GEOGRAPHY

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 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

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 1 PHYSIOGRAPHY OF INDIA

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INTRODUCTION The northern frontiers of India are defined

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largely by the Himalayan mountain range where

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The largest democracy in the world, the land
its political boundaries with China, Bhutan, and
also known as Bharat or Hindustan is unique
Nepal lie. Its western borders with Pakistan lie
with its incredible diversity, both culturally and
in the Punjab Plain and the Thar Desert. In the
physically. The second largest populous coun-
far northeast, the Chin Hills and Kachin Hills,
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try, India is home to around 17.5 per cent of
world's population. The country, however, ac-
deeply forested mountainous regions, separate
India from Burma while its political border with
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counts for 2.42 per cent of the total world area.
Bangladesh is defined by the watershed region
D GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION
of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the Khasi hills and
Mizo Hills.
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India lies entirely on the Indian Plate in the The Ganges is the longest river originating in
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northern portion of the Indo-Australian Plate. India and forms the Indo-Gangetic Plain. The
The country lies to the north of the equator Ganges-Brahmaputra system occupies most of
between 8°4' and 37°6' North latitude and 68°7' northern, central and eastern India, while the
and 97°25' East longitude. It is the seventh- Deccan Plateau occupies most of southern In-
largest country in the world, with a total land dia. Along its western frontier is the Thar
area of 3,287,263 square kilometres (1,269,219 Desert, which is the seventh-largest desert in the
sq miles). India measures 3,214 km (1,997 miles) world.
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from North to South and 2,993 km (1,860 mi) Officially, India's highest point is K-2 at
from East to west. It has a land frontier of 8,611 m (28,251 ft), though it lies in Gilgit-
15,200 km (9,445 miles) and a coastline of 7,517 Baltistan, part of the disputed Kashmir region.
km (4,671 miles). Kanchanjunga in Sikkim at 8,598 m (28,209 ft)
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India is bounded in the southwest by the is the highest point within India's current geo-
Arabian Sea, in the southeast by the Bay of graphic boundaries. Climate across India ranges
Bengal and by the Indian Ocean in the south. from equatorial in the far south, to Alpine in the
Cape Comorin constitutes the southern tip of upper reaches of the Himalayas.
the Indian peninsula, which narrows before The country's land is flanked by the Bay of
ending in the Indian Ocean. The southernmost Bengal and the Arabian Sea, along the south-
part of India is Indira Point in the Andaman east and along the southwest respectively. On
and Nicobar Islands. The Maldives, Sri Lanka the western border is situated Pakistan and in
and Indonesia are island nations to the south of the east, Bangladesh and Burma. Along her
India with Sri Lanka separated from India by northern boundary are Bhutan, Nepal, and
a narrow channel of sea formed by Palk Strait Tibet and Sinkiang region of China. The Gulf of
and the Gulf of Mannar. The territorial waters Mannar and the Palk Strait separate India from
of India extend into the sea to a distance of 12 Sri Lanka. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands
nautical miles (13.8 miles; 22.2 km) measured in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep in the
from the appropriate baseline. Arabian Sea are parts of the Indian Territory.
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BOUNDARIES China, Nepal and Bhutan, and to the east with

Bangladesh and Myanmar.
The Indian peninsula in the south is bounded
on the west by the Arabian Sea, on the east by India's borders run a total length of 15,106.70
the Bay of Bengal and on the south by the km (9,387 miles). Its borders with Pakistan and
Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka lies off the southeast Bangladesh were delineated according to the
coast, and the Maldives off the southwest coast. Radcliff Line, which was created in 1947 during
In the North, North East and North West of the Partition of India. Its western border with Pa-
subcontinent lies the Himalayan ranges. India kistan extends up to 3,323 km (2,065 miles),
shares borders to the northwest with Afghani- dividing the Punjab region and running along
stan (106 km) and Pakistan, to the north with the boundaries of the Thar Desert and the Rann

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 of Kutch. Both nations delineated a Line of Chin region of northeastern Kashmir, which fell
Control (LoC) to serve as the informal boundary into Chinese control during the Sino-Indian
between the Indian and Pakistan-administered War of 1962.The border with Burma (Myanmar)
areas of Kashmir. According to India's claim, it extends up to 1,643 km (1,021 miles) along the
shares a 106 km border with Afghanistan in southern borders of India's northeastern states.
northwestern Kashmir, which is under Paki- Located amidst the Himalayan range, India's
border with Bhutan runs 699 km (434 miles).

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stani control.
The border with Nepal runs 1,751 km (1,088
India's border with Bangladesh runs 4,096.70

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miles) along the foothills of the Himalayas in
km (2,546 miles). There are 92 enclaves of northern India. The Siliguri Corridor, narrowed

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Bangladesh on Indian soil and 106 enclaves of sharply by the borders of Bhutan, Nepal and
India are on Bangladeshi soil. The Teen Bigha Bangladesh, connects peninsular India with the

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Corridor is a strip of land formerly belonging to northeastern states.

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India on the West Bengal-Bangladesh border
which has been leased indefinitely to Bangladesh GEOLOGY
so that it can access its Dehgram-Angalpota
The Indian craton was once part of the
enclaves.
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The Line of Actual Control (LAC) is the effective
Supercontinent of Pangaea. At that time, it was
attached to Madagascar and southern Africa on
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border between India and the People's Republic the south west coast, and Australia along the
of China. It traverses 4,057 km along the Indian
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states of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand,
Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal
east coast. During the Jurassic Period, rifting
caused Pangaea to break apart into two super-
continents namely, Gondwana (to the south)
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Pradesh. Both nations lay claim to the Aksai and Laurasia (to the north). The Indian craton
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remained attached to
Gondwana, until the Su-
percontinent began to rift
apart about in the early
Cretaceous, around 125
Ma. The Indian Plate then
drifted northward to-
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ward the Eurasian Plate.

It is generally believed
that the Indian plate sepa-
rated from Madagascar
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about 90 Ma. This orog-

eny, which is continuing
today, is related to clo-
sure of the Tethys Ocean.
The closure of this ocean,
which created the Alps
in Europe, and the
Caucasus, range in west-
ern Asia, created
Himalaya Mountains and
the Tibetan Plateau in
South Asia. The current
orogenic event is causing
parts of the Asian conti-
nent to deform westward

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 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 to
of the Himalayas. Himadri. the south of the Lesser Himalayas.
These ranges have an average Average height is above These discontinuous ranges join
height 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 1200m
situated in this range. situated

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(e.g.Kanchanjunga - 8595m, on the southern slope of
Nangaparbat- the mountain range, e.g.:

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8126m) Shimla, Darjeeling

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The source of Ganges and ---- There are several elongated and flat
Yamuna valleys running parallel to the moun
tain ranges. They are called "duns".

