest man-made and most modernized port of India.It handles 55-60% of the country's contain-erized cargo.

4. Marmagao - It is a natural port located atthe entrance of Zuvari estuary in Goa. Ithandles the export of iron-ore from Goa.Iron ore, manganese, coconut, coffee, cot-ton, etc. are the main items of export.Petroleum, fertilizer, chemicals, machinesand food-grains are the main import items.

5. New Mangalore - Located at the southerntip of Karnataka coast north of GurpurRiver. Iron ore, tea, rice, cashew nut, gran-ite, coffee, rubber, fruits and fishes are themain export items. Fertilizer, edible oils,petroleum and machines are import items.It has facilities for export of iron-ore fromKudremukh mines. It is well connectedthrough broad gauge rail lines and NH-17with Mumbai & Kanyakumari. The shipbeyond 6000 tones cannot stay here.

6. Kochi - A natural harbour on the westerncoast of Kerala (in Vembanad Lake), 320kilometers north of Kanyakumari. It is lo-cated close to Suez-Colombo sea route. Theport has sheltered backwater bay. This porthandles 5% of the total trade. Tea, Coffee,Copper, Rubber, Rice, Sea products andSpices are main export items whereas coal,iron and steel, zinc, petrol, fertilizers cot-ton, wheat, rice and bauxite are mainimport items.

7. Tuticorin - It is an artificial deep sea harbourin Tamil Nadu, north of Adam Bridge andeast of Sri Lanka. Its main purpose is tocarry on trade with Sri Lanka as it is very

near to that country. Spices, tea, salt, sugar,copra, cotton textile, leather and bananaare main export items whereas coal, fertil-izer and machines are main import items.

8. Chennai - It is the oldest artificial port onthe eastern coast of India. At a time 16ships can stay in this artificial harbor.Tamil Nadu, eastern Karnataka and south-ern Andhra Pradesh fall under its hinter-land. Cotton and silks textile, coffee, fertil-izer, rubber, tobacco, oilseeds, rice, leatherand fishes are main export items. Coal,petroleum, paper, sugar, vehicles, medi-cines, machines and chemicals are mainimport items. Due to lesser depth nearcoast, it is ill-suited for large ships.

9. Ennore: Recently developed to reduce pres-sure of traffic on Chennai port. It is locatedslightly north of Chennai on T.N. coast. Itis country's first corporate port. The majoritems of traffic are coal, iron ore, petro-leum, chemicals, etc.

10. Vishakhapatnam - It is the deepest land-locked and protected port at the coast ofAndhra Pradesh. Manganese, spices, wood,coal and iron ore are main export items.Steel, oil, coal, machines and luxury itemsare the main imports. An outer harbourhas been developed to handle the export ofiron-ore. Iron-ore from Bailadila mines isexported to Japan from this port. It also hasship-building and ship-repairing industry.

11. Paradeep - It is a deep-water & all weatherport on Orissa coast in Mahanadi deltaregion. This port has been developed witha view to export raw materials mainly ironore to Japan. Iron- ore, chromites, fishes,manganese are main items of export whereas chemical, fertilizer potash and foodgrains are main import items. It is beingdeveloped as a free port where iron-steelindustry in proposed to be established.

12. Kolkata-Haldia - It is a river rine portlocated on the west bank of the HooghlyRiver. Tea, sugar, jute, iron and steel goods,coal, textiles, oilseeds, leather, mica andmanganese are main items of export. Pa-per, petrol, fertilizers, chemical goods, rub-

102

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


ber, machines medicine are main importitems. It handles goods coming from South-East Asian Countries, Australia and NewZealand. It is called "Gateway to EasternIndia". Haldia port has recently been devel-oped on the confluence of rivers Hooghly& Haldi, about 105 km downstream fromKolkata. Its main purpose is to releasecongestion at Kolkata.

Passenger Ferry service between India andSri Lanka

Ferry service has been resumed between SriLanka and India after being halted for morethan 25 years because of the island's civil war.The ferry will carry the passengers from boththe countries in economical and efficient. Thiswill enhance the relations between two coun-tries both economically and culturally as touristflow will increase. The ferry service will connectTuticorin port in India and Colombo in SriLanka.


The Indian water transport system is con-fronted with problems as inadequacy of ton-nage capacity, shortage of container fleet, overraged vessels resulting into high operationalcosts, stiff competition from foreign shippingcompanies, congestion at the major ports andinadequate infrastructural support like shiprepair facility, dry docking, cargo handling andlack of proper coordination in entire logisticschain.

In the eighth plan the basic thrusts weretowards the replacement of aged and uneco-nomic ships, diversification of fleet through theacquisition of container ships and specializedcontainers, achievement of self sufficiency intankers and improvement of infrastructuralfacilities at the port.

Requirement is to make the ports moreautonomous and reduce existing legal formali-ties. Autonomous ports can raise resources fromthe primary market by way of equity.

In order to improve efficiency productivityand quality of services as well as to bring incompetitiveness in port services, the port sector

has been thrown open to private sector partici-pation. The Major Port Trust Act, 1963 permitsprivate sector participation in major ports in-vites Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to100% under the automatic route is permitted forconstruction and maintenance of ports andharbours. Private sector participation has beenallowed in a variety of ports services whichincludes construction and operation of termi-nals, warehousing/storage facility, dry dockingand ship repair facilities.

PIPELINE

Pipelines are the most convenient mode oftransporting liquids and gases over long dis-tances. Even solids can also be transported bypipelines after converting them into slurry. Thecountry had a network of about 5,035 km longpipelines in 1980 which has increased to over7,000 km now.

India is not self sufficient in crude oil andpetroleum based products. Hence every year ithas to import around 70% of these productsfrom abroad. While giant tanker ships import itfrom foreign country but to transport the crudeto refineries and petroleum products from refin-ery to consumer markets needs widespreadbranches of pipelines. India has developed anindigenous network of pipeline for easy andeconomical transfer of oil from one place toanother.

Advantages of Pipeline:

a) They are ideally suited to transport theliquid and gases.

b) They can be laid over difficult terrain aswell as under water.

c) It involves very low energy consumption.d) Their operation and maintenance cost is

low.e) They are safe, accident-free and environ-

mental friendly.

Disadvantages of Pipeline:

a) It is not flexible i.e. it can be used only fora few fixed points.

b) Its capacity cannot be increased once it islaid.

c) It is difficult to make security arrangementsfor pipelines.


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

d) Underground pipelines cannot be easilyrepaired and detection of leakage is alsodifficult.

Major Pipelines of India

1. N A H O R K A T I Y A - N O O N M A T I -BARAUNI PIPELINE

This is the first pipeline of the countryconstructed by OIL for transporting crude oilfrom Nahorkatiya oilfield in Assam to Barauniin Bihar via Noonmati. It is now extended toKanpur in Uttar Pradesh

2. BOMBAY HIGH-MUMBAIANKLE-SHWAR-KOYALI PIPELINE

This line connects the oil fields of Mumbaihigh and Gujarat with oil refinery at Koyali. Itprovides facilities for transporting crude oil andnatural gas.

3. SALAYA-KOYALI-MATHURA PIPELINE

This has been laid down from Salaya toKoyali and Mathura via Viramgram to supplycrude oil to the extended Koyali and Mathurarefinery. It has an offshore terminal for im-ported crude oil. Now it has been furtherextended to Panipat and Jalandhar.

4. HAJIRA-BIJAPUR-JAGDISHPUR GASPIPELINE

This has been constructed by Gas Authorityof India to transport gas. It connects Hajira inMaharashtra to Bijapur in M.P and Jagdishpurin U.P. It carries 18 million cubic metres of gaseveryday to three power houses of Gujarat,Rajasthan and U.P. and to six fertilizer plants.This is the world's largest underground pipelineand brought economic boost to economy ofGujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and UttarPradesh.

5. JAMNAGAR-LONI LPG PIPELINE

This has been constructed by Gas Authorityof India connecting Jamnagar in Gujarat to Loninear Delhi. This is the longest pipeline of theworld. This is the first time that cross countrypipeline has been used to transport LPG adding

to availability of supplies, safety in transporta-tion and wider distribution.

Issue of Pipeline Safety

Aging infrastructure, lack of safety stan-dards, and weak oversight and enforcement arethe key elements leading to pipeline accidents.The following are the recommendations forimproved pipeline safety and accountability.

1. Prevent Pipeline Disasters

� Require Better Monitoring

a) Require regular integrity testing ofpipelines.

b) Require better training and oversightof staff.

c) Require pipeline companies to providepipeline mapping data with the pos-sible exception of gathering lines.

� Require Safer Pipelines

a) Require double-walled pipelines espe-cially in high consequence areas.

b) Require state of the art leak detectionsystem and automatic shut off valves.

c) Dig up and inspect pipelines morethan 20 years old.

d) Require setbacks of at least 1,000 feetfor high-risk areas for pipelines largerthan 8 inches.

2. Hold Pipeline Companies Responsible forAccidents

a) Establish mandatory fines.b) Require strict and thorough reporting.

As India is entering in agreement withTajikistan and Iran for the supply of natural gasso agenda of pipeline safety comes at forefront.

Effect on Economy

Pipelines play a major role in economicdevelopment of the country as

(i) It provides easy transportation of petro-leum products from refineries to con-sumer market maintaining a balancebetween demand and supply. Thus keep-ing the cost of petroleum products atdesired point.

104

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


(ii) It helps in transfer of petroleum prod-ucts to fertilizer plants thus effects theagricultural production of the country.

(iii) LPG is now transferred by pipelines thusdecreasing the transportation cost andmaking it easily available to the masses.

(iv) Refineries can be set up at far distancefrom the raw material source thus helpsin reducing regional disparity.

TRANSPORT PLANNING COMMITTEE

The above description of the transport sectorof India reveals that there is a lack of propercoordination between different modes of trans-port and despite ongoing developments it is notable to meet the growing demands of the nation.There exists neck to neck competition betweenroad and railway transport that diminishes theultimate goal of whole transport industry. Dif-ferent transport sectors should coordinate tocomplement each other in different regions.

India that aspires to be an economic super-power is visibly in need of a transport policythat is in tune with the times. The constitutionof a high level Transport Policy DevelopmentCommittee, headed by the former deputy gov-ernor of the Reserve Bank of India, RakeshMohan, reflects this. The last time a comprehen-sive view of transport was taken at the nationallevel was in 1980 when the B.D. Pande commit-tee submitted its report. Much has happenedsince then. India's economic transformation froma near-closed economy to a fast liberalizer ledto a significant stepping up of economic activity,particularly by the private sector, and resultedin higher individual spending capacity. Whilethe former meant increased flow of goods andservices, calling for better freight facilities, the

latter translated into both higher purchasingpower for personal transportation modes andhigher effective demand for better public trans-port. Liberalization has also spawned its ownhuge inequities. A fresh policy has to factor inthe harsh reality that the overwhelming major-ity, in the region of 800 million Indians, live inpoverty. This calls for a more active state roleas a provider of subsidized transport and as aneffective regulator, particularly since the trendis to move towards a system that facilitatesprivate players.

The terms of reference of the Rakesh Mohancommittee are wide: they range from "assessingthe transport requirements for the next twodecades" to "assessing the investment require-ments" of the sector. Although there are severalissues that jostle for attention, there is an urgentneed to develop a comprehensive policy forroad transport as this mode carries 87 per centof India's passengers, moves 60 per cent of itsfreight, and is in serious disarray. Efficient inter-State, intra-city, and rural transport systemswill reduce losses, improve connectivity, andopen up more economic opportunities. Themost shocking lapse of state policy is the declineof public transport. As a Parliamentary Stand-ing Committee rightly pointed out, the declineof buses in the total fleet of vehicles from 11 percent in 1951 to a paltry 1.1 per cent in 2004 hasmeant an increase in personalized transport.This leads to avoidable economic losses due tohigher fuel expenditure, apart from wideninginequalities. The retrogressive trend needs ur-gent reversal. A policy that accords primacy ofspace to an affordable, efficient, and integratedpublic transport system will be a key to fixingIndia's transport troubles. ��


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

POPULATION9

Population is the basic element of the state.With 1,210,000,000 (1.21 billion) people, Indiais currently the world's second largest countryin terms of population representing a full 17.5%of the earth's population. India's 2011 censusshowed that the country's population had grownby 181 million people in the prior decade.

When India gained independence from theUnited Kingdom sixty years ago, the country'spopulation was a mere 350 million. Since 1947,the population of India has more than tripled.

1ndia's high population growth results inincreasingly impoverished and sub-standardconditions for growing segments of the Indianpopulation. Population plays an important rolein economic development of the country. Thehuman resource of the country if skilled andtrained contribute to the growth whereas on theother hand illiterate and unskilled populationfull of ethnic and linguistic diversities acts ashavoc for the nation. It may pose serious threatto the survival of mankind.

Some of the reasons for this populationexplosion are poverty, better medical facilities,and immigration from the neighboring coun-tries of Bangladesh and Nepal. Several solutionsto decrease the rate of population increase havebeen tried by the government, some successful,some unsuccessful. Although the rate of in-crease has decreased, the rate has not reachedthe satisfactory level yet. The population inIndia continues to increase at an alarming rate.The effects of this population increase are evi-dent in the increasing poverty, unemployment,air and water pollution, and shortage of food,health resources.

POPULATION GROWTH SINCE 1901

The demographic history of India during thetwentieth century can be charted and classifiedinto following four distinct phases.

1. Period of Stagnant Population (1901-1921)2. Period of Steady Growth (1921-1951)3. Period of Rapid High Growth (1951-1981)4. Period of High Growth with Definite Signs

of Slowing Down (1981-2001)

1. Period of Stagnant Population (1901-1921)

During most of the 19th century India wit-nessed sporadic, irregular and slow growth ofpopulation which drifted into twentieth centuaryuntil 1921. Thus the population growth duringthis period can be termed more or less stagnantwhen compared to the growth rates observedduring the consequent periods. The high birthrate was counter balanced by high death rate.The progressive growth rate in 1921 over 1901was only 5.42 per cent. In fact, the census year1921 registered a negatigve growth rate of -0.31per cent which happened only once throughoutthe demographic history of India. It is becauseof this decline in place of rise in populaion thatthe year 1921 is called as the 'demographicdivide' in the demographic history of India. Thehigh mortality during this period was the prod-uct of large scale abnormal deaths due toepidemics of influenza, plague, small pox, chol-era, etc. Influenzia alone claimed 12 millionlives in1918. Food shortages caused by severedroughts in 1911, 1913, 1915, 1918 and 1920claimed their own toll. In addition, thousandsof Indian solidiers lost their liives during theWorld War-I (1914-18).

106

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


2. Period of Steady Growth (1921-51)

During 1921-51, the population of Indianincreased from 251 million to 361 million. Thisduration of 30 years has thus registered agrowth of 47.3 per cent. Therefore, this periodis called the period of steady growth rate.Themortality rate started showing downward trendas a result of improvement in general health andsanitation conditions after 1921. These develop-ments helped in controlling epidemics likeplague, cholera and malaria. The crude deathrate which stood at a high of 47 per thousandin 1921 declined to 27 per thousand in 1951 .Onthe contray, the crude birth rate continued tostay at an abnormally high level and declineonly to 40 per thousand in 1951 as against 48per thousand in 1921. Decline in death rate wasalso achieved partly though the improvement inthe distribution system as a result of improvedtransportation so that timely supplies of foodcould be made available to drought and faminestricken areas. The combined effect of thesefactors was that the population started increas-ing steadily. Since crude death rate declinedconsiderly and crude birth rate remained veryhigh. The population growth during this periodis called mortality induced growth.

3. Period of Rapid High Growth (1951-81)

After 1951, there was a steep fall in themortality rate but the fertility remained stubornlyhigh. Therefore, this period experienced veryhigh rate of population growth and is oftenreferred to as the period of population explo-sion. As a matter of fact, the birth rate increasedfrom 40 per thousand in 1951 to 42 per thou-sand in 1961 and stayed at 34 per thousandin1981. However, it fell to 36 per thousand in2001. In contrast, death rate fell rapidly from 27per thousand in 1951 to 9 per thousand in 2001.Consequently the natural rate of growth, whichfell slightly from 14.0 per thousand in 1941 to13 per thousand in 1951 rose steeply to 22 perthousand in 1971 and remained at the samelevel in 1981 also. The total population of thecountry increased from 361.09 million in 1951to 683.3 million in 1981 recording an increaseof 89.36 per cent in a short span of thirty years.This unprecedented growth rate was due to the

accelerated developmental activities and fur-ther improvement in health facilities. The livingconditions of the people improved enormously.Death rates declined much faster than the birthrates. This situation resulted in high naturalincrease. Thus, it was fertility induced growth.

