The essence of this chapter for last-minute revision: planning approaches, target area/target group programmes, NITI Aayog, the Bharmaur and Indira Gandhi Canal case studies, and sustainable development, with named facts and figures. The full notes, with the complete explanation, are available separately.
1 Six definitions to learn
Sectoral planning is the formulation and implementation of schemes or programmes aimed at developing specific sectors of the economy, such as agriculture, irrigation and manufacturing. Regional planning adopts a spatial perspective to reduce regional imbalance in development.
Target area planning directs programmes at specific backward areas (e.g. Command Area Development Programme, Drought Prone Area Programme). Target group planning directs programmes at specific disadvantaged groups (e.g. Small Farmers Development Agency, Marginal Farmers Development Agency).
NITI Aayog was formed on 1 January 2015, replacing the Planning Commission, with the objective of involving the states in economic policy-making and providing strategic and technical advice to the Central and State governments.
Development is a multi-dimensional concept: from being synonymous with economic growth (GNP, per capita income) after World War II, it widened by the 1980s to mean wide-spread improvement in the social and material well-being of everyone in a society.
Sustainable development is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundtland Report, ‘Our Common Future’, 1987).
The warabandi system is the equal distribution of canal water within the command area of an outlet, used in Command Area Development (CAD) programmes to reduce the conveyance loss of water.
2 Planning approaches and programmes
| Programme | Five Year Plan / key fact |
|---|---|
| Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP) | Fourth Five Year Plan; Planning Commission (1967) identified 67 districts; Irrigation Commission (1972) used a 30% irrigated-area criterion |
| Hill Area Development Programme (HADP) | Fifth Five Year Plan; 15 districts, including hilly Uttar Pradesh (now Uttarakhand), Mikir Hills/North Cachar Hills (Assam), Darjeeling (WB), Nilgiri (TN); National Committee (1981): height above 600 m |
| Special area programmes (hill, north-eastern, tribal, backward areas) | Eighth Five Year Plan |
| Target-group programmes | Small Farmers Development Agency (SFDA), Marginal Farmers Development Agency (MFDA) |
| Other target-area programmes named | Command Area Development Programme, Desert Development Programme |
| Drought-prone belt (states) | Rajasthan, Gujarat, western Madhya Pradesh, Marathwada, Rayalseema and Telangana plateaus, Karnataka plateau, interior Tamil Nadu; Punjab/Haryana/north-Rajasthan largely protected by irrigation |
3 Case Study: Integrated Tribal Development Project, Bharmaur
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | Bharmaur and Holi tehsils, Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh; notified tribal area since 21 November 1975 |
| Tribe | Gaddis; practised transhumance; Gaddiali dialect |
| Extent/climate | ~1,818 sq km, 1,500-3,700 m above msl; Pir Panjal (north), Dhaula Dhar (south), meeting near Rohtang Pass; Jan 4°C, July 26°C |
| Rivers/divisions | Ravi with Budhil and Tundahen tributaries; 4 divisions: Holi, Khani, Kugti, Tundah |
| 2011 Census | Population 39,113; density 21 persons/sq km |
| ITDP timeline | 1970s: Gaddis included among Scheduled Tribes; 1974 (5th FYP): tribal sub-plan; one of 5 ITDPs in HP |
| Plan priorities | Transport and communications, agriculture and allied activities, social and community services |
| Achievement + gap | Infrastructure (schools, healthcare, water, roads, electricity) mainly benefited Ravi-side Holi/Khani villages; remote Tundah/Kugti still lack sufficient infrastructure |
| Social benefits | Female literacy: 1.88% (1971) to 65% (2011); improved sex ratio; decline in child marriage |
| Economic change | Pulses/cash crops increased (last 3 decades of 20th c.), still traditional technology; pastoralism declined to ~1/10 households; winter migration to Kangra for wage labour |
4 The concept of sustainable development
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | Late 1960s, Western world, rising environmental awareness |
| Key publications | Ehrlich’s ‘The Population Bomb’ (1968); Meadows and others’ ‘The Limits to Growth’ (1972) |
| WCED | UN’s World Commission on Environment and Development, headed by Gro Harlem Brundtland (Norwegian PM) |
| Brundtland Report | ‘Our Common Future’ (1987); gives the standard definition of sustainable development |
| Development timeline | Post-WWII: economic growth (GNP/per capita income) → 1970s: “redistribution with growth”, “growth and equity” → 1980s: wide-spread social + material well-being |
5 Case Study: Indira Gandhi Canal (Nahar) Command Area
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Former name | Rajasthan Canal |
| Conceived / launched | Kanwar Sain, 1948; project launched 31 March 1958 |
| Route | Originates at Harike barrage (Punjab); runs ~40 km parallel to the Pakistan border through the Thar Desert (Marusthali), Rajasthan |
| Scale | Total planned length 9,060 km; culturable command area 19.63 lakh hectares; ~70% flow system, rest lift system |
| Lift/flow rule | All lift canals originate on the left bank of the main canal; right-bank canals are flow channels |
| Stage I | Ganganagar, Hanumangarh, northern Bikaner; gently undulating; CCA 5.53 lakh ha; irrigation began early 1960s |
| Stage II | Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jodhpur, Nagaur, Churu; desert, shifting dunes, up to 50°C; CCA 14.10 lakh ha; irrigation began mid-1980s |
| Positive impact | Longer soil-moisture availability; afforestation/pasture programmes (CAD) greened the land; reduced wind erosion and canal siltation |
| Negative impact | Intensive irrigation and excess water use caused waterlogging and soil salinity |
| Cropping change | Traditional crops (gram, bajra, jowar) replaced by wheat, cotton, groundnut, rice |
6 Seven measures for sustainable development in the IGC command area
Five of the seven measures below are aimed at restoring ecological balance.
- (i) Strict implementation of water management policy: protective irrigation (Stage-I), extensive irrigation/pasture development (Stage-II)
- (ii) Avoid water-intensive crops; encourage plantation crops such as citrus fruits
- (iii) CAD programmes: lining of water courses, land development/levelling, warabandi system, to reduce conveyance loss
- (iv) Reclaim areas affected by waterlogging and soil salinity
- (v) Eco-development: afforestation, shelterbelt plantation, pasture development (especially Stage-II)
- (vi) Social sustainability: financial and institutional support to poor land allottees
- (vii) Economic sustainability: diversification beyond agriculture/animal husbandry; links between basic villages, agro-service centres, market centres
7 Quick recap
- Two planning approaches: sectoral (by sector) and regional (by area, to reduce imbalance).
- NITI Aayog (1 Jan 2015) replaced the Planning Commission; advises Centre and states.
- Target area (CADP, DPAP, DDP, HADP) vs target group (SFDA, MFDA) programmes.
- HADP: 5th FYP, 15 districts. DPAP: 4th FYP, 67 districts (1967), 30% criterion (1972).
- Bharmaur ITDP: Gaddi tribe, Chamba district, 1974 tribal sub-plan, literacy up sharply, pastoralism declining.
- Development widened from economic growth (post-WWII) to social + material well-being (1980s).
- Sustainable development: Brundtland Report, ‘Our Common Future’ (1987), meets present needs without compromising the future.
- Indira Gandhi Canal (ex-Rajasthan Canal): Kanwar Sain (1948), Harike barrage, two stages, greened the desert but caused waterlogging/salinity.
- Seven sustainability measures for the IGC command area: five ecological, one social, one economic.