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(e.g.: Dehradun)
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and eastward on either side of the orogeny.
Concurrently with this collision, the Indian
Plate sutured on to the adjacent Australian
humid and semi-arid climatic regimes, were,
deposited the Cuddapah and Vindhyan basins.
These basins, which border or lie within the
Plate, forming a new larger plate, the Indo- existing crystalline basement, were uplifted
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Australian Plate.
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are believed to have been deposited between
Evolution of India
around 1700 and 650 Ma.
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The cooling and solidification of the upper Early Palaeozoic rocks are found in the
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crust of the earth surface marked the earliest Himalayas and consist of southerly-derived sedi-
phase of tectonic evolution in the Archaean era ments eroded from the crystalline craton and
(prior to 2.5 billion years) which is represented
deposited on the Indian platform.
by the exposure of gneisses and granites espe-
cially on the Peninsula. These form the core of In the Late Paleozoic, Permo-Carboniferous
the Indian craton. The Aravalli Range is the glaciations left extensive glacio-fluvial deposits
remnant of an early Proterozoic orogeny called across central India, in new basins created by
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the Aravalli-Delhi orogeny that joined the two sag/normal faulting. These tillites and glacially
older segments that make up the Indian craton. derived sediments are designated the Gondwana
It extends approximately 500 kilometers from its series. The sediments are overlain by rocks
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northern end to isolated hills and rocky ridges resulting from a Permian marine transgression
into Haryana, ending near Delhi. Minor igneous (270 Ma)
intrusions, deformation (folding and faulting) The late Paleozoic coincided with the defor-
and subsequent metamorphism of the Aravalli mation and drift of the Gondwana super-con-
Mountains represent the main phase of orogen- tinent. To this drift, the uplift of the Vindhyan
esis. The erosion of the mountains and further sediments and the deposition of northern pe-
deformation of the sediments of the Dharwarian
ripheral sediments in the Himalayan Sea can be
group marks the second phase. The volcanic
attributed.
activities and intrusions, associated with this
second phase are recorded in composition of During the Jurassic, as Pangaea began to rift
these sediments. apart, large grabens formed in central India
filling with Upper Jurassic and Lower Creta-
Early to Late Proterozoic calcareous and
ceous sandstones and conglomerates.
arenaceous deposits, which correspond to
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 By the Late Cretaceous India had separated The highest peak in India, 'Mount K2' (Mt.
from Australia and Africa and was moving Godwin Austin, 8611m) is in the Karakoram
northward towards Asia. At this time, prior to Range. The Himalayas can be divided into - (i)
the Deccan eruptions, uplift in southern India The Himalayan ranges (ii) The Trans-Himalayas
resulted in sedimentation in the adjacent na- (iii) The Eastern Hills.
scent Indian Ocean. Exposures of these rocks The height of the mountain ranges gradually

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occur along the south Indian coast at decreases as they approach the eastern parts of
Pondicherry and in Tamil Nadu. the Northern mountainous regions. This region

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At the close of the Mesozoic era, one of the with an average height of 500m to 3000m above

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greatest volcanic eruptions in earth's history MSL is known as the Eastern highlands
(Purvanchal).
occurred, the Deccan lava flows. Covering more

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than 500,000 square kilometers area, these mark 1. Duns: The longitudinal valley lying between

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the final break from Gondwana. In the early Lesser Himalaya and Shiwaliks are known
as duns
Tertiary, the first phase of the Himalayan orog-
2. The Himalayan Mountains are also known
eny, the Karakoram phase occurred. The Hima-
as the Himadri, Himaven or Himachal.
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layan orogeny has continued to the present day. 3. It consists of the youngest and the loftiest,
rugged tertiary mountain chains of the
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PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVISION World.
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The four major geographical regions of
India are:
1. The Great Himalayan range,
4. It is characterized by youthfulness, great
deal of folding and deformation tectonic
origin and great erosive power of rivers.
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5. It stretches for a distance of over 2400 km

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2. The Indo Gangetic Plain,
3. The Deccan Plateau and Peninsula (over 22° longitude) from Indus gorge in the
4. The Coastal plains west to the Brahmaputra gorge (Dihang
5. The Islands gorge) in the east.
6. The width of the Himalayas varies from 500
HIMALAYAN MOUNTAIN SYSTEM km in Kashmir to 200 km in Arunachal
This is the great wall
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like physiographic unit,

which stretches from Kash-
mir in the North West to
the Indian border in the
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east. This region is formed

by the Karakoram,
Ladakh, Zaskar and the
Himalayan range of moun-
tains and the eastern high-
lands. These mountain
ranges are subdivided into
three divisions namely,
Trans Himalayas,
Himalayas and the East-
ern himalayas. The Trans
Himalayas comprises the
Karakoram, Ladakh and
Zaskar ranges that origi-
nate from the Pamir Knot.

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 Pradesh, i.e., it becomes narrower from west meters. The core of these mountains is com-
to east. posed of Archaean rocks like granite, gneisses
7. It extends from west to east in arcate shape and the schists. The folds in this range are
which is convex to the south. asymmetrical with steep south slope and
gentle North Slope. It extends in arcate
Origin of Himalayas shape, from Nanga Parbat in north-west
Plate tectonics is the most recent and widely and Namcha Barwa in the north-east, which
acclaimed theory for the origin of Himalayas. is convex to the south. Average elevation is

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Plate is a broad segment of lithosphere that 6100 in and average width is about 25km.
floats on the underlying asthenosphere and 2. The Middle or the Lesser Himalaya: It is

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moves independently of other plates. When two also called the Himachal or Lower Himalaya.

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plates move towards each other, converge and It is mainly composed of metamorphic rocks
in the process one plate overrides the other. The and unfossiliferous sedimentary rocks. The

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overridden plate is sub ducted and goes under southern slopes are bare and rugged while

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the asthenosphere and is lost or consumed. It is
the converging boundary of plates where folded
mountains like the Himalayas build up. When
two convergent plates composed of continental
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crusts collide against each other, the denser
the northern slopes are thickly forested. The
Pir Panjal, the Dhauladhar, the Musoorie
range, Nag Tibba and the Mahabharata are
the important ranges. The Pir Panjal in
Kashmir is the longest and the most impor-
plate is sub ducted under the lighter plate. The tant range. Banihal pass situated in the Pir
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resultant lateral compression squeezes and folds
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the sediments deposited on either side of the national highway. The valley of Kashmir lies
continental plate margins. Himalayas are the between the Pir Panjal and the Zaskar
range. Most of the hill stations (Shimla,
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product of such a process on the conveyance

Musoorie, Ranikhet, Nainital, Almora and
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zone of the Asiatic plate in north and the Indian
Darjeeling etc.) lie in this section. Average
plate in the south.
Some 70 million years ago, the
Indian plate started moving to-
wards the Asian plate and the
Tethys Sea began to contract. The
sediment got folded in three suc-
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cessive phases giving rise to three

ranges of Himalayas explained
below.
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Cross-Sectional view of
Himalayas
1. The Great Himalaya: This is
also known as inner Himalaya,
Central Himalaya or Himadri.
It is mainly formed of central
crystallines (granites and
gneisses) overlain by metamor-
phosed sedimentary races. It
is the most continuous range
consisting of loftiest peaks with
an average height of 6000

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 elevation in 3500 to 5000 m and average 4. Important Passes: Zojila, Rohtang and
width is 60-80 km. Bara Lacha la.
Mountain Peaks in the Himalaya 5. Important Valleys: Kangra, Lahul and
Spiti.
Mt Everest 8848 M
6. This section is important for fruit culti-
Mt K2 8611 M vation (horticulture) and scenic beauty.