4. Period of High Growth Rate with DefiniteSigns of Slowing Down (1981-2001)

The last phase of 20th century, i.e., theperiod between census years 1981 and 2001 isknown as the period of high growth withdefinite signs of slowing down. Although therate of growth was still very high, it starteddeclining after 1981. The highest growth rateof 2.22 per cent was recorded in 1971 whichcontinued in 1981 also. It declined to 2.14 percent in 1991 and further to 1.95 per cent in2001.This declining trend marks the beginningof the new era in the country's demographichistory. During this period, birth rate declinedrapidly, from 34 per thousand in 1981 to 26 perthousand in 2001.Declining trend of death ratecontinued but at a slower rate. The differencebetween birth and death rates narrowed to 17.This declining trend is a positive indicatior ofthe official efforts of birth control and people'sown inclination to opt for smaller families. Itseems that the country has now reached a take-off stage in its demographic evolution.

The Demographic Transition

The demographic transition is the process ofchange in population of a society. It consists ofthe following four stages:

(a) Stage 1. High death and birth rates, lowgrowth rate.

(b) Stage 2. Rapid decline in death rate, con-tinued high birth rate, very high growthrate.

(c) Stage 3. Rapid decline in birth rate, contin-ued decline in death rate, growth ratebegins to decline.

(d) Stage 4. Low death and birth rates, lowgrowth rate.

The story of population growth in India isfairly in tune with the classical theory of demo-graphic transition. During most of the nine-


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

teenth century India witnessed a fluctuating butultimately more or less a stagnant growth ofpopulation, which drifted into the twentiethcentury until 1921. Thereafter, country passedthrough successively all the phases of demo-graphic transition and is now widely believedto have entered the final phase which is nor-mally characterised by rapidly declining fertil-ity. However, it is yet to be seen as to how longwill this phase extend and when India willachieve a stable population.

The National Population Policy (NPP)adopted by the Government of India in 2000states that 'the long-term objective is to achievea stable population by 2045;that changed to2070 at a level consistent with the requirementof sustainable economic growth, social develop-ment and environment protection.

REASONS FOR INCREASE INPOPULATION

I. BIRTH RATE

a) Poverty

According to ABC News, India currentlyfaces approximately "… 33 births a minute,2,000 an hour, 48,000 a day, which calculatesto nearly 12 million a year". Unfortunately, theresources do not increase as the populationincreases. Instead the resources keep decreas-ing, leading to making survival for a humanbeing more and more competitive even for thebasic necessities of life like food, clothing andshelter.

India currently faces a vicious cycle of popu-lation explosion and poverty. One of the mostimportant reasons for this population increasein India is poverty. According to Geography.com,"More than 300 million Indians earn less thanUS $1 everyday and about 130 million peopleare jobless." The people, who have to struggleto make two ends meet, produce more childrenbecause more children mean more earninghands. Also, due to poverty, the infant mortalityrate among such families is higher due to thelack of facilities like food and medical resources.Thus, they produce more children assuming

that not all of them would be able to survive.The end result is a mounting increase in thepopulation size of India. Due to the increase inpopulation, the problems of scarce resources,jobs, and poverty increases. Thus the cyclecontinues leading to an ever increasing popula-tion. This cycle in fact might be considered asa positive feedback, in that the increase in oneresult in the increase of the other factor. As thepoverty and the population both increase, thedevelopment of the country and the societyseems even more far-fetched.

b) Religious beliefs, Traditions and CulturalNorms

India's culture runs very deep and far backin history. Due to the increased population, theeducational facilities are very scarce. As a result,most people still strictly follow ancient beliefs.In addition, a lot of families prefer having a sonrather than a daughter. As a result, a lot offamilies have more children than they actuallywant or can afford, resulting in increased pov-erty, lack of resources, and most importantly, anincreased population.

Another one of India's cultural norms is fora girl to get married at an early age. In most ofthe rural areas and in some urban areas as well,families prefer to get their girls married at theage of 14 or 15. Although child marriage isillegal in India, the culture and the societysurrounding the girls in India does not allowthem to oppose such decisions taken by theirfamily. For many, giving a girl child in marriageis done not by choice, but rather out of compul-sion. The poor economic status of tribal villagersis attributed as one of the primary factorsresponsible for the prevalence of child mar-riages in India. Due to the young age of thesegirls, they have more potential of bearing chil-dren, and that is, since they start bearing chil-dren at a very early age, they can have morechildren throughout their lifetime. This resultsin the increase of the global fertility rate. Sincethese girls get married at a very early age, theydo not have the opportunity to get educated.Therefore, they remain uneducated and teach

108

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


the same norms to their own children, and thetradition goes on from one generation to theother.

II. DEATH RATE:

Although poverty has increased and thedevelopment of the country continues to behampered, the improvements in medical facili-ties have been tremendous. This improvementmight be considered positive, but as far aspopulation increase is considered, it has onlybeen positive in terms of increasing the popu-lation further. The crude death rate in India in1981 was approximately 12.5, and that de-creased to approximately 8.7 in 1999. Also, theinfant mortality rate in India decreased from129 in 1981 to approximately 72 in 1999 .Thesenumbers are clear indications of the improve-ments in the medical field. This development isgood for the economy and society of India, butstrictly in terms of population, this advance-ment has further enhanced the increase inpopulation.

The average life expectancy of people inIndia has increased from 52.9 in 1975-80 to 62.4in 1995-00. Although our near and dear oneswould live longer, due to the increase in thepopulation, the resources available per personwould be much less, leading to a decrease in thecurvature of the slope of development insteadof a higher gradient. In addition, abortion is notallowed by several religions that are followed inIndia. In fact, in Islam, one of the leadingreligions of India, children are considered to begifts of God, and so the more children a womanhas, the more she is respected in her family andsociety. As a result, although the measures tocontrol birth are either not available or knownto the public, the facilities to increase birththrough medical facilities are available.

III. MIGRATION:

In countries like the United States (U.S.),immigration plays an important role in thepopulation increase. However, in countries likeIndia, immigration plays a very small role in thepopulation change. Although people from neigh-boring countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and

Nepal, migrate to India; at the same time Indi-ans migrate to other countries like the U.S.,Australia, and the U.K. During the 1971 warbetween India and Pakistan over Bangladesh,the immigration rate increased tremendously.However, currently the migration in India is -0.08 migrants per 1000 population and is de-creasing further. This is definitely good forIndia. This way, the population might eventu-ally come close to being under control and morepeople may get better job opportunities andfurther education. For example, the students inmy university from India, like myself, havebetter chances for job opportunities and bettereducation outside India than we would havehad in India.

POPULATION DISTRIBUTION IN INDIA(FACTORS AFFECTING)

One of the most important aspects of India'spopulation is its uneven distribution. The fac-tors that affect the distribution of populationincludes geographical, social,demographic, po-litical and historic angles.Some are discussedbelow:

a) Terrain: Terrain of land is a potent factorwhich influences the concentration andgrowth of population. Normally plainareas encourage higher density as it offersgreat opportunities for the growth of agri-culture, transport and industries. Whereasdue to technological developments thehuman interference is increasing in all theareas even of difficult terrain as deserts,mountains, snow areas, etc.

b) Climate: Of all the climatic factors,twinelements of rainfall and temperature playan important role in determining popula-tion density.It is generally said that "thepopulation map of india follows its rainfallmap".As we move from GANGABRAHMAPUTRA DELTA in the east to-wards the THAR DESERT in the west,thedensity of population decreases conse-quently.But sometimes the adverse factorsas steep slope, infertile land, frequent floodscounterbalance the positive effects of rain-


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

fall. But alarming increment in populationforces people to live at vulnerable places.

c) Soil and water availaibility: Soil plays animportant role in determining the popula-tion distribution in agricultural country likeINDIA. Fertile soil supports high popula-tion as it provides food security andemployement whereas dry zone area withpoor soil quality requires high inputwhereas in turn yeild lower gains. Wateracts as a basic need for human survival.The areas with easy availability of waterresources attract more population. It playsa significant role in irrigation, industriesand transportation too.

d) Mineral resources: minerals act as a greatsource of attraction as it provides easyestablishments of industries around it whichfurther improves the living conditions ofthe masses. The industries provide livingsupport and employment and leads tooverall development of the region reducingdisparity.

e) Transport: The northern plain of India hasa dense network of transport route and isdensely populated whereas the Himalayanregion lacks transport facilities and isscarcely populated.

All the above factors defined, plays animportant role in determination of popula-tion density of the region with all workingsimultaneously at a point.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS

SEX RATIO

Sex ratio is defined as the number of femalesper thousand males. The primary sex ratio is theratio at the time of conception, secondary sexratio is the ratio at time of birth, and tertiary sexratio is the ratio of mature organisms.

Sex ratio is an important parameter thatreflects the status of woman in a society. Census2011 shows the sex ratio at 940females / 1000males that are high from 2001 census but whencompared to different countries it is still low.

Sex ratio at birth has emerged as an indica-tor of certain kinds of sex discrimination in somecountries. For instance, low female to maleratios at birth in these states can be attributedto sex-selective abortion and infanticide due toa strong preference for sons. This will affectfuture marriage patterns and fertility patterns.

In India there is a great variation in sex ratiodata of different states. Kerala has highest sexratio whereas Haryana and Punjab has thelowest. The northern India and the southernIndia shows a regional divide, one showcasingthe developed countries data whereas othershowcasing a traditional feudal society. Unfor-tunately, women in this country are mostlyunaware of their rights because of illiteracy andthe oppressive tradition.

LITERACY

Literacy is an index of human developmentand quality of human life. Literacy in India iskey for socio-economic progress and the Indianliteracy rate grew to 74.04% in 2011 from 12%at the end of British rule in 1947.Although thisis greater than six fold improvement, the levelis well below the world average literacy rate of84% and India currently has the largest illiteratepopulation of any nation on earth.

There is a wide gender disparity in theliteracy rate in India: effective literacy rates (age7 and above) in 2011 were 82.14% for men and65.46% for women. The low female literacy ratehas had a dramatically negative impact onfamily planning and population stabilizationefforts in India. Studies have indicated thatfemale literacy is a strong predictor of the useof contraception among married Indian couples,even when women do not otherwise haveeconomic independence. The census provided apositive indication that growth in female lit-eracy rates (11.8%) was substantially fasterthan in male literacy rates (6.9%) in the 2001-2011 decadal period, which means the gendergap appears to be narrowing.

There is wide variation in the spatial patternof literacy in the country. Kerala has the highestliteracy rate followed by Mizoram. More than94% of the rural population has access to

110

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


primary school within 1 km, while 98% ofpopulation benefits one school within a distanceof 2 km. An upper primary school within adistance of 3 km is available for more than 96%of the people, whose 98% benefit the facility forsecondary education within 8 km. The accessfor rural students to higher educational institu-tions in cities is facilitated by widely subsidizedtransport fares.

Bihar has the lowest literacy rate of 63.8%but it has showed a significant increment in lastdecade as it was just 47% in 2001. The Govern-ment of Bihar has launched several programs toboost literacy, and its Department of AdultEducation even won a UNESCO award in 1981.Extensive impoverishment, entrenched hierar-chical social divisions and the lack of correlationbetween educational attainment and job oppor-tunities are often cited in studies of the hurdlesliteracy programs face in Bihar. Children from"lower castes" are frequently denied schoolattendance and harassed when they do attend.In areas where there is no discrimination, poorfunding and impoverished families means thatchildren often cannot afford textbooks andstationery. To incentivize students to attend, thegovernment announced a Rupee 1 per schoolday grant to poor children who show-up toschool.

Literacy rates also differ due to religious,social, and traditional aspects.

AGE STRUCTURE/PYRAMID

It is a graphical illustration that shows thedistribution of various age groups in a humanpopulation (typically that of a country or regionof the world), which ideally forms the shape ofa pyramid when the region is healthy.

Population pyramids can be used to findthe number of economic dependents being sup-ported in a particular population. Economicdependents are defined as those under 15 (chil-dren who are in full time education and there-fore unable to work) and those over 65 (thosewho have the option of being retired). It alsohelps us in understanding about the longetivityand aged population.

India has one of the largest proportions ofpopulation in the younger age groups in theworld. 35.3% of the population of the countryhas been in the age group 0-14 years at theCensus 2001. 41% of the population account forless than 18 years of age.

The Indian age pyramid is upright havinglarge base but it will transits to contractingpyramid as of developed ones; having low birthrate and lower death rate.The inverted pyramidcreates a problem of shortage of labour andincreases the burden of care of large old agedpeople. Government has to redesign its policiesaccording to needs.

Countries with a favorable age structure asthose with a large proportion of working-ageadults and relatively few dependents are gen-erally more peaceful and democratic, allowinggovernments to better meet the needs of theirpeople. An adverse age structure is more chal-lenging to governments, particularly when na-tional resources are insufficient to improve eco-nomic and social welfare.

ETHNIC COMPOSITION

Our present day population is a conglom-eration of people belonging to different racialgroups with different ethnic backgrounds. Thesepeople entered India from different parts of theworld at different points of time adopting dif-ferent land and water routes. In fact India hasbeen a melting pot of various races and tribesfrom times immemorial. Almost all the majorraces of the world are visible in India as a resultof which the country is said to have a variedand diverse ethnic composition. The present bypopulation of the country has been derivedmainly from the following racial groups:

1. The Negritos

According to Hutton, the earliest occupantsof India were the people of Negrito race.S.K.Chatterjee and S.M. Katre have expressed theview that Negroid people migrated to Indiafrom Africa and established their language onthe soil of India. A.C. Haddon opines thatNegrito features are met with particularlyamongst the Andaman islanders and most prob-


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

ably the Uralis Nilgiri hills, Kadors of Kochi,Pullayans of Palni hills, etc. Besides some tribeslike the Angami Nagas in the north-east and theBadgis in the Rajmahal hills in Jharkhand etc.possessing some physical traits reminiscent ofthe Negrito are seen. The Negrito race ischaracterised by short stature, dark chocolatebrown skin, wooly hair, bulbous forehead,broad flat nose and slightly protruding jaws.

2. The Proto-Australoids

Hutton is of the opinion that the Proto-Australoids came to India from the East Medi-terranean are (Palestine). They came soon afterthe Negritos. Today they constitute the bulk ofpopulation in many isolated and semi-isolatedparts of central land southern India. TheVeddahs, Malavedahs, Irulas and Sholagas arethe true representatives of Proto-Australoids.The Bhils, Kols, Badagas, Korwas, Kharwars,Mundas, Bhumjis and Malpaharis of the high-lands of Central India and the Chenchus,Kurumbas, Malayans and Yeruvas of SouthIndia may all be treated as Proto- Australoids.Some anthropologists believe that the Proto-Australoids pushed, pressed, displaced andsupplanted the negritos and forced them to shiftto more inaccessible, remote and less hospitableareas, where they are found even today. In theprocess, there was some admixture of the tworaces, perhaps more so in the south than in thenorth. In physical appearance the Proto-Australoids more or less resemble the Negritorswith the main exception that they do not havewooly hair like the Negritos. Their other Physi-cal characterstics are bulbous forehead, broadflat nose and slightly protruding jaws.

3. The Mongoloid

According to Risley, "On its northern andeastern frontier. India marches with the greatMongoloid region of the earth".Most of theanthropolists believe China to be the homelandof the Monogoloid race from where they werepushed southward into the Mallaya penisulaand Indonesia. They entered India through thepassess in the northern or eastern mountains.Huttopn is of the Opinion that the bulk ofBurma (Myammar) in any case is primarily

Mongoloid, and any non-Mongoloid streams ofmigration that may reached India throughMyammar have absorbed a vast quantity ofMongolian blood. There is also some evidence ofa Mongloid Melansian intrusion from Oceaniato Tamil Nadu and Kerala and probably thataccounts for the occasional Mongoloid elementnoticed among the people of these states.Presently, they occupy large areas in Ladakh,Sikkim, Arunchal Pradeshand some other partsof east India. Some of the basic physical char-acteristics of the Mongloid race include a roundand broad head, face with very high cheekbones and a long flat nose, with little or no hairon the face and the body. The tribes of Garo,Khasi, Jaintia, Lipchas, Chakmas, Murnis, Nagaand Daffla belong to the Mongloid race.

The Mongoloid racial stock of India can bedivided into two sub-groups as follows:

(i) Palaeo-Mongloids(ii) Tibeto-Mongloids.

(i) Palaeo-Mongloids are further dividedinto broad headed and long headed sub-types.They settled mainly along the fringes of theHimalayas in Assam and the Myammar border.

(ii) Tibeto-Mongloids have come from Tibetas their name suggests. They are mostly livingin Bhutan and Sikkim, as well as in the north-western Himalayas and Trans Himalayan re-gions.

4. The Mediterrraneans

The Mediterranean racial stock came toIndia from eastern Mediterranean region orSouth West Asia. They are believed to havemigrated during the third and the second mil-lennium B.C. This race has contributed much tothe physical composition of peoples of India andalso to it culture. They brought earlier forms ofAustro-Asiatic languages and are believed to bethe bearers of the earliest form of Hindustaninto India. Palaeo-Medierrraneans are consid-ered to be the first and the most ancient of allthe Mediterranean races to enter India. Theirphysical chracterstics include medium stature,dark skin and long head. In all probability, Theyfirsts settled in north-west India and startedpractising agriculture there. However, they were

112

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


pushed into central and southern India bysubsequent immigrants. Today the Paleo- Medi-terranean stock forms the bulk of population ofsouth India and a considerable proportion ofpopulation in northern India. TheMediterraneans were the chief architects of theIndus Valley Civilization as is evident from theexcavations of Mohanjo Daro and Harappa.

