Planning, Sustainable Development and Environmental Problems in India
Two Case Studies
Bharmaur tribal region lies in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, a harsh mountain area of cold climate and poor soils. It is home to the Gaddis, a tribal community with a distinct identity who traditionally practised transhumance. The Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP), launched in the 1970s under the Fifth Five Year Plan, developed transport and communication, agriculture and allied activities, and social services — schools, health care, drinking water, roads and electricity. Literacy rose, the sex ratio improved and child marriage declined; dependence on pastoralism fell as more families took to cultivation and other work.
The Indira Gandhi Canal (formerly the Rajasthan Canal) originates at the Harike barrage in Punjab and runs through the Thar desert roughly parallel to the Pakistan border. Stage I serves Ganganagar, Hanumangarh and northern Bikaner; Stage II, through a landscape of shifting sand dunes, serves Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jodhpur, Nagaur and Churu, using lift canals to raise water to higher ground. Irrigation brought soil moisture, afforestation and pastures that reduced wind erosion, and new crops such as wheat, cotton and groundnut — but intensive irrigation and excessive use of water also caused waterlogging and soil salinity.
| Measure | What it means |
|---|---|
| Water management policy | Strict implementation, so that water reaches the whole command area |
| Cropping pattern | Avoid water-intensive crops; grow plantation crops such as citrus fruits |
| Command area development | Lining of water courses, land development and levelling, and warabandi — a system of equal distribution of canal water in the command area of an outlet |
| Reclamation | Reclaiming waterlogged and saline land |
| Eco-development | Afforestation, shelterbelt plantation and pasture development, especially in the fragile Stage II area |
Environmental Pollution
| Type | Sources | Effects and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Water | Natural (erosion, landslides, decay of plants and animals) and human: industrial effluents (leather, pulp and paper, textiles, chemicals), agricultural run-off of fertilisers and pesticides, and cultural activities — pilgrimages, religious fairs and tourism on river banks | Water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea, intestinal worms and hepatitis; the Ganga and Yamuna are badly affected |
| Air | Combustion of fossil fuels, mining and industries, releasing oxides of sulphur and nitrogen, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, lead and asbestos | Diseases of the respiratory, nervous and circulatory systems; urban smog; acid rain |
| Noise | Factories, mechanised construction and demolition, automobiles and aircraft, sirens and loudspeakers; transport is the biggest source | Measured in decibels (dB); worst along highways, railway lines and near airports in cities |
| Land | Improper disposal of solid waste, chemicals from agriculture and industry | Loss of soil quality and contamination of groundwater |
Urban waste disposal is a growing problem: solid waste from households and industries, left in heaps, breeds flies and rodents and spreads diseases such as typhoid, diarrhoea, malaria and cholera. Treated as a resource, the same waste can generate energy and compost. Rural–urban migration — pulled by jobs and pushed by poverty — swells cities faster than housing can be built, producing slums: overcrowded, poorly ventilated settlements without basic services. Dharavi in Mumbai is often described as one of the largest slums in Asia.
Land Degradation
Land degradation is the temporary or permanent decline in the productive capacity of land. Some of it is caused by natural agents — gullied and ravine land such as the Chambal ravines, desert and coastal sands, barren rocky areas and steep slopes. Some arises from natural and human factors together — waterlogged and marshy areas, and land affected by salinity and alkalinity. Some is human-made — degraded shifting-cultivation areas, degraded forests and pastures, and mining and industrial wastelands. In the tribal district of Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh, home of the Bhils, watershed management programmes funded by the central ministries of rural development and agriculture have shown how land degradation can be reversed with people’s participation — by conserving soil and water and developing pastures on common land.
Key takeaways
- Sectoral planning develops sectors; regional planning reduces regional imbalance; target-area programmes cover hills, drought-prone areas, deserts and command areas.
- Bharmaur (Chamba, Himachal Pradesh) is home to the Gaddis; the ITDP of the Fifth Plan brought schools, health care, water, roads and electricity.
- The Indira Gandhi Canal starts at the Harike barrage; Stage II uses lift canals; intensive irrigation brought waterlogging and salinity.