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Kanchanjunga 8598 M
(III) Kumaon Himalaya
Makalu 8481 M

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1. Stretches from Satluj to Kali River for
Dhaulagiri 8172 M about 320km and the general elevation

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Annapurna 8078 M is higher than Punjab Himalayas.
2. Its western part is called Garhwal

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3. The Shiwaliks or the Outer Himalaya:
Himalaya while eastern part is known as

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Consists of foothills which non almost from
Kumaon Himalaya proper.
Potwar plateau to Brahmaputra valley. These
ranges are mainly made up of fluvial depos- 3. Important peaks: Nanda Devi, Kamet,
its like sand, clay, Rounded stones, gravels, Trishul, Badrinath, and Kedarnath
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slates etc. This section is characterized by
poor drainage, which is move pronounced
4. Nanda Devi is the highest peak in this
section.
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in Terai region. Its eastern part upto Nepal 5. Important lakes: Nainital and Bhimtal

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is thickly forested but the forest cover be-
comes thin in the west. Average elevation is
1000 - 1500m while average width is 15-50
6. Several duns lie between Middle
Himalayas and Shiwaliks.
(IV) Central Himalaya
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km. The gorges of Tista and raidak have 1. Extends from river Kali to Tista for about
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jointly formed a gap 80-90 km wide in the 800km.
Shiwalik range. Shiwalik are known by 2. Most of it lies in Nepal and hence it is
different names in different areas. They are also called as Nepal Himalaya.
called Dafla, Miri, Abor and Mishmi hills in 3. This section has some of the world's
Arunachal Pradesh, and Jammu hills in highest peaks, such as, Mt. Everest,
Jammu Makalu, Kanchanjunga, Dhaulagiri,
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Annapurna, and Gosainthan.

Regional Division of Himalayas
4. This section is known as Sikkim Himalaya
On the basis of river valleys Himalayas can in Sikkim, Darjeeling Himalaya in West
be longitudinally divided into the following Bengal and Bhutan Himalaya in Bhutan.
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sections: 5. Bilafond la also known as "pass of the

butterflies".
(I) Kashmir Himalaya
6. Saltoro pass is a mountain pass situated
1. Average elevation is about 3000m. in Saltoro ridge on the west of siachen
2. This section has the largest share of glacier.
shows and glaciers 7. Chang la is the main gateway for the
3. Two important passes: Pir Panjal and chang tang plateau, situated in the
Banihal - lie in Pir Panjal range. Himalayas.
4. The Valley of Kashmir lies in this section. 8. The Debsa pass provides an easier and
shorter alternative to the traditional Pin-
(II) Punjab Himalaya
Parbati pass route between Kullu and
1. Stretches eastward upto Satluj for about
Spiti.
570km.
(V) Assam Himalaya
2. High Peaks are rare.
1. Stretches from river Tista to Brahmaputra
3. Main ranges: Karakoram, Ladakh, Pir
for about 720km.
Panjal, Zaskar and Dhauladhar
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 2. Pauhunri and Kulakangri are important It comprises of the following hills -
peaks. a) Mishmi hills: Contains the loftiest range of
3. The Naga hills and Patkai Bum hills of the Purvanchal. Dapha Bum is its highest
this section form the watershed between peak.
India and Myanmar. b) Patkai Bum Range: It is the northernmost
(VI) Trans Himalayas range forming the easternmost limit of the
1. It immediately lies north of the Great Great Himalaya Mountains, has synclinal
Himalayan range. structure and is made up of Tipam sand-

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2. It is also called the Tibetan Himalaya stone.
because most of it lies in Tibet. c) Naga Hills: It lies south to the Patkai Bum

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3. The Zaskar, the Ladakh, the Kailash and and Saramati (3826m) is its highest peak.
the Karakoram are the main ranges of

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Patkai Bum and Naga hills form the water-
this system. shed between India and Myanmar.
4. Mt. K-2(Godwin Austin), Nanga Parbat,

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d) Manipur Hills: It is south to Naga hills and
Rakaposhi, Haramosh, Gasherbrum-I

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(Hidden Peak), Gasherbrum-II etc. are
important peaks.
5. This section has some of the world's
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largest glaciers - Siachen, Hispar, Biafo,
Batura and Baltoro.
form boundary between Manipur and
Myanmar. Its central part is a large basin
which appears to be bed of an old lake, a
remnant of which occupies the south-east
corner of the basin and is known as Loktak
Lake. The Barail Range separates Naga Hills
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6. Ladakh Plateau (5000m), the highest
D plateau of the Indian Union, lies to the from Manipur hills.
north-east of the Karakoram range. It e) Mizo Hills (Lushai Hills): It lies south to
has been dissected into a number of the Manipur hills and its highest point is the
Blue Mountain (2157m) in the south.
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plains and mountains. The most out-

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standing among them are Aksai Chin,
Soda Plains, Lingzi Tang, Depsang Plains, Significance of the Himalayas
and Chang Chenmo. The Himalayas comprise the most dominat-
(VII) Eastern Hills or the Purvanchal Hills ing geographical feature of India. No other
After crossing the Dihang gorge mountain range anywhere in world has af-
(Brahmaputra gorge), the Himalayas suddenly fected the life of people and shaped the destiny
turn southward and form a series of compara- of a nation as the Himalayas have in respect of
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tively low hills running in the shape of a India. The Himalayas are the body and soul of
crescent with its convex side pointing towards India. In a very special measure, the Himalayas
the west. These hills are collectively called the constitute India's national mountain system.
Purvanchal because they are located in the The following fe3w points will bring out the
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eastern part of the country. It extends from significance of the Himalayan Mountains to
Arunachal Pradesh in the north to Mizoram in India.
the south and form boundary between India
1. Climatic Influence. The Himalayas play a
and Myanmar. The Indo-Burma hill range is a
very significant role in influencing the cli-
part of the Arakan Yoma Suture zone that
mate of India By virtue of their high altitude,
stretches south through Andaman - Nicobar
length and direction; they effectively inter-
island chain to Sunda. The elevation of the
cept the summer monsoons coming from the
Eastern Hills (Purvanchal) decreases from north
Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea and cause
to south and it is characterized by rough terrain,
precipitation in the form of rain or snow.
dense forests and swift streams. All these Ranges
Besides, they prevent the cold continental
are generally 2,000m or less in height but are
air masses of central Asia from entering into
rather forbidding because of dense forests, very
India. Had there been no Himalayas, the
rough terrace and inhospitable tribe.
whole of Indian would have been a desert
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 in the absence of precipitation and its win- Himalayan Rivers still awaits proper
ters would have been very severe under the utilization.
influence of cold airmasses coming from 6. Forest Wealth. The Himalayan ranges are
Central Asia. According to the latest meteo- very rich in forest resources. In their alti-
rological studies, the Himalayas are respon- tude, the Himalayan ranges show a succes-
sible for splitting the jet stream into two sion of vegetal cover from the tropical to the
branches and these in turn play and ex-

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Alpine. The Himalayan forests provide fuel
tremely important role in bring monsoons in
wood and a large variety of raw materials

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India.
for forest based industries. Besides many
2. Defence. The Himalayas have been protect- medicinal plants grow in the Himalayan

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ing Indian from outside invaders since the region. Several patches are covered with
early times thus serving as a defence barrier.