5. Brachyephals

Brachycephal groups of races of India arecharacterised by broad heads. Coorgis and Parsisare representatives of the Brachycephals inIndia. These are sub-divided into three majorgroups.

(i) Alpinoids. Alpinoids came to India alongthe route passing through Baluchistan, Sind,Kathiawar, Gujarat, Maharashtra,Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

(i) Dinarics. Dinarics followed the Gangavallely and its delta as their route to enterIndia.

(ii) Armenoids. Chitral, Gilgit, Kashmir andNepal formed the third route for theAmenoids of the Brachycephal group ofraces to enter India.

6. The Nordics

The Nordics constitute the last wave ofmigration into India. They spoke Aryan lan-guage and migrated to India some time duringthe second millennium B.C. The main concen-tration of these people is in the north-westernpart of the country. They are a predominat typein Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. They aremostly represented among the upper castes ofNorth India particularly in Punjab. The maincharacterstics of this race are long head, faircomplexion, well developed nose and a wellbuilt, strong body.

TRIBAL POPULATION

The tribes are the autochthonous people ofthe land who are believed to be the earliestsettlers in the Indian Peninsula. They are gen-erally called adivasis, implying original inhab-itants. The ancient and medieval literature men-tion a large number of tribes living in India.

Before the introduction of the caste systemduring the Brahminic Age, people were dividedinto various tribes. A tribe was a homogenoeousand self contained unit without any hierachicaldiscrimination.

The study of tribal population suffers fromserious anomalies as there is no clear cut andscientific criteria for this purpose. For example,the Gonds are a Scheduled Tribe in MadhyaPradesh, but a Scheduled Caste in Uttar Pradesh.This problem of anomalies is further aggravatedin the case of transhumance groups like theGujjars of north-western India. A GujjarBakarwal Kafila when pasturing in HimachalPradesh during summer belongs to the sched-uled category and the same group loses thisstatus in its winter pastures on the Jammuplains.

The growth of Scheduled Tribes populationare due to following two reasons:

(i) There has been a rapid natural growthof tribal population and

(ii) Additions have been made to the listScheduled Tribes time and again

An appraisal of the distribution pattern ofthe tribal communities shows that their spatialdistribution is characterised by a striking ten-dency of clustering and concentrating inpockets,which have suffered from isolation areare situated in areas where environmental set-ting is, by and large, not suitable for settledagriculture. Thus, most of the tribal communi-ties live in hilly and forested tracts and otherremote areas of the country. Constrained byrigors of environment, which fostered physicaland social isolation for ages, the tribal commu-nities have developed their own traditionalmode of living. However, the interaction be-tween tribal and non-tribal people after Inde-pendence has changed the scenario to someextent.

Further, it is intersting to note that while nocaste has been scheduled in Nagaland,Andaman and Nicobar Islands andLadehhadeep, no tribe has been scheduled inthe states of Haryana and Punjab and theUnion Territories of Chandigarh, Delhi andPondicherry.


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

Components of the Tribal Action Plan:

Tribal Action Plans may include but not belimited to the following elements:

• Profile population needs• Mobilize/build capacity to address needs• Develop Comprehensive Strategic Plan• Implement infrastructure development and

evidence based prevention and/or treat-ment programs

• Monitor, evaluate, sustain, and improveprocesses

1987, the Tribal Cooperative Marketing De-velopment Federation of India Limited was setup with an aim to serve the interest of the tribalcommunity and work for their socio economicdevelopment by conducting its affairs in aprofessional, democratic and autonomous man-ner for undertaking marketing of tribal prod-ucts.

Further to achieve the aim of acceleratingthe economic development of tribal people byproviding wider exposure to their art and crafts,TRIBES INDIA, the exclusive shops of tribalartifacts were set up all over India by TRIFED.They showcase and market the art and craftitems produced by the tribal people and thusdemonstrate the magical mystique of tribal In-dia espousing tribal cause.

MIGRATION

The term migration refers to the movementof population from one place to another. It maybe temporary or permanent. Migration hasthree fold impacts

a) On the area experiencing immigrationb) On the area experiencing out migrationc) On the migrants themselves

The purpose of migration may be employ-ment, business, education, family movement,marriage, calamity etc.

In India the rural areas suffering from pov-erty, unemployment produce push effects fromwhere rural youths in large number, migrate tomega cities and industrial towns which havepulling effects due to better job prospects andbetter living conditions. This type of migrationforms the largest share of percentage of migra-

tion in India whereas other types are urban tourban, rural to rural, urban to rural.

OPTIMUM POPULATION CONCEPT

Optimum population denotes the maximumpopulation a country can sustain if it uses itsresources at its fullest. Optimum populationmay be defined as the type of population whichwhen combined with the available resourcesand the given level of existing technology securea maximum return per head. Optimum popu-lation is neither too small nor too large. In otherwords, optimum population stands in betweenthe two other extremes of over population andunder population. It is the best type of popula-tion and it differs from country to country andfrom time to time. Optimum population isdynamic; hence it changes according to thechanging quantity and quality of a country'savailable resources.

Implications:

1. At a given level of technology, it balancespopulation with available resources.

2. The management or control of economythat has optimum population is very easy.

3. An optimum population ensures or securesa maximum return per head.

4. An optimum population is the populationthat produces full employment.

5. Optimum population is a dynamic popula-tion that changes with the changing quan-tity and quality of a country's availableresources.

6. Optimum population also ensures the high-est standard of living in a country.

This concept is not as futile for developingcountry India as for other developed countries.India is said to be overpopulated but if conceptof optimum population is applied might beIndian resources can support more population,if used properly with new and innovative tech-nologies.

Thus optimum population is a dynamic andtheoretical concept.

As in India if yield of wheat in one hectareis 25 tonnes (superficial) whereas if better seeds,new technologies, organic fertilizers etc are be

114

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


used it might reach 50 tonnes. Now it cansupport more people thus optimum populationdiffers with the proper utilization of technolo-gies done. It is based on economic concept.

EFFECTS OF POPULATION EXPLOSION

The current rate of population growth inIndia is 1.58% and the total fertility rate is 2.62.Although the total fertility rate has decreased,due to the increase in the total number ofwomen between the ages of 15 and 44 (repro-ductive ages), the total number of births hasincreased. This has lead to the current enor-mous population size of approximately 1 billion.This has greatly hampered the development ofthe Indian economy. The amount of resourcesthat could have been available to one person afew years ago now need to be shared betweentwo people, which are not sufficient for eitherof them. The population increase has lead to airand water pollution, unemployment, poverty,lack of educational resources, and even mal-nourished women and children.

I. Air pollution:

The technological development of India haslead not only to medical advancements, but alsoto an increase in the number of factories. Thathas lead to air and water pollution. More energyneeds to be produced to power these factories.When fossil fuels - the world's major source ofenergy - are burnt, gases are added to theatmosphere. Many cities in India have crossedthe limits of suspended particulate matter, sul-fur dioxide, and other pollutants due to vehicu-lar and industrial emissions

As the population grows, more and moreforests are cleared. The two most commonreasons for deforestation are to make houses forincreased number of people to live in, and to usewood as a fuel in the industries. As a result, thetrees that help us in reducing the air pollutionthrough the process of photosynthesis are notable to do so any more.Some of the diseasescaused by air pollution are "respiratory diseases,asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,cardiovascular disease and cancer of the lung".Due to the tropical climate of India, air pollution

also causes smog which may result in head-aches, dizziness, breathing difficulties, or evenmass illness due to carbon monoxide. This slowmurder goes unnoticed because people die ofdiseases like cancer, asthma, and heart prob-lems after long exposures to deadly air pollut-ants.

Besides the untimely deaths of several thou-sands of people every year due to air pollution,the pollutants also have a deadly impact on ournational heritage - the historical monumentsthat have made India proud for centuries. Aclassic example of the air pollution effect is theTAJ MAHAL in India. The sulfur dioxide in theair because of the pollution caused by theneighboring industries mixes with atmosphericmoisture and settles as sulfuric acid on thesurface of the tomb, making the smooth whitemarble yellow and flaky, and forming a subtlefungus that experts have named "marble can-cer". Trying to save the monument might meanclosing down several industries in the neighbor-hood. However, this means that several thou-sands of people would lose their jobs, resultingin eventual poverty. This again brings us to thesame problem that is the root of all the problems- population increase.

One of the major issues that have lately beenbothering environmentalists all over the worldis global warming. Like glass in a greenhouse,gases like carbon monoxide admit the sun's lightbut tend to reflect back downward the heat thatis radiated from the ground below, trappingheat in the earth's atmosphere. This is called thegreenhouse effect. However, due to the increasein pollution, especially due to carbon dioxideand chlorofluorocarbons, the ozone layer isgetting depleted. This layer plays the major rolein controlling the temperature of earth, savingit from the harmful effect of the ultravioletradiation of the sun. However, with the deple-tion of the ozone layer on the rise, the tempera-ture of the earth is increasing. This is globalwarming. As we know that India is mainly anagrarian country, temperature and climate playsan important role in the economy of the coun-try. Global warming affects the main crops inIndia in following ways:


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

1. Researchers have estimated that only a2° C increase in mean air temperatures willbe enough to decrease the rice yield by 0.75ton/hectare in high-yield areas like Punjab,Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

2. It is also estimated that a drastic increasein greenhouse gases like carbon dioxidemay cause wheat production to fall asmuch as 68%.

3. Additionally, the changing climatic condi-tions have the potential to significantlyincrease tropical disturbances like cyclonesand storms in coastal regions.

The effect on crops greatly hampers theeconomy of the country, especially for thosefarmers who solely depend on agriculture fortheir survival. For them, the loss of one cropwould lead to a plunge into absolute poverty,and thus, the vicious cycle of poverty andpopulation explosion continues. The effect of airpollution on the climatic conditions reveals thatair pollution not only affects our environment,but it also greatly endangers the lives of every-body. This means that if the number of peopleincreases the carrying capacity, the mere sur-vival of human beings poses a threat to the livesof all human beings.

II. Water Pollution:

Air pollution is not the only environmentaldamage being done by the increasing popula-tion. Nowadays water pollution is also one ofthe increasing problems due to the populationexplosion. Water is considered the essence oflife. There is no life without water. One mightthink that 70% of the earth is covered withwater, so, why worry about the water problem?In fact, 3 sides of the Indian subcontinent aresurrounded by water. And there are severalrivers, lakes, and other sources of water withinthe country as well. However the fact is that lessthan 3 percent of that water we see can be usedfor human consumption and industrial uses.Nearly 10 percent of the world's populationfaces chronic freshwater shortage. This figuremay rise if the population growth is uncon-trolled. As in the case of air pollution, theincreasing population calls for increasing num-bers of factories. These factories lead to various

kinds of pollution, including water pollution.Also, India being an agrarian country, thewater pollution also comes from pesticides usedfor agriculture. Some of the major types ofpollutants are:

1. Petroleum products required for automo-biles, cooking, and other such human ac-tivities.

2. Pesticides and herbicides used for agricul-ture by the Indian farmers.

3. Heavy metals from industries, automobiles'exhausts and mines.

4. Hazardous wastes.5. Excessive organic matter like fertilizers and

other organic matter used by farmers.6. Sediments caused by soil erosion produced

by strip mines, agriculture and roads.7. Thermal pollution caused by deforestation.

One of the classic examples of water pollu-tion in India is the RIVER GANGA. This riveris considered sacred and incorruptible. Peoplebathe in it for spiritual renewal and drink waterfrom it. But people do not realize that alongwith washing off their sins in the river, they arealso washing off their body wastes, leading topolluting the holy water of the river. Also,cremated and partially cremated bodies aredumped into the river. Although, dumpingthese bodies is a religious act in India among theHindus, but at what cost? Thus, with theincreasing population, the number of peopledying is also increasing, and so is the pollutionin the river Ganga. In addition, the nearbyfactories and human colonies dump sewagedirectly into the river. Recent studies show thatthere are more than 25,000 small-scale indus-tries in just one of the states sharing the riverand dispose off their waste in the river.

As we can observe, the increased populationsize is leading to increased pollution, which inturn is leading to a more hostile environment forhuman beings themselves.

III. Unemployment and Illiteracy:

With the increasing number of people, wehave to share our resources with even morepeople. Resources of all types are limited, evenemployment, especially in India. India, being a

116

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


developing country, has a limited number ofjobs available. Due to the increasing number ofpeople, the competition for the most menial jobsis also tremendous. Several highly educatedpeople with Bachelor's and Master's degrees inIndia sit at home, because they cannot find jobs.

Such unemployment and underemploymentleads to corruption and exploitation of peopleby the richer classes of the society. This lack ofresources further leads to lack of educationalresources. Due to the unavailability of resources,parents cannot afford to educate their childrento higher levels. Some parents simply cannotafford to teach their children further, and insome families, children need to work along withtheir parents in order to bring food to the table.According to the World Bank Group, "about 32million primary school-age children, mostly girlsor those from the poorest households and dis-advantaged groups are not in school; more thanhalf of rural students drop out before complet-ing the primary cycle, and only one-third offemales make it to the secondary level." Inaddition, "nearly half the population over 15years old and about 60 percent of all womenover 15 years old is illiterate." Also, basic edu-cation has become a commodity that acts on thebasis of supply and demand. Basic educationhas become too expensive in India for a com-moner to afford for his/her children. Lack ofeducation further leads to even more unemploy-ment. Due to these reasons, a major part of thepopulation is either illiterate or has the mostminimum education leading them to acceptminimal work in which they cannot even sup-port themselves.

Unemployment, or underemployment, fur-ther leads to poverty. This again starts thevicious cycle of poverty and population explo-sion discussed above. Poverty leads to an in-crease in the population, because poverty leadspeople to produce more children to increase theearning members of the family. This increasesthe population size of India, which furtherincreases the unemployment rate and lack ofeducational facilities leading to poverty thatstarted this whole cycle.

IV. Food Resources

Resources are always limited. And in adeveloping and highly populous country likeIndia, resources are even scarcer. Populationexplosion results in the shortage of even themost basic resources like food. According to anarticle by World Bank Group, "…more than halfof all children under the age of four are mal-nourished, 30 percent of newborns are signifi-cantly underweight, and 60 percent of womenare anemic." Resources are limited everywhere.India spends approximately $10 billion eachyear on malnutrition and even then the govern-ment of India cannot provide the everydaynutritional requirements to everybody in India.

URBANISATION IN INDIA

Urbanization is a socio-economic process bywhich an increasing proportion of the popula-tion of an area becomes concentrated into townsand cities. It includes two things - an increasein the number of people living in urban settle-ments and an increase in the percentage of thepopulation engaged in non agricultural activi-ties.

Problem of Urbanisation in India

Although India is one of the less urbanizedcountry of the world with only 27.78 per centof her population living in urban agglomera-tions/towns, this country is facing a seriouscrisis of urban growth at the present time.Whereas urbanisation has been an instrumentof economic, social and political progress, it hasled to serious socio-economic problems. Thesheer magnitude of the urban population, hap-hazard and unplanned growth of urban areas,and a desperate lack of infrastructure are themain causes of such a situation. The rapidgrowth of urban areas, and a desperate lack ofinfrastructure are the main causes of such asituation. The rapid growth of urban popula-tion both natural and through migration, hasput heavy pressure on public utilities like hous-ing, sanitation, transport, water, electricity,health, education and so on. Poverty, unem-ployment and under employment among therural immigrants, beggary, thefts, dacoities, bur-


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

glaries and other social evils are on rampage,Urban sprawl is rapidly encroaching the pre-cious agricultural land. The urban population ofIndian had already crossed the 285 millionmark by 2001. By 2030, more than 50 per centof India's population is expected to live in urbanareas. Following problems need to be high-lighted:

1. Urban Sprawl

Urban sprawl or real expansion of the cities,both in population and geographical area, ofrapidly growning cities is the root cause ofurban problems. In most cities the economicbase is incapable of dealing with the problemscreated by their excessive size. Massive immi-gration from rural areas as well as from smalltowns into big cities has taken place almostconsistently; thereby adding to the size ofcities.Such hyperubanissation leads to projectedcities sizes of which defies imagination. Delhi,Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Banglore, etc. areexamples of urban sprawl due to large scalemigraion of people from the surrounding areas.

In several big cities wealthy people are con-stantly moving from the crowded centres of thecities to the more pleasant suburbs where theycan build larger houses and enjoy the space andprivacy of a garden around the house. In somecities, the outskirts are also added to by squat-ters who build makeshift shacks of unused landalthough they have no legal right to the land.The difficulty of restricting town growth ineither case is immense and most towns andcities are surrounded by wide rings of suburbs.