- Warabandi is the equal distribution of canal water in the command area of an outlet.
- Brundtland Report, Our Common Future (1987): meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.
- Water pollution has industrial, agricultural and cultural sources; noise is measured in decibels, with transport the main source.
- Land degradation arises from natural agents (ravines), natural and human factors (waterlogging, salinity) and human activity (mining, degraded forests).
Practice questions (8)
Attempt each one before opening the answer. Every explanation names the tempting wrong option as well as the right one, because that is where marks are lost.
The 1987 report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, which defined sustainable development, is titled:
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Answer: D — Our Common Future
The Brundtland Commission’s report of 1987 was Our Common Future, which defined sustainable development as meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. The Population Bomb (1968) and The Limits to Growth (1972) were earlier books that raised the concern, and the Human Development Report is the UNDP’s annual report begun in 1990.The Indira Gandhi Canal, which irrigates parts of the Thar desert, originates at:
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Answer: B — The Harike barrage in Punjab
The Indira Gandhi Canal begins at the Harike barrage in Punjab, near the confluence of the Satluj and the Beas, and runs into Rajasthan roughly parallel to the Pakistan border. Bhakra is a dam on the Satluj further upstream, while Hirakud on the Mahanadi and Tehri on the Bhagirathi are far from the Thar desert.The Bharmaur tribal region, home of the Gaddi community and the subject of an Integrated Tribal Development Project, lies in:
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Answer: A — Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh
Bharmaur is in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, a cold, rugged region whose Gaddi people traditionally practised transhumance. Jhabua is the Bhil district of Madhya Pradesh known for watershed management, Alwar is the home of the Arvary Pani Sansad, and the Nilgiris were part of the Hill Area Development Programme, not the Bharmaur project.Gullied and ravine land, such as that along the Chambal river, is classified as wasteland caused mainly by:
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Answer: C — Natural agents such as running water
Gullies and ravines are cut by running water, so they are listed among wastelands caused by natural agents, alongside desert sands and barren rocky areas. Mining and industrial wastelands and degraded shifting-cultivation areas are human-made categories, and industrial effluents pollute land and water rather than carving ravines.The level of noise, an important environmental pollutant in cities, is measured in:
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Answer: A — Decibels
Noise levels are measured in decibels (dB), and noise becomes a pollutant when it reaches unbearable levels — mainly from traffic, aircraft, construction and loudspeakers. Kilowatts measure power, lux measures the intensity of light, and pascals measure pressure; none of them is the unit used for the loudness of sound in this context.Which of the following is an example of water pollution arising from cultural activities?
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Answer: C — Mass bathing and offerings at religious fairs
Pilgrimages, religious fairs and tourism on river banks — mass bathing, offerings and the waste of large gatherings — are the cultural sources of water pollution, and they weigh heavily on rivers such as the Ganga and Yamuna. Tannery effluents are industrial, fertiliser run-off is agricultural, and landslide silt is a natural source.Assertion (A): Land degradation in India is caused only by natural processes such as gully erosion.
Reason (R): Waterlogging and salinisation resulting from excessive irrigation are among the causes of land degradation.Show answer
Answer: D — A is false, but R is true
A is false because of the word "only": besides natural agents, land is degraded by human activity — mining, deforestation, overgrazing and faulty irrigation. R is true and is itself the counter-example, since waterlogging and salinity in canal-irrigated areas such as the Indira Gandhi Canal command result from how people use water.Which of the following are measures proposed for sustainable development in the Indira Gandhi Canal command area?
A. Strict implementation of a water management policy.
B. Avoiding water-intensive crops and growing plantation crops such as citrus fruits.
C. Afforestation, shelterbelt plantation and pasture development in the fragile Stage II area.
D. Extending water-intensive rice cultivation across the whole of Stage II.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:Show answer
Answer: B — A, B and C only
A, B and C are among the measures proposed to make the canal sustainable — managing water strictly, shifting away from thirsty crops, and protecting the fragile sandy Stage II landscape with trees and pastures. D runs directly against them: spreading water-intensive rice would worsen the waterlogging and salinity that the measures are meant to cure.