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grass offering rich pastures for grazing ani-
But the Chinese aggression on India in mals.

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October, 1962 has reduced the defence sig-
nificance of the Himalayas to a considerable
extent. In spite of advancement in modern
warfare technology, the defence significance
of the Himalayas cannot be ignored alto-
7. Agriculture. The Himalayas do not offer
extensive flat lands for agriculture but some
of the slopes are terraced for cultivation.
Rice is the main crop on the terraced slopes.
The other crops are wheat, maize, potatoes,
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gether.
tobacco and ginger. Tea is a unique crop
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3. Source of Rivers. Almost all the great rivers
of India have their sources in the Himalayas
ranges. Abundant rainfall and vast snow-
which can be grown on the hill slopes only.
A wide variety of fruits such as apples,
pears, grapes, mulberry, walnut, cherries,
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fields as well as large glaciers are the feeding peaches, apricot, etc. are also grown in the
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grounds of the mighty rivers of India. Snow Himalayan region.
melt in summer provides water to these
8. Tourism. By virtue of their scenic beauty
rivers even during dry season and these are
and healthy environment, the Himalayan
perennial rivers. The Himalayan Rivers,
ranges have developed a large number of
along with hundreds of their tributaries,
tourist spots. The hilly areas in the Himalayas
form the very basis of life in the whole of
offer cool and comfortable climate when the
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north India.
neighbouring plains are reeling under the
4. Fertile Soil. The great rivers and their tribu- scorching heat of the summer season. Mil-
taries carry enormous quantities of alluvium lions of tourists from different parts of the
while descending from the Himalayas. This country as well as from abroad throng the
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is deposited in the Great Plain of North India Himalayas tourist centres to enjoy their
in the form of fertile soil. Making the plain natural beauty and to escape from the sum-
one of the most fertile lands of the world. It mer heat of the plains. The increasing popu-
has been estimated that the Ganga and the larity of winter sports and the craze to enjoy
Indus carry 19 and 10 lakh tones of silt, per snowfall has increased the rust of tourists in
day respectively and the silt carried by the winters also. Srinagar, Dalhousie,
Brahmaputra is even more. It is, therefore Dharmashala, Chamba, Shimla, Kulu,
often said that the great plain of north India Manali, Mussoorie, Nainital, Ranikhet,
is a Gift of the Himalayas. Almora, Darjeeling, Mirik, Gangtok etc. are
5. Hydroelectricity. The Himalayan region important tourist centres in the Himalayas.
offers several sites which can be used for 9. Pilgrimage. Apart from places of tourists
producing hydroelectricity. There are natu- interest, the Himalayas are proud of being
ral waterfalls at certain places while dams studded with sanctified shrines which are
can be constructed across rivers at some considered to be abodes of the Gods. Large
other places. The vast power potential of the number of pilgrims trek through difficult
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 terrain to pay their reverence to these sacred waves of the Himalayas as they were checked
shrines. Kailas, Amarnath, Badrinath, in their southward advance by inflexible solid
Kedarnath, Vaishnu Devi, Jwalaji, Uttrkasi, landmass of the Peninsula. This foredeep was
Gangotri, Yamunotri, etc. are important like a large syncline in which alluvium brought
places of pilgrimage. by the Himalayan and the Peninsular Rivers
10. Minerals. The Himalayan region contains was deposited. In due course of time, this was
many valuable minerals. There are vast filled with alluvium and the Great Plain of
potentialities of mineral oil in the tertiary North India was formed. It rests on the hard

E
ricks. Coal is found in Kashmir. Copper, and crystalline rocks through which the region
lead, zinc, nickel, cobalt, antimony, tung- is connected to the Himalayan and the Penin-

Y
sten, gold, silver, limestone, semi-precious sular blocks. Sir Sydney Burrard, on the other
and precious stones, gypsum and magnetite hand, thinks that the Indo-Gangetic alluvium

L
are known to occur at more than 100 locali- conceals a great deep rift, or fracture, in the
earth's sub-crust, several thousand metres deep,

EM
ties in the Himalayas. Unfortunately manly
of the mineral resources cannot be exploited the hollow being subsequently filled up by

C
at the present level of technological ad-
vancement due to adverse geographical
conditions. Further advancements in mod-
I
ern technology may help in exploiting these
detrital. He ascribes to such sub-crustal cracks
or rifts a fundamental importance in geotec-
tonic and attributes the elevation of the Hima-
layan chain to an incidental bending or curbing
resources, so the future possibilities of min- movement of the northern wall to the fissure.
AC N
eral exploitation in the Himalayas are great.
D Such sunken tracts between parallel, vertical
dislocations are called 'Rift Valleys'. The rift
THE NORTHERN PLAINS valley between the Himalayan ranges and the
Lying between the Himalayas in the north Peninsula which gave birth to this plain was
S RO

and the stable peninsula in the south, it stretches about 2,400 km long and hundreds of metres
A
from the arid and semi-arid plains of Rajasthan deep. His findings were based on some anoma-
in the west to the Ganga delta in the east. It is lies in the observations of the deflections of the
drained by three major river systems; the Ganga plumb line and other geodetic considerations.
system, the Indus system, the Brahmaputra He described some other rift valleys of the
system. The plain is believed to be formed from Himalayan region as well as the rift valleys of
infilling of a marine depression or fore deep, Narmada and Tapi in the Peninsular India.
Scholars like Hayden and R.D. Oldham as well
IA H

that formed dome to Himalayan uplift and

subsidence of the northern blank of the plateau, as other geologists of the Geological Survey of
by alluvial deposits brought by both rivers India have not accepted Burrard's view of the
Himalayan Rivers and Peninsular Rivers. Indo-Gangetic depression. The main objection
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to Burrard's views is that there is no trace of rift