2. Overcrowding

Overcrowding is a situation in which toomany people live in too little space. Overcrowd-ing is a logical consequence of over-populationin urban areas. It is naturally expected thatcities having a large size of population squeezedin a small space must suffer from overcrowding.This is well exhibited by almost all the big citiesof India. For example, Mumbai has one-sixth ofan acre open space per thousand populationthough four acre is suggested standard by theMaster Plan of Greater Mumbai. Metropolitan

cities of India are overcrowded both in 'absolute'and 'relative' terms. Absolute in the sense thatthese cities have a real high density of popula-tion; relative in the sense that even if thedensities are not very high the problem ofproviding services and other facilities to the citydwellers makes it so. Delhi has a populationdensity of 9,340 persons per sq km (Census2001) which is the highest in India. This is theoverall population density for the Union terri-tory of Delhi. Population demsity in central partof Delhi could be much higher. This leads totremendous perssure on infrastructural facilitieslike housing, electricity, water, transport, em-ployment, etc. Efforts to decongest Delhi bydeveoping ring towns has not met with therequired success.

3. Housing

Overcrowding leads to a chronic problem ofshortage of houses in urban areas. This problemis specifically more acute in those urban areaswhere there is large influx of unemployed orunderemployed immigrants who have no placeto live in when they enter cities/towns from thesourrounding areas. Moreover, the current rateof housing construction is very slow whichmakes the problem further complicated. Indiancities require annually about 2.5 million newdwellings but less than 15 per cent of therequirement is being constructed.

Several factors are responsible for the sadstate of affairs with respect to housing problemsfaced by the urban people. The major factors areshortage of building materials and financialresources, inadequate expansion of public utili-ties into sub-urban areas, poverty and unem-ployment of urban immigrants, strong caste andfamily ties and lack of adequate transporationto sub-urban areas where most of the vacantland for new construction is located.

4. Unemployment

The problem of unemployment is no lessserious than the problem of housing mentionedabove. Urban unemployment in India is esti-mated at 15 to 25 per cent of the labour force.This percentage is even higher among the edu-

118

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


cated people. It is estimated that about half ofall educated urban unemployed are concen-trated in four metropolitan cities (Delhi, Mumbai,Kolkata, Chennai). Furthermore, although ur-ban incomes are higher than the rural incomes,they are appallingly low in view of high cost ofliving in urban areas.

One of the major causes of urban unemploy-ment is the large scale migration of people fromrural to urban areas. Rural-urban migration hasbeen continuing for a pretty long time but it hasnot always been as great a problem as it istoday. The general poverty among the ruralpeople pushes them out to urban areas tomigrate in search of livelihood and in the hopeofa better living. But the growth of economicopportunities fail to keep pace with the quan-tum of immigraration. The limited capacity ofurban areas could not create enough employ-ment opportunities and absorb the rapid growthof urban labour force.

5. Slums and Squatter Settlements

The natural sequel of unchecked, unplannedand haphazard growth of urban areas is thegrowth and spread of slums and squatter settle-ments which present a striking feature in theecological structure of Indian cities, especially ofmetropolitian centres.

The rapid urbanisation in conjuction withindustrialisation has resulted in the growth ofslums. The proliferation of slums occurs due tomany factors; the shortage of developed landfor housing, the high prices of land beyond thereach of urban poor, a large influx of ruralmigrants to the cities in search of jobs etc. Inspite of several efforts by the Central and StateGovernment to contain the number of slumdwellers, their growth has been increasingsharply exerting tremendous pressure on theexisting civic amenities and social infrastruc-ture.

New Definition of Slums: Any compacthousing cluster or settlement of at least 20households with a collection of poorly builttenements which are, mostly temporary in na-ture with inadequate sanitary, drinking water

facilities and unhygienic conditions will betermed as slums.

Slums are known by different names indifferent cities. They are called bustees in Kolkata,jhuggijhoparies in Delhi, Jhorparpattis or Chawlin Mumbai and Cheri in Chennai.

6. Transport

With traffic bottleneck and traffic conges-tion, almost all cities and towns of India aresuffering from acute form of trasport problem.Transport problems increase and become morecomplex as the town grows in size. With itsgrowth, the town performs varied and complexfunctions and more people travel to work orshop. As the town becomes larger, even peopleliving within the built-up area have to travel bycar or bus to cross the town and outsidersnaturally bring their cars or travel by publictransport. Wherever, trade is important, com-mercial vehicle such as vans and trucks willmake problem of traffic more complicated.

Since most of the commercial activities of thetowns are concenttated in the Central BusinessDistrict (C.B.D.). the centres are areas of great-est congesion. However, other parts of the townare not free from traffic congestion. Such areasinclude the roads leading to factories, offices,schools, etc., which will be thronged with peoplein morning and evening; minor shopping cen-tres which grow up in the suburbs; sportingarenas, entertainment districts which will bebusy at night, roads leading to residential anddormitory towns which will be busy whencommuters flock to the cities in the morning towork and return home in the evenings. Suchcongestion becomes greater when the centre isbuilt up in tall skyscraper blocks whose officessometimes employ thousands of workers, be-cause at the end of the office hours everyoneleaves the building within a short space of timeto make their way home. This puts tremendouspressure on public transport and causes jour-neys to take much longer period than theynormally would.In most cities the rush hour orpeak traffic hour lasts for about two hours andduring that period buses and trains are crammed


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

to capacity, roads are overcrowded withvehichles and the movement of traffic becomesvery slow.

7. Water

What is one of the most esssential of natureto sustain life and right from the beginning ofurban civilisation, sites for settlements have al-ways been chosen keeping in view the availabil-ity of water to the inhabitants of the settlements.However, supply of water started falling short ofdemand as the cities grew in size and number.Today we have reached a stage where practicallyno city in India gets sufficient water to meet theneeds of city dwellers. In many cities people getwater from the municipal sources for less thanhalf an hour every alternate day. In dry summerseason, taps remain dry for days together andpeople are denied water supply at a time whenthey need it the most. The individual townsrequire water in larger quantities, Many smalltowns have no main water suppply at all anddepend on such sources as individual tubewells,household open wells or even rivers. AccleratedUrban Water Supply Programme (AUWSP) waslaunched to provide water to towns with popu-lation of less than 20,000. Keeping in view theincreased demarks for water by the urban popu-lation, Central Public Health and EnvironmentalEngineering Organisation (CPGEEI) fixed 125-200 litres oif water per head per day for citieswith a population of more than 50,000, 100-125litres for population between 10,000 and 50,000and 70-100 litres for towns with a popultionbelow 10,000 cities and towns. To meet thegrowing demand for water, many cities aretrying to tap external sources of water supply.Mumbai draws water from neighbouring areasand from sources located as far as 125 km in theWestern Ghats. Chennai uses water expresstrains to meets its growing demand for water.Bangalore is located on the plateau and drawswater from Cauvery river at a distance of 100km. Water for Bangalore has to be lifted about700 metres with help of lifting pumps. Hyderabaddepends on Nagarjuna Sagar located 137 kmaway. Delhi meets large part of its water require-

ments from Tajiwala in Haryana. Water is alsodrawn from Ramganga as far as 180 km.

8. Sewarage Problems

Urban areas in India are almost invariablyplagued with insufficient and inefficient sewagefacilities. Not a single city in India is fullysewered. Resources crunch faced by the munici-palities and unauthorised growth of the citiesare two major causes of this pathetic state opfaffairs. Most of the cities have old sewerage lineswhich are not looked after properly. Oftensewerage lines break down or they are over-flowing. Most cities do not have proper arrange-ments for treating the sewerage waste and it isdrained into a nearby river (as in Delhi) or insea (as in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai),thereby polluting the water bodies.

In most cities, water pipes run in closeproximity to sewer lines. Any leakage leads tocontamination of water which results in thespread of several water borne diseases.

9. Trash Disposal

As Indian cities grow in number and size theproblem of trash disposal is assuming alarmingproportions. Huge quantities of garbage pro-duced by our cities pose a serious health prob-lem. Most cities do not have proper arrange-ments for garbage disposal and the existinglandfills are full to the brim. These landfills arehotbeds of disease and innumerable poisonsleaking into their surroundings. Wastes putrefyin the open inviting disease carrying files andrats and a filthy, poisonous liquid, called leachate,which leaks out from below and contaninatesground water. People who live near the rottinggarbage and raw sewage fall easy victims toseveral diseases like dysentery, malaria plague,jaundice, diarrhoea, typhoid, etc.

10. Problem of Urban Pollution

With rapid pace of urbanisation, industriesand transport systems grow rather out of pro-

120

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


portions. These developments are primarlyresponsibe for pollution of environment, par-ticularly the urban environment.

SATELLITE TOWN

A satellite town or satellite city is a conceptin urban planning that refers essentially tosmaller metropolitan areas which are locatedsomewhat near to, but are mostly independentof, larger metropolitan areas.

Satellite cities are small or medium-sizedcities near a large metropolis, that:

a) predate that metropolis' suburban expan-sion.

b) are at least partially independent from thatmetropolis economically and socially.

c) are physically separated from the metropo-lis by rural territory or by a major geo-graphic barrier such as a large river; satel-lite cities should have their own indepen-dent urbanized area, or equivalent.

d) have a traditional downtown surroundedby traditional "inner city" neighborhoods.

e) May or may not be counted as part of thelarge metropolis' Combined Statistical Area.

RURAL-URBAN FRINGE

The rural-urban fringe is the zone oftransition in land use, social and demographiccharacteristics, lying between (a) the con-tinuously built- up urban and suburban areasof the central city, and (b) the ruralhinterland, characterized by the almostcomplete absence of non farm dwellings,occupations and land use, and of semi-urbanand rural social orientation; an incompleterange and penetration of urban utility services;uncoordinated zoning or planning regula-tions; a real extension beyond althoughcontiguous with the political boundary of thecentral city; and an actual and potentialincrease in population density, with thecurrent density above that of surroundingrural districts but lower than the central city.

These lands are basically used for housing,instituitional settings, hyper markets and superstore etc. These are also used for growingperishable items as vegetables for easy transpor-tation to city centres.now a days rural urbanfringe is facing problems of land degradation,air pollution, traffic congestion, illegal landacquisition etc. ��


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

REGIONAL PLANNING10

Planning is a method of achieving economicprosperity by the optimum utilization of theresources of a region or country. Also it is aneffort towards attaining self sufficiency andnarrowing the inter and intra regional dispari-ties and preparing ideal conditions for develop-ment.

SOME AREA SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENTPROGRAMMES

1. Command area Development Programme

During the post independence period highpriority was accorded to increase agriculturalproduction and productivity for providing foodsecurity to the people thus a number of irriga-tion projects were constructed. The surfaceirrigation potential, which stood at 22.6 m.hatill 1950-51, had increased to 33.6 m.ha. by mid-sixties. In the later years, it was realized that theirrigation potential created was not being fullyutilized and substantial gap existed due towhich the purpose of irrigation projects was notfully met. The gap between irrigation potentialcreated and irrigation potential utilizedprompted the Irrigation Commission in 1972 tomake specific recommendations for systematicand integrated development of commands ofirrigation projects.

Thus centrally sponsored Command AreaDevelopment (CAD) Programme was launchedin 1974-75 with the main objectives of improv-ing the utilization of created irrigation potentialand optimizing agriculture production andproductivity from irrigated agriculture througha multi-disciplinary team under an Area Devel-opment Authority.

Components of the Programme

• On-Farm Development (OFD) works i.e.Development of field channels and fielddrains within the command of each Outlet;Land levelling on an outlet command basis;Reclamation of waterlogged areas; Enforce-ment of a proper system of "WARABANDI"and fair distribution of water to individualfields; Realignment of field boundaries,wherever necessary (where possible, con-solidation of holding should also to becombined); Supply of all inputs and ser-vices - including credit; Strengthening ofextension services; and, Encouraging farm-ers for Participatory Irrigation Manage-ment (PIM).

• Selection and introduction of suitable crop-ping pattern.

• Development of ground water to supple-ment surface irrigation (conjunctive useunder Minor Irrigation sector).

• Development and maintenance of the mainand intermediate drainage system (irriga-tion sector).

• Modernization, maintenance and efficientoperation of the irrigation system up to theoutlet of one-cusec capacity (irrigation sec-tor)

Implementation of this programme hashelped in bringing the land under irrigationrapidly, increase in water use efficiency, agri-cultural production and productivity, changesin the cropping pattern of the area.

But it has posed the environmental problemsas water logging and soil salinity due to lack of

122

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


proper drainage and overuse of irrigationfacility.

2. Hill Area Development Programme

The hill area of a country due to theirdifficult terrain, variable agro-climatic condi-tions and distinct socio-cultural features, faceproblems inhibiting their process of develop-ment. Thus, it was realized that adequate stepsare needed for proper and efficient utilizationof the resources of the hilly areas. Hence HillArea Development Programme was introducedin the fifth year plan to initiate the socio-economic development of the hilly areas of thecountry.

The objectives of the program include eco-preservation and eco-restoration with the focuson sustainable use biodiversity, ensuring com-munity participation in the design and imple-mentation of the strategies for the biodiversityand sustainable livelihood.

Areas of Concern

• Land Use Pattern: The current land-usepattern either in the form of jhuming in theeastern Himalayan region or in the form ofindiscriminate deforestation for a variety ofpurposes in the Western region is leadingto eco-catastrophes of various kinds. It iswidely accepted that in the hills and inundulating terrain, it would be wise togrow perennial plants and to promote sci-entific animal husbandry. Horticulture,particularly apple cultivation, has receivedwidespread interest not only in Jammu andKashmir, Himachal Pradesh andUttarakhand but also in Arunachal Pradeshand parts of eastern Himalayan region.Proper land use patterns should be laid forconservation of biodiversity.

• Soil Erosion: The damage that soil erosioncauses to the hill areas, including its impacton irrigation projects is well known. In thiscontext, it is necessary to evolve; in inte-grated strategy in the hill areas of mini-watershed management. Besides the tech-nology as applied to these areas in fieldslike road construction, power, irrigation

and industrial projects would need con-stant review to avoid unfavourable conse-quences like landslides and erosion.

• Forestry: Forestry is essential not only foreco-preservation but also for fuel, humanand animal nutrition, limber and raw-material for industry. It also provides windbarrier to agriculture and shade for plan-tations of coffee, tea, spices, etc. Preventingfurther deforestation and promoting exten-sive planting of these are both necessary.Afforestation of catchment areas is of veryhigh priority for preventing soil erosion aswell as regulating water supply. Suitableagro-forestry techniques would be fosteredin such areas.

• Animal Husbandry: In spite of the oppor-tunities offered by favourable climate, theeconomic potential offered for dairying,sheep and other animal husbandry in thehill areas has not been fully tapped. Inmany hill regions the problem, is of over-grazing due to uncontrolled animal popu-lation and poor management. The scientificmanagement of these lands can increasethe yield of fodder and support effectivelya large animal population. The animalhusbandry programme will need a strongpreventive and curative animal healthprogramme, together with processing andmarketing of the produce.

• Conservation and Environment: The hillareas, particularly, the Himalayan region isrich in genetic material of medicinal andfood plants, fruits, including citrus and awide range of other economic plants, or-chids and other flowers. Some rare wild lifestill occurs in these areas. It would beimportant to have an integrated strategyfor the preservation of the valuable floraand fauna through a chain of biospherereserves, national parks and gene-sanctu-aries.

For the scientific planning of the hill areasin the country, vital information on resourcese.g., occurrence of minerals, soil characteristics,vegetation types and characteristics, estimationof the volume of surface and sub-surface flow


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

in watersheds, etc., is required. Such informa-tion also needs to be constantly updated. Re-mote-sensing techniques and air-photo inter-pretation combined with ground truth studieshold great possibilities for this purpose. A per-spective plan spelling out the long-term andshort-term developments in the area need to bedrawn up. Plans also need to be drawn up forthe regional, sub-regional, taluka (block) andsettlement levels.

While the use of legal and executive powersto provide necessary protection to the environ-ment should be made effective, far more reli-ance should be placed on people's action toachieve the desired results. The need for increas-ing public awareness about the environmentalissues and public participation is required.

3. Desert Area Development Programme

The desert development programme aimedat checking further desertification of the desertareas and raising productivity of the local re-sources to raise the income and employmentlevels of local inhabitants.

The programme had been implemented bothin the hot and cold desert. The programme putemphasis on arresting desertification throughactivities which restore ecological balance, sta-bilize sand dunes and facilitate soil and waterconservation. Plantation of shelter belts, adap-tation of water harvesting techniques and de-velopment of pastures to sustain the livestockeconomy were some of the strategies followedunder the scheme.

The major elements of the new strategy are:

• Area development under the programmeto be taken up on watershed basis only anda watershed development project of about500 hectares would be the field unitfor implementation over a period of four tofive years. A watershed development projectshould cover a village, as far as possible.

• However, in some sandy areas where it isnot physically feasible to demarcate awatershed, programme is to be implemented

by adopting either a cluster of villages or anIndex Catchment as the unit of planning.

• Direct participation of the local people inplanning and development of watershedproject areas as well as in the maintenanceof assets after the project is completed.

• The Panchayati Raj Institutions were re-sponsible for monitoring and reviewing theprogramme at district, block and villagelevels up to 2002-03. Under new HARYALIGuidelines the Panchayati Raj Institutionswould function as Project ImplementationAgencies(PIA) for the Watershed Develop-ment Projects

• Keeping in view the problem of sand dunestabilization in 10 districts of Rajasthan,special projects would be taken up for threeactivities namely sand dune stabilization,shelter belt plantation and afforestation.

4. Drought Prone Area Programmes (DPAP)

This programme was initiated in 1974. Theintent was to change DPAP from a relief andemployment oriented programme into one aimedat 'drought proofing' through adoption of aninegrated area development approach whichsought to mitigate the impact of future droughtsby stabilizing both production and employ-ment. The programme was conceived as a longterm measure for resoration of ecological bal-ance by conserving, developing and harvestingland, water, livestock and human resources.The objectives of the programme are:

(i) To minimise the adverse effects ofdrought on production of crops andlivestock and productivity of land, waterand human resources throughintergrated development of the naturalresource base of the area and adoptionof approproate technologies.

(ii) To conserve, develop and harness land,water and other natural resources in-cluding rainfall for restoration of eco-logical balance in the long run.

DPAP is under implementation in 629 blocksof 96 districts in 13 states. The total area coveredunder this programme is about 5.54 lakh sq km.

124

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


5. Integrated Watershed Management

Intetrated watershed management as a pre-venting measure plays a key role in moderatingdrought conditions. This approach ensures plan-ning on the basis of the total available waterresources, conjunctive use of surface andgroundwater, allocating priority for rational useof water and also the preparation of a coordi-nated plan. Thus, watershed management holdthe promise conservation of land and waterresources and their optimal utilization in reality.Under the National Watershed Programme forRainfed Areas, a large number of watershedshave been established in different rainfed re-gions of the country.

REGIONAL DISPARITY

Regional disparity signifies the differentphases of development occurring in differentparts of the country. After independence due toshortage of resources government implementedtrickle down theory for development in thecountry. This theory proposed that develop-ment at one place will automatically leads todevelopment of nearby regions i.e. if an industryhas been established in an area it will lead to

overall development of the region around it. Butthis policy of government failed to providefruits of development to the nearby villages andregions.

This unequal development of region widensthe gap between have and haves and have notthus leaded to regional disparity. An in Orissathe area near the coastal plains are more devel-oped than the interiors. Similarly in UttarPradesh west U.P. is more advanced economi-cally than the bundelkhand region irrespectiveof vast mineral resources. Thus regional dispar-ity can be natural (in terms of resources avail-able) or can be manmade (unequal economicgrowth).

Government has proposed many incentivesand schemes for the development of backwardregion but poor implementation mechanismhas further broadened the regional disparity.

LPG era has further worsened the situationbecause more developed regions has been ableto attract multinationals and FDI and underde-veloped regions are left behind, widening thegap and acting as obstacle in the field ofinclusive growth. ��


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

NATURAL HAZARDS11

A disaster is a natural or man-made hazardthat causes significant physical damage or de-struction, loss of life, or drastic change to theenvironment. A disaster can be ostensively de-fined as any tragic event with great loss stem-ming from events such as earthquakes, floods,catastrophic accidents, fires, or explosions.

Some are discussed below:

EARTHQUAKE

Earthquakes are the main seismic hazards.They affect at least 35 countries and kill directlymore people per year, on average, than anyother hazard. All the phenomena related to theemergence and manifestations of earthquakesare called seismic.

The term earthquake covers any vibration ofthe earth's surface brought about by naturalcauses. From the standpoint of tectonic, eventscreation and destruction of geo materials andmovements of plate margins cause earthquake.There are three types of plate margins involvedin earthquake.

Constructive plate margins are character-ized by continuous addition of geo materials asthere is constant upwelling of molten materialsfrom below along the mid-oceanic ridges. Thisis also known as divergent plate's margin. Di-vergent plates move in opposite direction.

Destructive plate margins are those wheretwo convergent plates collide against each otherand the heavier plate margin is subductedbelow the relatively lighter plate margin. Thisresults in constant loss of crustal materials andcause earthquake of high magnitude.

Conservative plate margins are those wheretwo plates slip past each other without anycollision. This process results neither in thecreation nor in the destruction of crust. Majortectonic events associated with these platemargins are rupture and faults along the con-structive plate margins.

Indian Scenario

Depending upon the frequency and inten-sity of the earthquakes, the whole country canbe divided into three broad seismiligical zones.

1. Himalayan Zone: The areas most prone toearthquakes in India are the fold mountainranges of the Himalayan zone. The statesof Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,Uttaranchal, Bihar, the Bihar-Nepal borderand the north eastern states, especiallyAssam fall in this zone. The earthquake inthis zone are primarily due to platetectonics. The Indian plate is pushing in thenorth and north-east direction at an an-nual rate of 5 cm subducting the Eurasianplate along the Himalayas. The Himalayashave not yet attained isostatic equilibriumand are rising. The region along theHimalayas where two plates meet is highlyearthquakt-prone. This is known as thezone of maximum intensity. The absence ofNepal from the list of earthquakes showsthat the whole of Himalayas are not dan-gerous. The Himalayas between MountEverest and Badrinath are almost peaceful.This patch of tremendously huge land-mass, having great heights and width restedwith perfect calm and peace. The patchestowards and beyond this patch are, how-ever, very violent because of their hurried

126

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


movement. Areas north-eash of the arcjoining Mussoorie, Shimla, Kangra,Dalhousie, Gulmarg and areas of Bihar,Assam, south of south-east Nepal, Sikkim,Bhutan, Arunchal Pradesh and westernpart of Nagaland, Manipur are susceptibleto high magnitude earthquakes.

2. The Indo-Gangetic Zone: To the south ofthe Himalayan zone and running parallelit is the Indo-Gangetic zone. Most of theearthquakes striking this zone are of mod-erate intensity of 6 to 6.5 on Richter scale.Therefore, this zone is called the zone ofcomparative intensity. The earthquakesalong the foothill are of medium to highintensity. However, the earthquakes of thiszone are more harmful due to high densityof population in this area.

3. The Peninsular Zone: The Peninsular In-dia has presumably remained a stable land-mass and only a few earthquakes havebeen experienced in this region. This regionis, therefore, called the zone of minimumintensity. But severe earthquakes of Koyna(1967), Latur (1993) and Jabalpur (1907),have raised doubts about the seismicstability of this landmass. While the Koynaearthquake was caused due to excessiveloading of water in the Shivaji Sagarreservoir formed by damming the KoynaRiver, the earthquake that hit Latur issupposed to be the result of plate tectonics.The northward drift of the Indian Platehad put pressure on the Tibetan Platewhich caused pressure to mount at thecentre of the Indian platel, leading to earth-quake. The earthquake of Jabalpur alsooccurred under similar conditions.

The country as a whole has been dividedinto zones by horizontal seismic coefficient iso-lines. This coefficient varies from 0.01 to 0.08.The low horizontal seismic coefficient zone(0.01-0.02) constitues the areas that are quitesecure from earthquakes. This zone is mainlyspread over extensive parts of peninsular IndiaMadhya Pradesh and Rajasthan Areas havingmedium horizontal seismaic coefficient (0.04-0.05) are spread over the Satluj-Ganga plain,Godavari basin of Andhra Pradesh, Ratnagiri

and Raigad districts of Maharashtra and someparts of Gujarat. The areas that come under thehigh seismic coefficient zone are situated inJammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh ,Uttranchal, northern parts of Bihar, north-eastern states, Kachchh region of Gujarat andAndaman and Nicobar Islands. These regionsare highly susceptible to earthquakes.

Hazardous Effects of Earthquakes

It may be stated that the intensity of earth-quakes and their hazardous violent contact areset not on the basis of the magnitude of seismicintensity but defined on the basis of quantum ofdamages done by a specific earthquake to hu-man lives and property. An earthquake be-comes jeopardy or disaster only when it knocksthe populated area. Occasionally the soft-shellearthquakes on Richter scale administer ampledamages by stimulating and multiplying othernatural physical processes such as landslides,floods and fire.

Following are the main hazardous effects ofearthquake:

1. Slope Instability and Landslides: Theimpact created by earthquakes, especiallythose in hilly and mountainous areas, whichare designed of feeble lithologies causeslope failure and in conclusion cause land-slides and debris falls which damage settle-ments.

The occurrences of earthquakes during wetseason in the hilly and mountainous regionscause landslides even if the earthquakes are ofvery moderate intensity. This is the reason thatpeople notice earth tremors through landslidesduring wet season.

The Peruvian earthquake of 1970 tells thestory of disastrous tragedy caused by slopefailure. The shocks triggered off the collapse ofice cap seated on the Peak of High Mountaincalled Huascaran in Peru. This enormous debrisfall buried many buildings and human struc-tures and killed about 25,000 people.

2. Damage to Human Structures: The prin-cipal damage emanating from earthquakedisaster are construction failure. Earth-


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

quakes inflict great damage to human struc-tures such as buildings, roads, rails, facto-ries, dams, and bridges and thus causeheavy loss of human property.

3. Damages to the Towns and Cities: Earth-quakes have their worst effects on townsand cities because they have greatest den-sity of buildings and large agglomerationsof human population.

4. Loss of Human Lives and Property: Thedestructiveness of an earthquake is deter-mined on the basis of human causalities interms of deaths. It is not the magnitude(intensity) of earthquake alone which mat-ters as regards the human causalities butthe density of human population and housesalso matter in terms of human deaths andloss of property.

5. Severe Floods: A possible disaster is flashflood. Severe floods are also caused becauseof blocking of water flow of rivers due torock blocks produced by severe tremors onthe hill slopes facing the river valleys. Some-times the blockade of rivers is so immensethat even the course of the river is changed.

6. Tsunamis: The seismic waves caused bythe earthquakes travelling through seawater, generates high sea waves and causegreat loss of life and property along thecoastline. The Kutch earthquake of 1819generated strong tsunamis which causedvery high sea waves, which submerged thecoastal area and inflicted great damage toships and country made boats of the fish-ermen. The land area measuring 24 km inlength was raised upward because of tec-tonic movement. Tsunami havoc occurredon December 26, 2004 in Indian Ocean isthe fourth largest in the world since 1900.It caused thousands of death and devasta-tion in south east Asia.

TSUNAMIS

A tsunami is a series of ocean waves gener-ated by sudden displacements in the sea floor,landslides, or volcanic activity. In the deepocean, the tsunami wave may only be a few

inches high. The tsunami wave may comegently ashore or may increase in height tobecome a fast moving wall of turbulent waterseveral meters high.

Formation of Tsunamis

(i) Undersea earthquakes

Although tsunami may be caused by land-slides, volcanic eruptions or even by the impactof a large meteorite falling on the ocean, mostdestructive tsunamis are generated by massiveundersea earhquakes, occurring at depth lessthan 50 km with the epicentre or fault line nearor on the ocean floor. A strong undersea earth-quake with magnitude greater than 7.5 on theRichter Scale tilts and deforms large areas of thesea floor ranging from a few kilometeres to 1000kilimetres and even more. As the sea floor istilted or deformed by the tectonic earthquake(earthqjake associated with the earth's crustaldeformation), the sea water above is displacedfrom its equilibrium position. Waves are formedas the displaced water attempts to regain itsequilibrium under the influence of gravity. It isthis vertical movement of the entire watercoulumn that generates destructive tsunamiwaves.

The displacement of sea floor, and occur-rence of an earthquake and formation of tsuna-mis can best be explained on the basis of platetectonics. When two converging ligthosphericplates come closer together heavier plate isthrust under the lighter plate and displacementof the crust takes place at the subduction zone.A fault is created and an earthquake occurs,giving rise to tsunamis.

According to Law of Conservation of En-ergy, energy cannot be created or destroyed butcan be transferred from one form to another.Thus the potential energy that results frompushing water above the mean sea level istransferred to kinetic energy that initiates thehorizontal propagation of the tsunami waves.

It must be noted that a tsunami is usually notgenerated if the sea floor movement is horizon-tal. Besides,not all undersea earthquakes createtsunami, as it depends upon the nature and

128

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y



CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

degreee of displacement of seawater column. Itis only the vertical displacement of the seawaterdue to abrupt, jerky movements of fault blockson seabed that gives birth to tsunamis. Onceformed, the monstrous waves soon begin theirjourney towards coastlinel ringing the bells ofdoom the nearest.

(ii) Landslides

Tsunami waves are also generated by dis-placement of seawater resulting from landslidesas well as rock falls,icefalls etc. Constructionwork of an airport runway along the coast ofSouthern France in the 1980s caused an under-water landslide. This triggered the destructivetsunami waves in the harbour of Thebes. Un-derwater landslides may also occur when astrong earthquake shakes the sea floor, thusfroming tsunamis. These waves rapidly travelaway from the source due to dissipation ofenergy, and create havoc in the nearby coast-lines.

(iii) Volcanic Eruptions

Whenever a violent volcanic eruption takesplace under the sea, it causes sudden displace-ment of a large volume of seawater and tsunamiwaves are formed. Similarly, when the roof ofa volcano collapes that has a large emptymagma chamber owing to continuous flow oflava, a crater sometimes as large as one kilometrein diameter is formed. As the seawater gushesinto this crater, the water columb of the sea isdistrubed which gives rise to tsunami waves.

One of the largest and the most destructivetsunami ever recorded was generated on Au-gust 26, 1883 after the explosion and collapseof the volcano of Krakatoa in Indonesia. Thisexplosion generated waves with a toweringheight of about 40 m, that wrecked havoc on thecoastal areas along the Sunda Strait in both theislands of Java and Sumatra killing more than36,000 people. It is believed that the destructionof the Minoan civilisation in Greece in 1490 B.C.was caused by tsunamis which were formed bythe explosion of the volcano of Santorin in theAegean Sea.

(iv) Meteorites and Asteroid

There is a potential danger of tsunami beingformed by the fall of meteorites and asteroids inthe ocean. Researchers in California have devel-oped a computer simulation depicting the oceanimpact of asteroid 1950 DA, a gigantic spacerock that would be very close to the earth in2880. Although the possibility of such an impactis very remote, the computer model definitelygives the researcher an insight into the destruc-tive power of tsunami caused by near-Earthobject. Some of the meteorites have been un-comfortably close to the earth and could wreckhavoc in different forms including tsunamis.

Propagation of the Tsunamis

Tsunamis consist of series of very long waveswhich travel outwards on the surface of theocean in all directions away from their place oforigin. Their movement is just like ripples cre-ated by throwing a pebble into a pond of water.In deep sea the tsunamis travel at very very highspeed (say 500-800 km per hour), almost asmuch as much as the speed of a jet aircraft.Their wavelength is very long which oftenexceeds 500-700 km. However, the amplitude oftsunamis in deep sea is very low and rarelyexceeds 1 metre. Physically they propagate aslong waves with speed given by

(Water depth × gravitation acceleration)1/2

Since the tsunamis have very long wave-length and very low amplitude, in deep ocean,they cannot be seen or detected from the air.Therefore, passengers on boats cannot feel orsee the tsunami waves as the killer waves passby underneath at high speeds. It may onlyappear as a gentle rise and fall of the sea. Thustsunamis are always deceptive and are able toconceal their killing capacity in the deep waterof open area. For example, the Great Sanrikutsunami, which struck Honshu in Japanon June15, 1896 was completely undetected by fisher-men as its deep water height was only about 40cm. A monster in disguise, this tsunami trans-formed into huge waves when it arrived on theshore and ravaged 275 km of coastline killing28,000 people. So from the sky tsunami wavescannot be distinguished from ordinary ocean

130

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


waves. But beneath, a tremendous amount ofenergy lurks. Since the rate at which the waveloses its energy is inversely related to its wavelength, tsunamis not only propagate at highspeeds, they can also travel great transoceanicdistances with limited energy losses.

As the tsunamis leave the deep water of theopen ocean and travel towards the shallowwater, they are transformed in two ways. Firstlytheir speed is reduced considerably and sec-ondly they attain emormous height oftenexceeding 10 metres and occasionally may reach30 metres.

Since the speed of the tsunami is related tothe water depth it diminishes in shallow water.Fricitional force of lthe sea bed also plays its partin reducing the speed of lthe tsunami. Thus theinitial speed of 50-60 km per hour near thecoast. When the tsunami finally reaches theshore it may appear as a series of breakingwaves. The successive waves stack up onto eachother forming a pile of waves due to which thetsunami waves get compressed near the coast.Consequently, the wavelength of the tsunamiwaves is shortened and the wave energy isdirected upwards. This makes the wave growin height. Since the total energy of the wavesremains constant (Law of Conservation of En-ergy), the height of these waves increases dan-gerously. This is also known as 'shoaling' effectbecause it transforms a seemingly harmlesswave that was almost imperceptible in deepwater into and incredibly dangerous wall ofwater on the shore. So if the amplitude of the'tsunami' wave have been just one metre or evenless in the deep water, it grows into a mammoth30-35 m wave when it sweeps over the shore.That is why tsunami waves smash into theshore with devastating impact of a water bomb.

The maximum height reached by a tsunamion the shore is called the run up. This is thevertical distance between the means sea levelsurface and the maximum height reached bythe tsunami waves on the shore. Generally thetsunami run-up over a metre is considereddangerous. After run up, a part of tsunami

energy is dissipated back to open ocean. Thisgenerates particular type of waves called 'edgewaves' that travel back-and forth parallel to theshore. Sometimes tsunami causes the water torecede, exposing the ocean floor.