Origin of the Plain valley at the northern edge of the peninsula and
that such vast rift valley is not possible.
It is almost universally accepted that this
vast plain has been formed as a result of filling According to the recent views expressed by
of a deep depression lying between the Penin- many geologists and geographers, sediment
sular and the Himalayan region by the deposi- deposited at the bed of the Tethys Sea was
tional work of the rivers coming from these two folded and warped due to northward drift of
landmasses. However, divergent views have the Peninsula. Consequently the Himalayas and
been expressed regarding originally a deep a trough to the south were formed. The origin
depression or furrow lying between the Penin- of this depression or trough, lying at the foot of
sula and the mountain region. The great Aus- the mountain, is doubtless intimately connected
trian geologist Edward Suess has suggested that with the later. The Great plain represents the
"foredeep" was formed in front of high crust infilling of the foredeep warped down between

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 the advancing Peninsular Block and the 6. Bhur: It represents aeolian deposits during
Himalayas. The infilling has been done by the Pleistocene in the middle Ganga - Yamuna
deposition of the detritus of the mountains Doab.
brought by the numerous rivers emerging from
them during the period of great gradational Region-wise Division
activity. Geologically most parts of this plain are a) Western Plains: These plains extend over

E
of the Pleistocene and Recent formations. Rajasthan desert, Rann of Kuchchh and
drier parts of Punjab and Haryana, where

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Characteristic & Geo-morphological Features wind action predominates over water ac-
From North to South

L
tion. This area was under sea from Permo-
1. Bhabar: It is a narrow belt of about 8-16km Carboniferous to Pleistocene It is dotted

EM
width running in east-west direction along with salt Lakes, such as Sambhar, Didwana,
Degana, Pachpadra, Kuchaman,etc. Dhrian

C
the foot of the Shiwaliks with a remarkable
continuity from the Indus to the Tista, where (shifting sandiness), Raun (Playa Lakes),
rivers descending from the Himalayas de- Rohi (fertile plains west of Aravallis) are
posit their load along the foothills in the important geomorphological features of this
I
form of alluvial fans. These are porous, plain.
gravel-ridden plain and due to high porosity b) Punjab - Haryana Plain: This plain is drained
AC N
the streams in this zone get lost in the by five important rivers namely. Jhelum,
D
ground except during the rainy season. It is
comparatively narrow in the east and exten-
Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Satluj, and the Panj-
doabs (Doabs - the land between two rivers)
are the most important feature of this sec-
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sive in the western and northwestern hill of

A
region. This area is not suitable for agricul- tion, which are as follows:-
ture and only big trees with large Roots (a) Bist: (Jalandhar Doab) between Beas
thrive in this belt. and Satluj
2. Tarai: The streams that disappear in Bhabar (b) Bari -between Beas and Ravi
belt reappear in Terai region. It is 10-20 km (c) Rachna - between Ravi and Chenab
wide, ill drained, marshy, thickly forested (d) Chaj -between Chenab and Jhelum
area having a variety of wildlife. Most of the (e) Sind Sagar - between Jhelum and Indus
IA H

Terai land, especially in Punjab, Uttar The only river between the Yamuna and
Pradesh and Uttaranchal, has been reclaimed Satluj is the Ghaggar, which is considered to
and turned into agricultural land which be the present day successor of the legend-
gives good crops of sugarcane, rice and
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ary Saraswati river.

wheat. Dudhwa national park is situated in The Khadar belt liable to flooding but agri-
this region. culturally important is known as 'Bets'. These
3. Bhangar (Bengha): It is composed of old Khadar belts are flanked by heavily gullied
alluvium in the form of terrace above the bluffs locally known as 'Dhayas'. The north-
level of flood plains. These terraces are often ern part of this plain adjoining the Shiwaliks
impregnated with calcareous concretions has been intensively eroded by numerous
known as Kankar. streams called Chos.
4. Khadar: It is composed of newer alluvium c) Ganga Plain: This is the largest unit of the
and forms the flood plains along the river Great plain of India stretching from Delhi to
banks, which is liable to inundations during Kolkata in the static of U.P., Bihar and West-
flooding and rainy season. Bengal. The general slope of the entire plain
5. Reh or Kallar: It comprises barren saline is east - and south - east. These plains can
efflorescence's of drier areas in Uttar Pradesh be divided into following: distinct cultural -
and Haryana. geographical divisions.

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 • Ganga - Yamuna Doab: It is the largest of Ganga occur vast depression known
doab between Ganga and Yamuna. The as Jala near Patna and Tal hear Mokama.
Bhangar uplands along the Yamuna and • North Bengal Plains: Extending from
Chambal courses have been broken into the foot of the Eastern Himalaya to the
intricate maze of ravines and gullies northern limit of the Bengal basin it's
giving rise to the badland topography. eastern part is drained by the rivers
Bhabar plains, Terai, Bhangar, Khadar joining the Brahmaputra and western
are striking features of this section. Khots part by the tributaries of the Ganga.

E
are intervening slopes between Bhangar Powerful streams like Tista, Jaldhaka
and Khadar. Another unusual topo- and Torsa drain it. Its northern fringe,

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graphic feature of the upper doab is known as the western Dhar, is well
Bhur which is formed of aeolian deposits

L
drained and is the ideal home of tea
during Pleistocene period. plantations. Farther south of Dhars lies
• Rohilkhand Plains: To the east of Ganga-

EM
the Bhangar land of Barind plain, which
Yamuna doab it stretches from the foot- is the older delta of Ganga, formed

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hills of Himalayas to the Ganga. Lying
entirely in U.P. it is drained by Ramganga,
Gomati and Sarda rivers. The Bhabar
I
and Terai plains are well developed in
•
during the Pleistocene period and subse-
quently up-warped and eroded into ter-
races.
Bengal Basin: It comprises of most of the
the north. The general slope is towards
alluvial plains of West Bengal and East
AC N
south - east.
Pakistan. The Ganga delta occupies the
•
DAwadh Plains: The major portion of
lowland north of the Ganga, gently slop-
major portion of the Bengal Basin. The
thickly forested Sunderbans in the south
ing eastwards, comes within this physi- and the east Bhagirathi plains is the
S RO

ographic region. Strips of Khadar and

A
north, with its dead and dieing rivers,
Bhangar are very conspicuous in this offer contracting features.
section; the Ghaghra is the master -
• Rarh Plain: Though it is not a part of the
stream traversing the whole length of
delta proper, it is equally flat lowland to
the Awadh plains.
the west of the Bhagirathi. The natural
• Bihar Plains: After the end of Awadh levees of the Damodar and other rivers
plains in U.P., the next stretch of the of this area are characteristic feature.
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Great Plains in the Bihar Plains, which The prolonged weathering has given rise
is narrowed eastwards by the prolonga- to Lateritic silks. Damodar River is ac-
tion of the Rajmahal hills. On the basis cused to be the sorrow of Bengal due to
of differing Relief and river conditions its devastating nature.
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it can further be subdivided into two