Tsunamis undergo a lot refraction on theshore. Refraction of tsunamis depends uponwater depth and configuration of the sea floornear the shore. The process of refraction con-verges a part of energy of the tsunami waves toparticular area on the shore. So on reaching theshore, the presence of coral reefs (fringing orbarrier reefs), bays slope of the beach and otherundersea features may modify the tsunamis.

Effect of Tsunamis

Tsunami pose serious danger to the inhab-itants of the coastal areas. They attack the seashore as gigantic waves moving with greatforce, appearing without a warning and hittingthe coastline like a water bomb. Loaded withenormous energy, the killer waves wreck havocby flooding hundreds of metres inland, past thetypical high water level. They flatten housesand wipe out villages, uproot electric poles,throw cars into swirling water and toss boatsashore all in mad fury, and finally drag thou-sands of hapless victims out to sea as theyrecede. Large rocks weighing several hundredtonnes and other debris can be moved hundredsof metres inland by a tsunami. Tsunamis caneven travel up rivers and streams that lead tothe ocean.

FLOODS

Flood directly means submerging of exten-sive land area with water for several days incontinuation. Infact, flood is characteristic ofphysical environment and thus is a componentof hydrological cycle of a drainage basin.

Floods are very much associated with allu-vial rivers draining extensive flood plains. About3.5 per cent of the total geographical areas ofthe world are covered by floodplains that givehabitation to more than 16 per cent of the worldpopulation.


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

Causes of Floods

Floods have become highly complex sincethe floods are the responses of both natural andanthropogenic factors. Their relative naturevaries from place to place. Among the impor-tant factors are:

1. Prolonged high intensity rainfall: Heavyrainfall for long period in continuation isthe root cause of river floods. Heavy rain-fall in the upper catchment areas of theconcerned river causes sudden increase inthe volume of water downstream. Thiscauses overtopping of river bank by enor-mous volume of water and consequentinundation and flooding of flood plainareas. Heavy spell of rainfall in arid andsemi-arid areas where the rainfall is scant,low and infrequent causes flash floodsbecause such areas have poor natural drain-age systems and existing rivers and streamsare unable to accommodate enormous vol-ume of water caused due to huge volumeof runoff resulting from high intensity rain-fall during occasional rainstorms.

2. Meandering courses of the river: Highlymeandering courses of the rivers impedethe usual discharge of water and thus thevelocity is reduced that lag the passage ofwater resulting into stagnation of waterwhich causes flood in the meanderingvalley.

3. Deforestation: Large-scale deforestation inthe upper catchments is perhaps the mostimportant anthropogenic factor of the riverfloods. Large-scale deforestation decreasesinfiltration capacity of the land and conse-quently increases surface runoff. Densevegetation allows maximum infiltration ofrainwater into the ground because rain-drops are intercepted by forest canopy andthus reach the ground slowly through theleaves, branches and stems of trees. In theabsence of forests and other vegetariancovers, rain drops strike the ground surfacedirectly and in case of heavy downpour therainfall exceeds the limit of infiltration.Increased surface runoff also acceleratesthe rate of soil erosion and thus increases

the sediment load of the rivers. Increasedsediment load causes siltation of riverbedsand filling of the valleys. This process re-sults into gradual rise in the riverbeds anddecrease in the cross sectional areas of theriver and hence reduction in the wateraccomodating capacity of the river.

4. Blocking of free flow of the rivers be-cause of enormous debris: Blocking ofnatural flow of the rivers by landslides orother natural factors or anthropogenic fac-tors causes sudden severe flash floods inthe downstream section of the rivers.

5. Anthropogenic activities: Such as buildingactivities, urbanization, channel manipula-tion through diversion of the river's course,construction of bridges, barrages and res-ervoirs, agricultural practices, land usechanges etc. are also responsible for theflood.

As urbanization is increasing, extention inthe pucca ground cover through the construc-tion of building, courtyards, roads, pavementsetc. are the natural out come. It increases thesurface runoff and therefore dimension andmagnitudes of floods also widens because ex-tension in the pucca ground reduces infiltrationof rainwater significantly and increases surfacerunoff considerably.

The rainwater resulting from torrential rain-fall is quickly disposed off through the citystorm drains to nearby streams and thus thevolume of river water is increased, causingfloods. Besides obstruction of river flow due tobridges across the rivers, silting of river beds dueto pouring of wastes and garbages from thenearby urban centres, gradual encroachment ofhuman settlements towards the channels andlowlying areas, filling of 'nallas' (natural urbandrains), constuction of new roads and bridgesetc, are also significant factors, related to urban-ization, causing floods.

6. Others: Apart from the above mentionedfactors few causes are cyclone, topographi-cal factor of the regions, tides, level of theground water, etc.

132

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y



CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

Flood Prone Areas

The Rashtriya Barh Ayog (RBA) or NationalCommission on Floods, set up the Governmentof Indian in 1976, provided statistical evidenceof flood problem in the country. The commis-sion took the maximum area affected by floodsina state in any one year, as its flood prone areans added up the flood prone areas of all thestate to get the flood prone area of the country.This proved to be erroneous method anditunderestimates the severity of the problem. Thisis due to the fact that there is no guarantee thatfloods in any year will affect only those areaswhich were never flooded before. Yet the com-mission found that the country's flood pronearea increased from 25 mha in 1960s to 34 mhain 1978. At present 40 mha or one eights of thetotal land area of the country is assessed to beflood-prone. This shows that there has been arapid increase in he flood-prone area of thecountry. A glance at Figure will show how theflood prone areas are distributed. It is estimatedthat over three-fourth of the total damage doneto crops and property is in the plains of North-ern India comprising Punjab, Haryana UttarPradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam. Thegeographical distribution of floods prone areasin India is as under.

The Ganga River Region

In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the mightyGanga receives a large number of tributariessuch as the Gomati, the Ghaghra, the Gandakand the Kosi from the left as well as theYamuna and the Son from the right. This bringshuge quantities of water to these areas bothfrom the Himalayan region and from the Pen-insular India resulting the devastating floods.River Kosi oftern shifts its course flooding newareas and converting once fertile areas intowasterland. The Kosi which means kosna(curse), brings flood fury to vast area every yearand is living upto its name. The Yamuna is animportant right bank tributary of the Gangaand floods large areas in Uttar Pradesh andHaryana. The Chambal and the Betwa meet theYamuna and add to the flooding capacity of theYamuna.

In Uttar Pradesh flood is frequent in theeastern districts, mainly due to spilling of Rapti,the Sharda, the Ghaghra and the Gandak. Theproblem of drainage congestion exists in thewestern parts of Uttar Pradesh, particularly inAgra. Mathura and Meerut districts. The ero-sion is experienced in some places on the leftbank of the Ganga and on the right banks of theGhaghra and the Gandak. In 1998, floodsoccurred in many parts of the country includingUttar Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi and WestBengal. However, Uttar Pradesh received mostserve blow and the Gorakhpur divisions was theworst hit area.

In Bihar the floods are largely confined tothe northern part of the state where occurrenceof floods is almost an annual feature. The riverssuch as the Burhi Gandak, the Bahagmati andthe Kamula and other smaller rivers of theAdhwara Group, th Kosi in the lower reachesand the Mahananda spill over their bankscausing considerable damage to crops and dis-location of traffic.

Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are the worst floodaffected states and account for over one-third ofthe flood prone area of the country.

In West Bengal the southern and the centralparts are flooded by the Mahananda. TheBhagirathi, the Ajoy, the Damodar etc. due toan inadequate capacity of river channels andtidal effect. There are occasional floods causedby the Damodar river even after the construc-tion of four dams and a barage under theDamodar Valley Project. In 1956, about 25,000sq km of area was flooded in Southern districtsfo West Bengal by this river. The Ganga deltais oftern flooded. There is also the problem oferosion of banks of some of the rivers and on leftand right banks of the Ganga upstream anddownstream respectively of the FarakkaBarrage.

The Bhramaputra River Region

In the Brahmaputra basin, floods are almostan annual feature. The main cause of floodshere is heavy rainfall amounting over 250 cmduring the rainy season. Large amount of slit isdeposited here by the Brahmaputra and its

134

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


tributaties which makes the river channed shal-low and its capacity to carry large amount ofwater is reduced. This results in flooding of thevast areas in and around the valley. Earth-quakes, which occur at frequant intervals, causeschange in the level of river course and the flowof water in the river is obstructed. This leads toerosion of large areas in this region. Landslidesare very common here. Huge rock materialfalling as a result of landslides acts as a tempo-rary dam across the river and vast area issubmerged under water. Later it gives wayunder the pressure of water and floods lartgearea downstream. The Assam Valley is consid-ered to be one of the worst flood-affected areasof India. The main causes of floods in thBrahmaputra river system can be summed upas under:

(i) There are 34 major tributary rivers of theBrahmaputra. These bring huge quanti-ties of water and silt which cause floods.

(ii) Very heavy rainfall exceeding 250 cmper annum.

(iii) Narrowness of the Brahmaputra valleywith a maximum width of about 81 kmsurrounded by hills.

(iv) Heavy deposit of silt has raised the riverbed considerably which has reduced thewater accommodating capacity of theriver.

(v) Occasional earthquakes, such as earth-quakes of 1897, 1930, 1950 and 1984have brought about changes in the courseof the river.

(vi) Very high population pressure, prima-rily due to migration form Bangladeshand some other Indian states has forcedpeople ot live in the flood prone area.

According to the reports of the Assam gov-ernment, all the districts of the Brahmaputravalley are inundated almost every year.

Though most of the flood affected areas inAssam are rural in character, yet some urbanareas are also affected by floods each year. Theworst flood affected area of the Brahmaputravalley is the world's largest river island, Majuli.The urban areas of Assam, namely Dhubri,

Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Tezpur etc. ate frequentlyflooded. It has been estimated that an area of30 lakh hectares out of 78 lakh hectares i.e.,about 45 per cent of Assam's total area is floodprone.

The North West Rivers Region

The flood problem in this region is lessserious as compared to the one prevailing in theGanga and the Brahmaputra river regions. Themajor problem is that of inadequate surfacedrainage which causes inundation and water-logging over vast areas. In the Punjab-HaryanaPlain rain water in the waterlogged and poorlydrained areas inundate large parts. Major andminor rivers like the Satluj, the Beas, the Ghaggarand the Markanda are in spate during the rainyseason and bring flood havoc to vast areas.

In Punjab floods are an annual featurethough intense floods are experienced at aninterval of 4-5 years. The main reason of floodsin Punjab is obstruction of poor natural drain-age by man made features. Some of the majorcanals (the Bhakra System) do not follow thenatural flow and create obstacles. Secondly,National Highway No.1 and the main railwayline run almost perpendicular to the naturalflow. Cultivationof area near river banks andconstruction activities in low lying areas, espe-cially in cities like Ludhiana, Patiala, etc. havetogether created obstacles in the natural flow ofwater. In th recent years Punjab was hit by asevere flood in 1993. This flood affected 13 (outof 14) districts, 5,017 villages, 44 cities, 1,47,608dwellings and a populaiton of 34.85 lakh.Moreover, 76,000 tubewells were damaged andrail/traffic was badly affected.

Sometimes, floods are caused by the Ghaggarriver also. This river used to disappear in thesands of Rajasthan after flowing through Punjaband Haryana. In recent years, besides floodingPunjab and Haryana areas, it has become activein Rajasthan terriotory also, occasionally sub-merging large areas.

In the north-western river basin coveringJammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh,the Satluj, the Beas, the Ravi and the Chenaboften flood large areas. Floods occur periodi-


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

cally in Jhelum and its trubutaries in the Kash-mir Valley causing a rise in level of the WullarLake thereby submerging marginal areas of thelakes and sometimes threatening Srinagar andother areas along the river banks. Similarly theChenab and its tributaries like Tawi are often inspate endangering several densely populatedareas in Jammu and Akhnoor. In the year 2004,large parts of Himachal Pradesh was threat-ened by a very severe flood in the Satluj riverdue to large quantity of water released from theRakas Lake in Tibet.

The Central India and the Deccan Region

The southern states of Andhra Pradesh,Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Jharkhand,Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, the state of Gujaratand parts of Madhya Pradesh are included inthis region. The floods do not pose a seriousproblem in this region because most of the rivershave well defined and stable courses. However,the deltas of the Godavari, the Krishna and theCauvery suffer from occasional floods owing tothe large scale silting and the consequent changein the river courses. Indiscriminate felling oftrees in the catchment areas of major rivers hascomplicated the flood problem. High tide at thetime of flood aggravates the flood situation.Lower courses of the Narmada and the Tapi inGujarat are also prone to floods.

In Andhra Pradesh, the flood problem isconfined to spilling by smaller rivers and thesubmergence of marginal seas along the KolleruLake. The Godavari and the Krishna rivers haveacute drainage problem and face floods particu-larly in the wake of cyclonic storms. TheGodavari basin is particularly notorious forrecurring floods. Significant floods have beenreported in August, 1886, October 1900, Au-gust-September 1907 and August 1953. In 1986,Godavari delta starts. Many big and smalldevelopmental schemes were affected. In EastGodavari, 16,69,000 people were affected. About81 people and 1,000 cattle per shed, nearly1,43,000 hectare standing crop was destroyed.

In Orissa, floods are caused by the Mahandi,the Brahmani and the Baitarni which have acommon delta where the flood waters inter-

mingle and when in spate simultaneously, causeconsiderable havoc. The problem is accentuatedwhen the flood synchronises with high tides.The slit deposited by these rivers in their deltaregion raises the river bed and the rivers oftenoverflow their banks or break through newchannels causing heavy damage. Even the con-struction of Hirakud dam across the Mahanadihas not made the lower area absolutely freefrom flood. The flood of August-September1960 is an eye opener. The lower reaches alongthe Subarnrekha are affected by floods anddrainage congestion.

There is uniform addition in the cycle, inten-sity, dimensions and magnitude of damages offloods in India every year. There are numbersof factor responsible for increasing flood inIndia, like:

1. Rapid rate of deforestation in the sourcecatchments of major rivers and their tribu-taries and consequent acclerated rate ofrunoff of rainwater and soil erosion.

2. Increase in sediment load of rivers.

3. Siltation and rise of river beds and markedreduction in the water accomodating ca-pacity of the river valleys.

4. Increasing urbanization.

5. Germination of settlements in the flood-plains.

6. Construction of bridges, embankments anddikes etc.

The nature and intesity of the flood prob-lems varies from one river system to another.The problem is the most acute, as also complex,in the Brahmaputra and the Ganga basin stateslike Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and WestBengal. The menace is also quite formidable inriver systems of Orissa and the Central India.River systems in the Deccan, such as Mahanadi,Godavari delta area and Krishna, also facerecurring flood menace.

In the North-West river systems, the prob-lem is relatively less severe though floods havenot been entirely eliminated. States like Punjab,Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and evenRajasthan have suffered due to floods in therecent past despite the fact that these states

136

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


remained more or less free from major floods formany decades.

The irony of the situation is that the flooddamage is on the rise notwithstanding increas-ing investment on measures for the prevention,control and warning on floods. The reasons forthis are not far to seek. Denudation of thecatchment areas of rivers due to unabateddeforestation is the biggest single factor respon-sible for increased intensity as well as frequencyof floods.

Flood Damage

Lack of adequate maintenance of existingwater management structures due to paucity ofnon-plan allocation is another significant factorcontributing to rising flood damage. At times,even the loss to crops and property caused bywater-logging due to inadequate provision ofdrainage for rainwater is also reported as flooddamage. Besides, a tendency has been noticedof late, among the state governments to overes-timate the loss in a bid to get higher reliefassistance from the Centre.

According to long-term data, the value ofthe average annual damage inflicted by floodson crops, houses and public utilities in thecountry is estimated at a whopping Rs. 980crore. On an average, about 7.75 million hect-ares get inundated by gushing flood water everyyear, resulting in loss of 500 human lives and1,00,000 heads of cattle.

Flood Control Measures

It may be pointed out that the floods arenatural phenomena and one cannot entirely getrid off them but their impacts can be minimisedby man's technological skills, better warningsystems and positive human response to floodwarnings and various control measures adoptedby the governments.

A. The inaugural step to control floods is tolook into their fundamental reason, whichis the high intensity rainfall and resultantsurface runoff. Man cannot stop high in-tensity rainfall and there is no need at allto interfere with natural processes. Whatman can do is to delay the return of surface

runoff resulting from the high intensityrainfall to the rivers. This can be achievedby large-scale reforestation and afforesta-tion in the hilly source catchment areas ofthose rivers. It will encourage more infiltra-tion of rainwater, reduction of the soilerosion and hence reduce the sedimentload of the river.

B. The volume of water during flood stage ofa river may be reduced through a series ofengineering devices such as construction offlood-control storage reservoirs. Such stor-age reservoirs impound enormous volumeof water during flood period and thus thesehelp in two ways e.g. firstly, these storagereservoirs reduce the volume of water ofthe rivers and secondly, these provide waterfor irrigation purpose.

C. Flood-diversion systems, which imply di-version of floodwater in lowlying areas,depression or artificially constructed chan-nels bordered by artifical dykes so that theflood crests can be, reduced and the floodmagnitude may be decreased.

D. Embankments, dykes and floodwalls areused to confine the floodwater within thevalley or say within a narrow channel.These engineering works include the build-ing of aritificial levees of earthern materi-als, stones or even concrete walls.

New Approach

In the past, the flood menance was soughtto be tackled by strategies based on experienceand intuition with an overwhelming emphasison physical measures. The objective was toprevent gushing waters from reaching potentialdamage centres. This approach essentially helpedto tame and modify floods rather than reallycontrolling them effectively. It relied chiefly onundertaking protective works like embarkments,detention reservoirs, anti-erosion and bankstabilistion works. Multi-purpose river valleyprojects were viewed as means of preventingfloods besides producing power and utilisingwater for irrigation and other gainful purposes.

To tide over the problem of funds scarcity,the Union government institutions try to secure


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

external assistance for some selected flood con-trol projects. The Water Resources Ministry isidentifying the project, which will be placedbefore these institutions. Only major projectswill be selected for seeking external assistance.

1. Flood Plain Zoning: Flood plain zoningessentially involves regulation of economicactivity in flood plains. Experts view it asan effective way to deal with this problemas flood plain zoning cuts across districtand state boundaries. It is indeed capableof reversing the floods. The model floodplain zoning bill was prepared and circu-lated to the states by the centre way backin 1975. Manipur lost little time in actuallyenacting the legislation on flood plain zon-ing and started implementing it in Decem-ber 1985. No other state, however, did so.The governments of Bihar and West Bengalare reported to be contemplating to bringlegislation for this purpose. AndhraParadesh has also accepted it in principle.In Madhya Pradesh some work is said tohave been done on demarcating flood zonesfor several important towns and villagesthreatened by this calamity. The Centre isstill trying to persuade other states to fol-low suit.

2. Non-Structural Measures: Encouraged bythe success of nonstructural measures inminimising the loss of livestock and humanlives, besides other damage, the govern-ment now seems inclined to use them in thechronic flood-prone belt in the NorthEast.Of the total geographical area of 2.55lakh sq. kms., comprising seven North-Eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh,Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya,Mizoram and Tripura, about 43.41 lakhhectares have been identified as chronicallyflood-prone. The problem of course, is themost acute in Assam, which alone ac-counts for 38.2 lakh hectares. TheBrahmaputra and Barak valleys are af-fected by flood practically every year.

Apart from better upkeep and mainte-nance of existing works, the new approachaccords priority to flood proofing throughraised platforms, assured communication,

drinking water supplies and post-flood re-liefs. In the last three years, the PlanningCommission approved 22 flood manage-ment schemes, costing around Rs. 80 crorefor implementation

3. Forewarning: Forewarning of flood canindeed go a long way in preventing muchof the potential damage due to floods. Acountry-wide flood forecasting and warn-ing system has successfully been estab-lished by the Central Water Commission(CWC) to cover most of the flood proneinter-state rivers. The CWC is presentlyissuing river stage forecasts in respect of132 stations covering 62 river basins andsub-basins. Besides, inflow forecasts arebeing issued for 25 sites for operation ofcertain major reservoirs, raising the num-ber of the total forecasting stations in thecountry to 157. Of these 109 stations are onthe Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghana systemalone. There are 15 stations for west flow-ing rivers, eight for river Krishna, three forriver Mahanadi, nine for eastern rivers and13 for Godavari. Nearly 60 per cent of thecatchment areas of seven river systems,which cause extensive floods in U.P., Biharand West Bengal every year, lie in theupper reaches in Nepal. These rivers in-clude Ghaghra (along with Sharda andRapti), Gandak, Bagmati, Kamla, Adhwaragroups of rivers, Kosi and Mahananda.Reliable flood forecasts for this region arenot possible without data from theircatchments in Nepal. An understandinghas been reached between the two coun-tries to establish 45 hydrometeorologicalsites in Nepalese territory and to improve18 sites on the Indian side to make theforecasting network in this area efficientfor the benefit of both the countries.

A wireless communication network has beencreated for collection of hydrological and hy-drometeorological data from about 550 hy-drometeorological stations located in differentriver systems throughout the country. The fore-casts, based on the analysis of this data, arecommunicated to the concerned administrativeand engineering authorities over telephone or

138

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


through special messenger or other means de-pending on the gravity of the situation andvulnerability of the area.

There is, however, still ample scope forfuther improvements in the flood-warning net-work as also in the quality of forecasts. Indeed,CWC seems to have been aware of it & has beenreviewing techniques of observation of hydro-logical data & its transmission to the forecastingdivisions. A few modernisation schemes havealso been taken up.

DROUGHT

Drought in simple terms is the dryness dueto deficient rainfall or shortage of water for anextended period, a season, a year or severalyears over a particular region. It can be definedaccording to meteorological, hydrological andagricultural criteria. Any substantial, prolongeddeficit of rainfall qualifies as meteorologicaldrought. In India, the South-West monsoondescribes the meteorological drought. The mon-soon rainfall avove 19 per cent of the normalvalue is termed as excess rain. When the rainfalldeparture is within 19 per cent it is known asnormal rain, below 19 per cent it is deficient rainand scanty if the rainfall is below 59 per cent.There is no consensus over the threshold of thedefcit or the minimum duration of the lack orprecipitation that makes a dry spell an officialdrought. The term drought hinges on the soci-etal expectations and public perception thatavailabe water is too meagre to sustain normalactivities.Thus, the meteorological drought isonly a representation of the rainfall distributionpattern and statistics.

The hydrological drought is the manifesta-tion of critically low ground water tables andnoticeably reduced river and stream flow. Itinvolves the water availability and the offtakerates in normal reaquirement i.e. domestic,agricultural and industrial usages. The agricul-tural drought refers to extended dry peiods inwhich the lack of rainfall or the watersourceresults in insufficient moisture in root zone ofthe soil causing adverse effects on cultivatedvegetation. The agricultural drought is the im-pact of meteorological and hydrological droughts

on the crop yeields. It is the agricultural droughtthat affects socio-economically the most andcauses serious disruption to the nation's foodsupply.

Droughts may occur at any place and time,causing from mild annoyance to deaths throughfamine. The severity depends on the intensity ofthe rainfall deficiency, duration of dry spell, sizeof the affected area and the extent of availablewater resouces such as irrigation facilities. Todescribe the severity an index called "PalmerDrought Severity Index" is used. The indexranges between +6 (very much wetter thannormal) to -6 (extremely severe drought). Theindex measures the relative dryness of localweather within successive time intervals. Itaccounts for the differences between the actualprecipitation and the amount normally expectedto sustain evapo-transpiration, run-off andmoisture storage in a given climate and location.

Factors Promoting Droughts

India is the seventh largest country in theworld covering an area of 3, 287, 782 sq. km.With a huge population of about 100 crores, theentire population (about 28 percent urban and72 percent rural ) is distributed over the fourwell-defined regions viz. the Himalayan moun-tain zone in the North, the Gangetic plains inthe Cenre, a desert in the West and a peninsularplateau in the South. The rural population isscattered over 5,55,137 villages out of whichabout 2,31,000 are defined as problem villageswhere surface water is not available within aradius of 1.6 km or if available locally, is unfitfor consumption. About 68 percent of the sownarea is still dependent on rainfall. There is grossvariation in the rainfall distribution over the 35meteorological subdivisions in the country.Thevariation is such that there is about 118.70 cmof rain in Cherrapunji (Meghalaya) and about10 mm or less rain in the desert part of WestRajasthan. In all, about 16 percent of the coun-try is drought prone. The drought areas are thearid, semi arid and dry subhumid areas of WestRajasthan, Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutch,Marathwada, Telengana, Rayalseema, Bihar and


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

some parts of Orissa (Koraput distircts).The major factors responsible for the droughts

in India are deficient rainfall, demographicpattern, poor water management strategy, in-discriminate exploitation of the ground waterby the industries and the agricultural sectorsand large scale deforestation for various pur-poses. The meteorological causes of droughtvary according to the climate of the affectedregion. In the monsoon blessed areas like ourcountry, most of the annual rainfall (about 70-80 percent) is received in a single rainy season.The rainy conditions failing to make an incur-sion into the interior of the continent isresponsible for diminished accumulation of sea-sonal precipitation.

Impact of Drought

Drought devastates crops and ushers indifficult times leading to famines, malnutrition,epidemics, forced migration, economic destabi-lization, loss of lives and social conflicts. Theprimary effects of drought mainly stem fromlack of water. However, the secondary effectsfollow resulting from the primary effects.Theprimary effects are loss of water for drinkingand hygienic use, loss of crops, livestocks andother animals. Also there is a loss of employ-ment in agricultural and farm sectors. Thesecondary effects start with the migration ofpeople in search of better grazing lands for theirheards or to the cities to seek alternate sourceof income. If water, food and fodder are notsupplied in time the condition further deterio-rates to famine causing large-scale deaths.Thisfurther accelerates migration and spreading ofepidemics. Long-term drought results in perma-nent changes in settlement patterns and thesocial and living styles.

The drought disrupts the productive base ofthe affected economy through damaging ordestroying parts of its capital stocks. The failureof crops prompts large-scale migration thatcauses pressure on urban centres creating newdemands and infrastructure. Among majorecological effects are decreased scrub growth,increase in erosion of soils and increased deser-tification. Among the ecological changes thedesertification cycle is of utmost concern. The

whole process gradually spreads usually ellip-tically, bringing more and more land underdesert conditions. Thus, the impacts of thedrought cannot be assessed on the basis of theeconomic loss alone. The social and the ecologi-cal/environmental damges are irreversible, sotheir impacts remain for years together (like thegreat Bengal Famine).

Droutht Prone Areas

A drought prone area is defined as one inwhich the probability of a drought year isgreater than 20 per cent. A chronic droughtprone area is one in which the probability of adrought year is grater than 40 per cent. ADrought year occurs when less than 75 per centof the normal rainfall is received.

In India, the hard core of recurring droughtaffects 16 per cent of the total area and 12 percent of the population, although the total aver-age drought prone area may be as muchas 10lakh sq km or about one third of the total landarea of the country. The areas regularly hauntedby droughts are those receiving low (generallybelow 75 cm annually) and highly unreliable(varibility over 40 per cent) rainfall and withinadequate irrigation facilities. In all 77 districtsreceiving less than 75 cm of rainfall per annumare drought prone. This accounts for 34 per centof net sopwn area. In addition, there are 22districts in Maharasthra, Gujarat, MadhyaPradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and UttarPradesh accountinhg for 9 per cent of thecultivated area of the country which receives 75to 85 cm of rainfall per annum. This rainfall isof doubtful efficacy and as such these districtsshould also be considered vulnerable to drought.However, the severest droughts have ocurred incomparatively wet areas such as West Bengal,Bihar and Orissa where rainfall is normallyplentiful enough to allow high density of popu-lation and where failure of rainfall can afffectmilions of people.

There some well defined tracts of droughtwhich are briefly described as under.

(a) The desert and semidesert region coveringtracts of drought formed by lines from

140

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


Ahemdabad to Kanpur on one side andfrom Kanpur to Jalandhar on the other.

(b) The dry region lying in the leeside of theWestern Ghats upto a width of 300 kmstretching eastwards up to 100 km from theEast Coast and reaching right upto thesouthern tip of the peninsula. It covers anarea of about 3.7 lakh sq km.

(c) Outside the above mentioned two majorregions, there are isolated pockets whichexperience frequent droughts and aretermed as drought prone areas. They are (i)Coimbatore and Nellai Kottabomman dis-tricts in Tamil Nadu; (ii) Sourashtra andKachchh regions; (iii) Jhansi, Lalitpur,Banda, Mirzapur, Philibhit, Kheri andBahraich districts of Uttar Pradesh; (iv)Palamau plateau of Jharkhand; (v) Puruliadistrict of West Bengal and (vi) Kalahandiregion of Orissa, (vii) Large parts ofUttranchal, and (viii) Jammu andUddampur in Jammu and Kashmir. Thesescattered pockets account for about onelakh sq km.

Coping with Droughts

Two major points emerge from the sub-ject: [1] drought is more of a man-made disasterresulting from a total mismanagement of ourwater resourcs, and [2] the debate over the issuerevolves around two extreme positions. The firstpropagates that big dams and irrigation projectsare badly needed to solve the present watercrisis and the second searches for answers inour traditional rainwater harvesting techniquesof domestic and agricultural purposes.

It is argued by the supporters of moderntechniques of development that large develop-ment projects such as dams and hydropowerventures are a precondition to growth. Big damshave brought prosperity to many a parchedareas. These have been a source of power andwater. Even the green revolution owes its suc-cess to large development ventures. However,many traditionalists feel that the revolution hasbeen instrumental in causing vulnerability todroughts. In fact, those who oppose the so-called modern development are labelled eco-

romanticists and neo-Luddites. It is believedthat traditional practices appear anachronisticand seem to have outlived their utility. The foodand irrigation requirements have increasedmanifold and these can in no way be met byfollowing age-old water harvesting practices.

The arguments in defence of modern scien-tific development are quite potent. But as perthe other side of the debate pressures of onlylocal population have seldom destroyed micro-subsistence systems. Unplanned developmentpractices have led to many afflictions. Daminduced floods are very common. Dams havecost several times the budget, acres and acres ofland and devoured millions of people. Thesehave even been constructed in water retentivesoil areas. The Narmada valley project is con-sidered by many as India's greatest plannedenvironmental disaster. It is maintained thatevery small, local and quicker scheme has beensacrificed at the altar of mega projects.

Ever since the dawn of civilization, thepeople in Indian civilization, have followedcertain water management practices that dis-played ingenuity and self sufficiency. Scienceand Centre for Science and Environment havedone extensive research on our traditional butdying waterharvesting techniques. Traditionalwater storing and harvesting practices havebeen bailed. There is no other substitute of thewater harvesting.

LANDSLIDE

In recent decades it has become fashionableto begin discussions of landslide hazard withdramatic descriptions of the devastation achievedby catastrophic failures involving the collapse oflarge volumes of rock, usually in mountainousareas. The three most quoted catastrophes are:the Vaiont Dam disaster in the Italian Alps(1963), when 250 × 106 m3 of rock slid into theimpounded lake causing huge waves up to 100m high, to overtop the dam and drown 2600people in the valley below, the Huascaran rockavalanche in the Peruvian Andes (1970), whenpart of the ice-cap on the northern peak ofNevadas Huascaran (6654 m) collapsed, caus-ing 20,000 to 25,000 people dead and the huge


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

Mayunmarca rockslide, also in the PeruvianAndes (1974), when 1000 × 106 m3 of movingmaterial killed 450 people. The existence of suchhigh-magnitude low-frequency events under-line the potential significance of the land slidethreat to developmental issues and undoubtedlyposes very severe problems in terms of hazardmanagement.

As a consequence, the main problems to beovercome with respect to minimising landslidingare:

(a) the need to heighten the perception ofdevelopment planners as to the nature,scale, distribution and causes of land slid-ing and the significance and spatial varia-tion of landslide hazard;

(b) the need to increase awareness as to therange of adjustments (both structural andotherwise ) that can be adopted to amelio-rate the problem;

(c) the need for landslide management to beincorporated as an element of developmentplanning in those areas prone to slopeinstability; and

(d) the necessity of developing and refiningrapid and meaningful landslide hazardevaluation practices for areas which lackthe benefit of comprehensive geologicaland geomorphological base-line informa-tion.

Causes of Mass-Movement

The following causes of mass-movementsare recognised. Absence of surface drainageand existence of channels of openings for seep-age from internal sources greatly promote slopefailure. This explains the frequent occurrence oflandslides during or after heavy or prolongedspells of rainfall. However, rainfall durationand intensity alone are not a major factor. InNepal the groundwater table comes within onemetre of the surface, the consequent heavy rainsproduce landslides. The reversal of this phe-nomenon, such as withdrawal of water fromreservoirs, may also cause landslides, owing tothe change in the balance. An example ofrainwater-induced mass-movement is the land-

slide which wholly ravaged the upper part ofthe township of Nainital in 1980.

If the rocks are porus and shattered, theywill naturally become saturated with water.Their shear strength will consequently be less,so that the driving force will overwhelm themleading to perceptible sliding. Thus the degreeof fracturing or jointing has a strong influenceupon the shear strength of rocks.

Earthquake shocks, particularly those ofshorter duration, acceleration of ground mo-tion, tilt of the slope, modify the system of forcesin a manner that driving forces get the upperhand. Thus the seismic shocks are the biggesttriggering factor. Extensive landslides caused bythe 1950 earthquake in eastern ArunachalPradesh, and by the 1934 North Bihar earth-quake bear eloquent testimony to this fact.

The slope angle greatly influences the strengthof the driving force-the steeper the slope thegreater are the chances of its failure. Erosionand excavation make slopes steeper and thuscreate conditions conductive to slope failure. Onthe Hardwar-Badarinath highway, the 30 mwide and chronically active Kaliasaur landslideis a result of combined action of rushing waterof the Alaknanda (toe erosion) and road cuttingentailing formation of steep and high wall of thecut.