parts. PENINSULAR PLATEAU REGION
North Bihar Plain - Lying north of It is roughly triangular in shape whose base
Ganga and drained by it's tributaries lies in the north coinciding with the southern
Ghaghra, Gandak, Kosi it slopes towards edge of the great plain and apex in south is
the south - east in the western part and formed by Kanyakumari. It is surrounded by
south in the eastern part. A long live of the hill ranges on all the three sides- to its north
marshes extends parallel to the Ganga; is the Aravali range, The Vindhyas, the Satpura
locally known as CHAURS. Some of the Bharmer and the Rajmahal hills while
them are deep enough to contain water Western Ghats (Sahyadris) and Eastern Ghats
throughout the years e.g. the Kabar Tal. forms its western and eastern boundaries re-
South Bihar Plain - lies west of Rajmahal spectively. It covers a total area of about 16 lakh
hills and eastward side of southern bank sq km which is about half of the total land area
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 of the country, and thus it is the largest physi- of Gondwana Rocks with patches of Ar-
ographic unit of India. The general slope of the chaean granite and gneisses and Deccan
plateau is from west to east with the exception Lavas. Pat lands (high level laterite plateau)
of Narmada-Tapi rift which slopes westwards. are the highest points of this region. The
Following are important plateau and hill ranges Damodar River flows through the middle of
of the peninsular plateau - this region in a rift valley from west to east

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1. Aravali range - extends in north - east to where Gondwana Coal fields are found.
south - west direction for about 800 km from a) Hazaribagh Plateau - A Peneplain to

Y
Delhi to Ahmedabad. It is one of the world's the north of Damodar River having
oldest mountains formed as a Result of average elevation of 600m. Parasnath

L
folding during Archaean era. The general (1366m) denotes the highest hill. It is
elevation is 400- 800 m; Mt. Abu (1158m) made of granites and gneisses.

EM
lies in this range. Guru Shikhar (1722m), the

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b) Ranchi Plateau - Lying south of
highest peak, is situated in Mt Abu. Damodar. Its average elevation is about
2. Marwar Upland - To the east of the Aravali 600 m. Pats, Netarhat Pat (1119m), Goru
Range also called upland of eastern rise (1142m) are the highest points.
I
Rajasthan. It is made up of sandstone, shales c) Rajmahal Hills - forming the north -
and limestones of the Vindhyan Period. eastward edge of Chhotanagpur plateau
AC N
Banas river drains this region. are mostly made of basalt and are cov-
D
3. The Central Highland - lying to the east of
Marwar upland, also called Madhya Bharat
Pathar. Most of it is thickly forested and in
ered by lava flows.
8. Meghalaya Plateau (Shillong Plateau) - It
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is north-eastward extension of peninsular

A
its northern part are the ravines or badlands plateau which is separated from the main
of the Chambal river. block by Garo Rajmahal Gap. It is largely
4. Bundelkhand Upland - It lies between formed of Archaean quartzites, shales and
Yamuna and Vindhyan scarpland. It is schists with granite intersections. Garo
carved only of granite, known in Indian (900m), Khasi - Jaintia (1500m) and Mikir
geology as 'Bundelkhand Gneiss'. (700m) are important hills lying in western,
central and eastern parts of the plateau
IA H

5. Malwa Plateau - It lies north of Vindhyan

respectively. Shillong (1961m) is the highest
range in M.P. it is composed of extensive
point.
lava flow and is covered with black soils. It
is drained by Chambal, Parbati, Sindh, Kali, 9. Deccan Plateau - The largest unit of penin-
sular plateau (5 lakh sq. km), it is a triangu-
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Betwa and Mahi.

lar plateau bounded in north by Vindhyas
6. Baghelkhand- Lying east of Maikal range, , Satpura, Mahadev and Maikal ranges,
it is made of limestone and sandstone on the Western Ghats in the west and Eastern
west and granite in the east. The central part Ghats in the east. Average elevation is about
of the plateau act as water divide between 600m (more in south then north) and gen-
the son drainage system in the north and eral slope in from west to east It is subdi-
Mahanadi river system in the south. The vided points.
scarps of Vindhyan sandstone between the
a) Maharashtra Plateau: Looking like a
Ganga plain and the Narmada - Son trough
rolling plain, done to weathering, most
is the main physiographic element.
of the region in underlain by basaltic
7. Chotanagpur Plateau - The north - eastern rocks of lava origin. The horizontal lava
projection of the Indian Peninsula, east of sheets have led to the formation of typi-
Baghelkhand, lies mostly in Jharkhand, cal Deccan Trap. The entire area is
northern part of Chhattisgarh and Purulia covered by black cotton soil known as
district of West Bengal. It is composed mainly Regur soil.
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 b) Karnataka Plateau (Mysore Plateau) - (Servaroyan), Kalrayan Hills, Chitteri, Palamalai,
Made up primarily of Archaean rocks. and Mettur hills. The higher hill ranges experi-
The highest peak is at Mulangiri (1918m) ence a generally cooler and wetter type of
in Baba budan Hills. Divided into two climate than the surrounding plains. These hills
parts - harbour many coffee plantations and dry for-
i) Malnad - hilly region with dense ests. The hill station of Yercaud is located in the
forest. Shevroy Hills.
ii) Maidan - rolling plain with low gran- In the Nilgiri Hills, which run east from the

E
ite hills. Western Ghats to the Kaveri River, there is a
iii) Telangana Plateau - In Andhra wooded ecological strip that connects the East-

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Pradesh consists of Archaean ern and Western Ghats. This region has the

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Gneisses, drained by Godavari, second-largest wild elephant population in In-
Krishna and Penneru. dia. The Ponnaiyar and Palar rivers flowing

EM
10. Chhattisgarh Plain - A saucer shaped de- through gaps in the Ghats drain into the Bay of
Bengal. These two rivers are separated by the
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pression drained by the upper basin of
Mahanadi, lying between Maikal range and
Orissa hills. The basin is laid with nearly
horizontal beds of limestone and shales
I
deposited during the Cuddapah age.
Javadi Hills. Some isolated areas have water-
falls. The Kiliyur Falls is one of them .To the
north of the Palar River in Andhra Pradesh, the
central portion of the Eastern Ghats consist of
two parallel ranges running approximately
AC N
11. Vindhyan Range - Acting as watershed
north-south; the lower Velikonda range lies to
between the Ganga system and the river
D
systems of south India, it is an escarpment
flanking the northern edge of Narmada -
the east, and the higher Palikonda-Lankamalla-
Nallamalla ranges lie to the west. The Velikonda
range ultimately descends to the coastal plains
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Son Trough. Most parts are composed of

in the northern Nellore district, while the
A
sedimentary rocks. Western part is covered
Nallamalla Range continues to the Krishna
with lava.
River.
12. Satpura Range - A series of seven moun-
The Krishna and the Godavari are separated
tains running in the east - west direction
by a range of low hills. To the north of the
between Narmada and Tapi, have three
Godavari river the Eastern Ghats record an
distinct parts -
abrupt increase in height, acting as the bound-
IA H

a) Western part - locally known as Rajpipla ary between Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. The
hills and formed of basalt. region possesses fertile soil. The Eastern Ghats
b) Central part - bordered on north by are elder than the Western Ghats. The history
Mahadev hills and on the south by of its origin is much complicated and takes off
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Gawligarh hills. Dhaupgarh is the high- from the congregation and fragmentation of the
est peak near Pachmarhi hill station. ancient supercontinent of Rodinia and the as-
c) Eastern part - is Maikal Plateau. sembly of the Gondwana supercontinent.
A chain of highly broken and detached hills
Eastern Ghats
starting from Mahanadi in Orissa to the Vagai
The elevation of the Eastern Ghats is lower River in Tamilnadu is known as Eastern Ghats.
than that of the Western Ghats. They have an The Eastern Ghats are a series of discontinuous
average height of 450 metres and rarely exceed low ranges along the Bay of Bengal coast run-
1200 metres. To the southernmost part of the ning from the Mahanadi river valley for about
Eastern Ghats are the low Sirumalai and 500 metres up to the Nilgiris in the south and
Karanthamalai hills of southern Tamil Nadu. To forms the eastern edge of the dissected Deccan
the north of the Kaveri River are comparatively plateau .The Eastern Ghats start from the state
higher hills like Kollimalai, Pachaimalai, Shevroy of West Bengal in the north and culminates in

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 the state of Tamil Nadu in the south. On the 6. The Nilgiri (Blue mountain) - It is the
way they cover the states of Orissa and Andhra nodal point of three mountain systems-
Pradesh. They are swept by the four chief rivers The Western Ghats, The Eastern Ghats
of southern India, the Godavari, Mahanadi, and the southern hills. They are com-
Krishna, and Kaveri. The Eastern Ghats are cut posed of strong Charnokites. Doda Beta
into various discontinuous hills by these rivers. (2637m), Makurti (2554m) and Wambadi

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They are separated from the Bay of Bengal by Shola (2470 m) are three highest peaks.
the coastal plains. This belt is famous for rubber, tea and

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coffee plantation. Ooty, the most popu-
Characteristics of Eastern Ghats: lar hill-station in South India is located

L
Eastern Ghats are older than Western Ghats. in a broad undulating valley at the foot
of Doda Beta.

EM
The elevation of Eastern Ghats is lower than the
Western Ghats. It covers a total area of around

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75,000 sq. km. Sirumalai and Karanthamalai
hills of Tamil Nadu lies in the southern most
part of the Eastern Ghats. North of Kaveri River
I
is higher Kollimalai, Pachaimalai, Shevroy,
Kalrayan Hills, Palamalai and Mettur hills in
Eastern Ghats Flora and Fauna:
The diversified ecological niches and envi-
ronmental situation provide habitat for rich
fauna. Eastern Ghats is home to largest number
of Asiatic elephants in the world. Other large
AC N
north Tamil Nadu. animals such as Nilgiri Tahr, Leopards, Gaurs,

D
One of the biggest characteristics of Eastern
Ghats lies in its being extremely fertile. In fact,
the Ghat is said to be the watershed of many
Sambar, and tigers abound the landscape. Apart
from this, these Ghats are known for the wide
variety of bird species. Eastern Ghats also holds
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rivers as the Ghat gets higher average waterfall. the rich floral system. It is region where you
A
Due to higher rainfall, the fertile land results may find large number of medicinal plants.
into better crops. Often referred as "Estuaries of
India", Eastern Ghats gift its inhabitant the Eastern Ghats Tribal Population:
popular profession of fisheries as its coastal area The land is also occupied by quite a few
is full of fishing opportunity. Like Western tribes which include Savara, Jatapu, Konda
Ghats, thus, Eastern Ghats also carry a heap of Dora, Gadaba, Khond, etc. These indigenous
IA H

ecological importance. people have their own unique cultural heritage.

(a) Northern section - These people follow the age old customs and
traditions. They are still dependent on the forest
1. Between Mahanadi and Godavari, only
produce and hunting for their livelihood. These
in this part it exhibits the true mountain-
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tribes have good knowledge about the region

eer character.
and its produce and thereby make a good use
2. Composed of khondalites & Charnokites,
of its medicinal plants.
it is locally known as Maliyas.
(b) Southern Section - Western Ghats
1. Dissected due to large numbers of rivers. The Western Ghats along the western coast
2. Biligiri Rangan Hills are famous for San- of India separates the Deccan Plateau from a
dalwood and Teak forests. narrow coastal strip along the Arabian Sea. The
3. Malagiri range is famous for Sandal- range starts from the southern part of the Tapi
wood and other valuable timbers. River near the border area of Gujarat and
4. Shevroy hills and Javadi hills are com- Maharashtra. It covers a length of around 1600
posed of Charnokite rocks. km running through the states of Maharashtra,
5. Nallamalla range in the most prominent Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala finally
range of this section whose southern culminating at Kanyakumari, in the southern-
part, the Palkonda range is higher. most tip of the peninsula.
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 Mountains, Gaps and Passes major role in the seasonal cycle. In summer they
The Western Ghats have an average eleva- are responsible for ushering the monsoons while
tion of 1200 metres. However, in certain places in the winter these winds provide a soothing
they rise abruptly to a height of over 2440 effect. During the monsoon season between
metres. The Western Ghats of Maharashtra, June and September, the path of the heavy,
extending from the Satpura Range to the north, eastward-moving rain-bearing clouds is inter-
travels south past Goa to Karnataka. The chief cepted by the Western Ghats. This results in
hill range of the segment is the Sahyadri range. more rain on the windward side, an average of

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Here we have two high peaks, Kalsubai, having about 3,000 to 4,000 mm with occasional ex-
tremes of 9,000 mm. On the other hand the

Y
a height of 1646 metres and Salher having a
height of 1567 metres. eastern region of the Western Ghats, which is

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the rain-shadow region, records a meagre aver-
The Western Ghats are home to a number of
age of 1000 mm. The Coromandel Coast falls in
gaps and passes, notable among them being the

EM
the rain shadow of the Western Ghats, and
Thal Ghat and the Bhor Ghat. They link the

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interior of the Deccan with Mumbai. The south-
ern part of the Western Ghats harbour the
Nilgiri which serve as the meeting point o the
I
Western and Eastern Ghats. The Nilgiris show
receives a good deal less rainfall during the
summer southwest monsoon, which contributes
heavily to rainfall in the rest of India.
Significance of peninsular plateau: Penin-
a steep rise from the plains and enclose between sular area is the oldest and the most stable
AC N
landmass of the Indian sub continent. It con-
them the Karnataka Plateau. The Nilgiri Hills
D tains rich variety of minerals which occur in
are home to two of the highest peaks of the
large quantities as copper, mica, iron; coal etc.
Western Ghats: Dodabeta (2637 m) and Makurti a large part of North West plateau is covered
(2554 m). To the south of the Nilgiri Hills is
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with fertile black soil that is useful for growing