The addition of weight on the slope like thedumping of debris or wastes and the construc-tion of heavy structures (dams, reservoirs, etc.)increase the intensity of the driving force andreduces the slope stability. In the townships ofShimla and Nainital, the deposition of debrisproduced from the excavation for building foun-dations and for roads, and construction ofmultistoried concrete structures have apprecia-bly changed the balance in favour of the drivingforce, leading to creep movements as evident onthe slopes of Lakkar Bazar (Shimla) and Sher-ka-danda(Nainital).

Landslides in India

In mountain regions such as the Himalayaand the Nilgiri, the problem of hillside instabilityis very serious. The occurrence of landslides isparticularly common in geodynamically sensi-

142

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


tive belts, i.e., zones and areas repeatedly rockedby earthquakes and affected by other neotectonicactivities. The Darjeeling Himalaya, for example,recorded more than 20,000 landslides in oneday in vulnerable belts. The principal factorsthat initiate or trigger mass-movement are: (i)heavy and prolonged rainfall, (ii) cutting anddeep excavations on slopes for buildings, roads,canals and mining without appropriate dis-posal of debris, and (iii) earthquake shocks andtremors. All these factors operate in the Hima-layan region and in the Nilgiri belt overlookingKarnataka and Kerala. In every slope, gravity-induced shear stresses exist which increase withthe slope height, slope inclination and unitbecause of thermal expansion and contraction,freezing and thawing, shrinkage and swellingand by action of other agents of weathering.When the shearing stresses build up to a levelthat exceeds the shearing resistance of the slopealong the most vulnerable, critical or the weak-est surface, a landslide takes place inducingdownward and outward movement. Whensupplemented by seismic activity, they could bevery serious.

Landslide Zones

Landslide Belts in Kumaun Himalaya: Inthe Himalayan region the zones of the MainBoundary Thrust (MBT) in the southern frontand the Main Central Thrust (MCT) in theinterior are two exteremely vulnerable land-slide-prone zones. The MCT separating theGreat Himalayan ranges from the populatedLesser Himalayan terrain had served as theplane along which the Lesser Himalayandomain had slide under the Great Himalaya,causing tremendous uplift of the latter andwholesale splitting, shattering and crushing ofthe Lesser Himalayan rocks. Along the MBT, theIndian plate along with its Siwalik front isslipping under the Lesser Himalayan crustalplate. The shattered and highly deformed rockshave been tightly folded and repeatedly split bythrust planes into multitudes of rock-slabs, someof which are highly mylonitized or are in afriable condition. In the MCT and MBT zones,the weak rocks easily give way to onslaughts ofrains, shocks of explosions and earthquakes,

vibrations generated by movements of heavyvehicles, and human interference. As a result,these 5 to 20-km wide belts in the KumaunHimalaya are marked by almost continuousfringes or aprons of gigantic fans and cones oflandslide debris, both ancient and recent. Mostof the ancient landslide cones are comouflagedby thick vegetation. The situation is particularlysevere along the MBT, registering neotectonicmovements.

Landslide Zones in the Western Ghat: Inwestern India landslides are common along theWestern Ghat on the steep (600 m) slopesoverlooking the Konkan coast. The Ghat scrapsexpose a succession of vesicular basaltsinterbedded with volcanic ash, red boles andagglomerates-the dense basalts forming thescraps and the ashbeds with the gentler slopes.The mass-movements are generally confined tothe plastic and semiplastic 20 m thick overbur-dened material that has accumulated on thegently sloping (100 m) vesicular lava andvolcaniclastics. The movement takes place dueto loss of shear strength at the interface of thevolcaniclastics or bed boles with the lavas asand when rainwater infiltrates. The rainfall isvey heavy (>300 cm/yr) in this belt. Steeplyinclined shear faults and vertical joints provideeasy access to the water, which triggers land-slides. The landslide scraps are 60 to 180 malong the Koyna dam, the frequency of earth-quake occurrence (M 2 to 5) has increased,especially in the Ratnagiri district, thus creatingfavourable conditions for landsliding.

South Indian Landslide Zones: In SouthIndia landslides are common in the Nilgiri-Anamudi massif on the steep slopes of the horstthat was uplifted to its present height (>2600 m)during pleistocene times. Demarcated by faultscarps, the massif in its upper largely deforestedpart has been ravaged by large landslides. Theplateau is characterized by a lateritic cap, andso yields easily to the impacts of rain, which isvery intensive.

Controlling Landslides

As the principal cause of initiation or accel-eration of mass-movements is water, this agenthas to be prevented from entering into the


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

affected area. It is not possible to prevent alandslide from occurring but, it is certainlypossible to minimize the hazard and damageby taking timely preventive measures. By con-structing an efficient drainage network andmaking use of appropriate engineering prac-tices of mass-movements, the damage can beminimized. Many landslides are preceded bycreep movements over a long period of time.This natural warning system can be used toensure that preventive and ameliorative mea-sures are taken in time.

Drainage Control and Dewatering Mea-sures: The first step in a programme of slopestabilization is to get rid of water- the agent ofprovocation-by dewatering the affected massand directing the water away from the land-slide area. This is accomplished by constructingan eaborate drainage network. All streams andwatercourses must be diverted around the crownof the slide or the potentially hazardous areathrough properly lined drains and ditches thathave adequate gradient. The springs within thearea are entrapped and likewise diverted throughpipes into the drains. The drains within theaffected area can be filled with gravel andcoarse sand.

Construction of a drainage network is ac-companied by levelling the ground surface toeliminate all depressions where water can accu-mulate and cause difficulties.

Vegetating Damaged Slopes: An effectivemethod of arresting erosion and protectingdamaged or exposed subsurface material is tocover it with a net of coir, jute or synthetic yarnof about 1.5 cm to 2.5 cm opening, which willallow quick growth of vegetation, the area isfenced before the seed bed is prepared. Thenetting prevents the soil from breaking due toimpacts of rain and wind, and allows unhin-dered vegetation growth. The soil is first seededwith quick-growing local grass, the root slipsbeing dibbled 15-20 cm apart-root to root, rowtaking care that no turfs or clumps are dibbled.It is also admixed with an appropriate fertilizeror leguminous plant or organic manure topromote quicker and richer vegetation growth.

To ensure further protection of the slope anddislodgement of rootslips in the seed beds,asphalt emulsion (mulch) can be sprayed (at therate of 1/ liter/m2). The mulch eventuallydisintegrates into another fertilizers. The mulch-ing is done just before rainfall. In extreme cases,plastic or latex stablilizer is sprayed after seed-ing. A much simpler and more pragmatic methodwould be to mix the grass seed with a smallproporation of rapidly growing stemmy plantssuch as sorgum, which acts as a nurse crop.Inoculation of seed with Rhizobium bacterialculture would ensure quick realization of thedesired results.

A number of grasses have been found usefulfor protection of slopes, such as 'nara' (Arundodonax), lemongrass, napier (Pennisteumpurpureum), kikiyu (Peninsetum clandestinum),'gorda (Chrysopogon fulvus), C. Nepalensis,etc.-the choice depending on local conditionsincluding climate and soil composition. Thelegume Pureraria hirsuta (P. Thunbergiana)with deep roots has been found very promising.It is planted in January and February.

Slope Modification: The stability of theslope can be increased by grading it -by con-structing benches which not only reduce theslope but also serve as traps for falling, slidingand creeping material so that downslope dam-age is prevented. But the reshaping of a slopeinvolves appropriate disposal of debris gener-ated. Another method of stabilizing a slope is toreduce the load at the head of the landslideand/or strengthen the base by enlarging the toe.

Retaining Walls and Buttresses: To pro-vide support at the base of threatened slope orsolid mass and to prevent toe erosion, a varietyof retaining walls can be constructed of concretemasonary or cribs. A buttress wall is a heavy,low height structure at the base, providingsafeguards against toe erosion. If free space isavailable, the wall is built a little away from thetoe and the intervening space filled with graveland other permeable material to allow drainageof water. The free passage of water preventsbuildup of water pressure inside the solid massbehind the wall. The retaining and buttresswalls must be supplemented with weep holes

144

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


and drop channels, if these are to be effectiveand long lived.

Another very effective, fast and economicalmethod of preventing slope failure is the oneadopted in deep cuts in the Tallahatti Channelof the Kalindi project, Karnataka. Prestressedanchor pads are installed at the toe of the slope,each anchor weighing one another bycrossbeams.

CYCLONE

Cyclones are one of the natural hazards thataffect India almost every year causing large lossof lives and properties. A tropical cyclone canbe regarded as a large and tall rotating cylinderof clouds containing enormous amount of waterand packing heavy winds. It is like a giant heatengine held by the release of latent heat due tocondensation of huge quantity of water vapourdrawn from the warm sea surface waters. Thereleased latent heat warms up the air, the airlighter in that column rises up creating a dropin pressure near the sea surface. This gives riseto rapid inflow of air making more warm andmoist air to rise and consequently more releaseof latent heat over the place. Thus air rushes infrom all sides and rises vertically up creating arotating vortex. If the process continues for alonger time, the pressure fall in that place couldbe very much below normal resulting in furthergrowth of the tropical cyclone and strengthen-ing the winds.

The necessary conditions for the formation ofcyclones are:

(i) sufficiently large areas of ocean withsell-surface temperature around26-27 de-gree Celsius;

(ii) depth of warm water, atleast 50 to 60metres so that sufficient supply of warmand moist air is ensured; and

(iii) initial rotation trigger should be pro-vided by some favourable meteorologicalcondition.

The Indian subcontinent is one of the worstaffected regions in the world. The subcontinentwith a long coastline of 8041 kilometre is

exposed to nearly 10 per cent of the world•fstropical cyclones. Of these, the majority havetheir initial genesis over the Bay of Bengal andstrike the east coast of India. On an average, fiveto six tropical cyclones form every year, ofwhich two or three could be severe. Morecyclones occur in the Bay of Bengal than theArabian Sea and the ratio is approximately 4:1.Cyclones occur frequently on both the coasts(The west coast - Arabian Sea; and the eastcoast - Bay of Bengal). An analysis of thefrequency of cyclones on the east and westcoasts of India between 1891 and 1990 showsthat nearly 262 cyclones occurred (92 severe) ina 50 km wide strip on the east coast. Less severecyclonic activity has been noticed on the westcoast, with 33 cyclones occurringin the sameperiod, out of which 19 of these were severe.

Tropical cyclones occur in the months ofMay-June and October-November. The cyclonesof severe intensity and frequency in the northIndian Ocean are bi-modal in character, withtheir primary peak in November and secondarypeak in May. The disaster potential is particu-larly high at the time of landfall in the northIndian Ocean (Bay of Bengal and the ArabianSea) due to the accompanying destructive wind,storm surges and torrential rainfall. Of these,storm surges are the greatest killers of a cyclone,by which sea water inundates low lying areasof coastal regions and causes heavy floods,erodes beaches and embankments, destroysvegetation and reduces soil fertility.

Cyclones vary in diameter from 50 to 320 kmbut their effects dominate thousands of squarekilometers of ocean surface and the lower atmo-sphere. The perimeter may measure 1,000 kmbut the powerhouse is located within the 100-km radius. Nearer the eye, winds may hit 320kmph. Thus tropical cyclones, characterized bydestructive winds, torrential rainfall and stormsurges disrupt normal life with accompanyingthe phenomena of floods due to the exceptionallevel of rainfall and storm surge inundation intoinland areas. Cyclones are characterized bytheir devastating potential to damage struc-tures, viz. houses; lifeline infrastructure-powerand communication towers; hospitals; food stor-age facilities; roads, bridges and culverts; crops


CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y

etc. The most fatalities come from storm surgesand the torrential rain flooding the lowlandareas of the coastal territories. Storm surges(tidal waves) are defined as the rise in sea levelabove the normally predicted astronomical tide.

Cyclone warning and forecasting system inIndia

Cyclone forecasts are provided through six-cyclone warning centers located at Kolkata,Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam, Chennai,Mumbai and Ahmedabad. These centers havetheir distinct area wise responsibilities coveringboth the east and west coasts of India and theoceanic areas of the Bay of Bengal and theArabian Sea, including Andaman & Nicobarand Lakshadweep.

Cyclone warnings are issued to the All IndiaRadio (AIR) and the Doordarshan for broad-cast/telecast in different languages. Cyclonewarnings are also given to control room andCrisis Management Group in the Ministry ofAgriculture, Government of India, who arefinally responsible for coordinating various ac-tivities of Centre and State Governments andother agencies in respect of cyclone warnings.Forecasts and warnings are simultaneouslycommunicated to the States and the Districtslikely to be attached. Ports, airports and otheruser agencies also receive the forecasts andwarnings at the same time.

Cyclones are tracked with the help of INSAT,powerful cyclone detection radars and conven-tional meteorological observations includingweather reports from ships. At present cyclonedetection radars are installed at (i) Kolkata, (ii)Paradeep, (iii) Visakhapatnam, (iv)Machilipatnam, (v) Chennai, (vi) Karaikal onthe east coast; and (vii) Goa, (viii) Cochin, (ix)Mumbai and (x) Bhuj along the west coast.Present cyclone surveillance system in India issuch that no cyclone in the region will goundetected at any time of its life cycle.

The important components of cyclone warn-ings are the forecast of future path and intensityof a eye tone and the associated hazardousweather. For the preparation of future position(path) of tropical cyclones and for estimation of

storm surges, modern, and computer basedtechniques are used in addition to conventionalmethods. Intensity forecasts are made by usingsatellite techniques.

IMD introduced a 4-Stage warning systemto issue cyclone warnings to the disaster man-agers. They are as follows:

(1) Pre-Cyclone Watch

Issued when a depression forms over theBay of Bengal irrespective of its distance fromthe coast and is likely to affect Indian coast infuture. The pre-cyclone watch is issued by thename of Director General of Meteorology and isissued at least 72 hours in advance of thecommencement of adverse weather. It is issuedat least once a day.

(2) Cyclone Alert

Issued atleast 48 hours before the com-mencement of the bad weather when the cy-clone is located beyond 500 Km from the coast.It is issued every three hours.

(3) Cyclone Warning

Issued at least 24 hours before the com-mencement of the bad weather when the cy-clone is located within 500 Km from the coast.Information about time /place of landfall areindicated in the bulletin. Confidence in estima-tion increases as the cyclone comes closer to thecoast.

(4) Post landfall outlook

It is issued 12 hours before the cyclonelandfall, when the cyclone is located within 200Km from the coast. More accurate & specificinformation about time /place of landfall andassociated bad weather indicated in the bulle-tin. In addition, the interior distraction is likelyto be affected due to the cyclone are warned inthis bulletin.

Cyclone Warning Dissemination System

a) It is Designed by ISRO and implemented byIMD in the mid-eighties, the CWDS is usedall these years to disseminate cyclone warn-ings effectively.

146

CHRONIC

LE

IAS ACADEM

Y


b) Selective addressing (Separate messages foreach district) is done by transmitting adigital code followed by the actual warningmessage.

c) Cyclone warnings are generated in Englishand other local languages (Tamil, Telugu,Oriya, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati etc)

d) Though Radio/TV broadcast are for oneand all, the messages through CWDS canbe accessed only at centres equipped witha receiver and addressed specifically forreceiving the message

e) CWDS is one-way communication systemand will be complimentary to other systemsof cyclone warning dissemination. Facilityof acknowledgment is available in theupgraded (Digital) version of CWDS

f) The present CWDS network covers 252stations spread over coastal areas of mari-time districts along the east and e westcoast

g) Through World Bank assistance Govt. ofAndhra Pradesh had installed 100 DigitalCWDS receivers along Andhra Coast. Forthis purpose a digital up-linking stationalso functions at Chennai.

National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project

The National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project(NCRMP) is a pioneer project drawn up byMinistry of Home Affairs (MHA), Governmentof India (GoI) with the purpose of creating

suitable infrastructure to mitigate the effects ofcyclones in the coastal states of India in asustainable way. The project was transferred toNational Disaster Management Authority(NDMA) in September 2006. The project hasidentified 13 cyclone prone States and UnionTerritories (UTs), with varying levels of vulner-ability.

These States/UTs have further been classi-fied into two categories; based on the frequencyof occurrence of cyclones, size of populationand the existing institutional mechanism fordisaster management. These categories are:

• Category I: Higher vulnerability States i.e.Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Orissa, TamilNadu and West Bengal.

• Category II: Lower vulnerability States i.e.Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala,Daman & Diu,Pondicherry, Lakshadweepand Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

The key objectives of the project are:

• Reduction in vulnerability of coastal statesthrough creation of appropriate infrastruc-ture which can help mitigate the adverseimpacts of cyclones, while preserving theecological balance of a coastal region.

• Strengthening of cyclone warning systemsenabling quick and effective disseminationof warning and advisories from source/district/sub-district level to the relevantcommunities. ��

indian geography - examisthan english material/indian... · 2018-09-09 · physiography of...

Documents