A
located the Palghat gap, extending from the east cotton. Some other areas are suitable for culti-
to the west of the Ghats. With a width of 24 km, vation of tea, coffee, rubber, millets, spices etc.
the Palghat gap is an easy passageway across the rivers originating in Western Ghats offer
the Western Ghats. To the south of the Nilgiris great opportunity for developing hydroelectric-
are the Annamalai, Cardamom and Palni hills. ity and provide irrigation facilities to the agri-
The Anaimudi is the highest peak in Peninsular cultural crops.
India. It is situated in the Annamalai hills and
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has a height of 2695 metres. COASTAL PLAINS

The narrow coastal plain between the West- The plateau is flanked by coastal plains of
ern Ghats and the Arabian Sea is known as the varied width extending from Kutch to Orissa.
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Konkan Coast in the north and the Malabar There are striking difference between the east-
Coast in the south. The largest city amidst these ern and the western coastal plains; with notable
mountains is Pune. exception of Gujarat the west coast has narrow
alluvial margin interspersed by hilly terrain .It
Climate and Rainfall has indentation except in the south where the
beautiful Lagoons introduce an element of di-
The lower parts of the Western Ghats record versity. The eastern coast on the other hand has
humid and tropical type of climate. The el- a wide plain with well developed deltas of the
evated regions (1,500 m and above in the north major rivers. The climatic transition between
and 2,000 m and above in the south) have a the south west monsoon regime of the north
more temperate climate. Mean temperature and the north -east monsoon regime of the
varies from 24°C in the north to 20°C in the south has given rise to interesting differences in
south. In the Western Ghats the climate is the alluvial features in the two different stretches
largely modified by the winds as they play a of the east coastal plain.
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 Eastern Coastal Plains (iii) Tamil Nadu Plains: - It extends from
The eastern coastal plains are located on a Pulicat Lake to Kanyakumari. Most
wide stretch of land between the Eastern Ghats important feature is Kaveri delta whose
of India and the Bay of Bengal. This stretch of fertile soil and irrigation facilities make it
land stretches to 120 km in width at parts. The a granary of South India where rice is the
eastern coastal plains extend from Tamil Nadu major crop.

E
in the south to West Bengal in the north. The
eastern coastal plains have rivers draining into Its characteristics are-

Y
them and river deltas also occupy the valleys. 1. Wider and drier (receives less rainfall) than

L
The region of the eastern coastal plains is an the west coast plain.
expansive area and is divided into six regions. 2. Contains shifting sand-dunes and stretches

EM
The six regions of the eastern coastal plains of of saline soil.
India are the Mahanadi Delta, the Southern

C
3. Deficient in rainfall.
Andhra Pradesh Plain, the Krishna Godavari 4. In Madras and Andhra Pradesh, it is called
deltas, the Kanyakumari Coast, the Coroman- PYAN GHAT.
del and the Sandy Coastal regions. 5. Pulicat Lake near Madras, is a typical
I
Deltas of many of India's rivers form a major lagoon which is now separated from the sea
portion of these plains. The Mahanadi, Godavari,
AC N
by the Sriharikota island (an old beach
Kaveri and Krishna rivers drain these plains.
D
The region receives both the Northeast and
Southwest monsoon rains with its annual rain-
fall averaging between 1,000 mm and 3,000
ridge).
6. Chilka Lake, Lying south of Mahanadi delta,
originated due to the formation of a bay-
S RO

mm. The width of the plains varies from 100 to mouth bar. Two river, Bhargavi and Daya,
A
130 km. It is locally known as Northern Circars drain into the Lake, making the water sweet
between Mahanadi and Krishna rivers and in the rainy season.
Carnatic between Krishna and Kaveri rivers.
The eastern coastal plains are characterized Western Coastal Plains
by a temperature that exceeds 30 degrees Cel- The Western Coastal Plains is a thin strip of
sius and also experiences high levels of humid- coastal plain 50 kilometres (31 miles) in width
IA H

ity. The rainfall of the region is also abundant between the west coast of India and the West-
in the region with rainfall amounts in excess of
ern Ghats hills. The plains begin at Gujarat in
1000mm annually with the amount usually
approaching 3000mm. It is also of note that this the north and end at Kerala in the south. It also
C

region of the eastern coastal plains is subject to includes the states of Maharashtra, Goa and
both northeast and southwest monsoon rains Karnataka. The western coastal plain of India
when these storms are in season. in contrast to the eastern coastal plain is located
It has three broad divisions:- on a narrow strip of land. They extend from
Gujarat in the north down 50 km to the south
(i) Utkal Plains: - It is the coastal track of
in Kerala and are characterized by numerous
Orissa including Mahanadi delta. Most
backwaters and rivers that flow into the region.
prominent feature is Chilka Lake which
These rivers that flow into the region lead to the
is the largest lake in India.
forming of estuaries that are found in the
(ii) Andhra Plains: - It extends from Utkal western coastal plains of India. The western
Plains in the North of the Pulicat Lake in coastal plains are smaller than their eastern
south (Sriharikota Island is in this lake). counterpart and the region is divided into three
Its most important feature is the delta parts. The western coastal plains are divided
formation of River Godavari and River into the regions of Konkan, Kanara, and the
Kaveri. It also has Lakana Lake. Malabar Coast.
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 Some important facts 3. The submerged forests near the Bombay
city suggest that the sea level rose on the
North Circars: Between the Mahanadi and
Konkan coast in the past.
the Krishna River.
(v) Karnataka Coastal Plains -
Carnatic: Between the Krishna and the
1. Stretches from Goa to Mangalore.
Cauvery river
2. Maximum width is found near
Coromandel: Between the Cauvery river Mangalore.
and Kanyakumari. 3. Sharavati is the chief river, which makes

E
Gersoppa (Jog) falls before entering the
Sub-divisions of the Coastal Plains: plain.

Y
(i) Kutch Peninsula - (vi) Kerala Plain (Malabar Plain) -

L
1. It was an island surrounded by seas and 1. Stretches from Mangalore to
Lagoons, Later it became a part of main- Kanyakumari.

EM
land and developed as a broad plain by 2. Much wider & less hilly than Karnataka
plain and other plain.
C
the sediments deposited by Indus river
system.
2. It is made of tertiary rock system.
3. Due to the scarcity of rain and flowing
I
surface water it has been developed as
3. Presence of Lakes, Lagoons, Backwaters,
spits etc. is a significant characteristic of
Kerala coast.
4. Rivers are short and many of them dry
up in summer.
arid and semi-arid Landscape and, thus,
AC N
the work of wind is predominant.
D
(ii) Kathiawar Peninsula -
Significance of coastal plains
Large parts of the coastal plains of India are
1. It is made of Deccan Lava. covered by fertile soils on which different crops
S RO

2. In central part, Mandav hills lies from

A
are grown. Rice is the main crop of these areas.
which small streams radiates in all direc- Coconut trees grow along the coast. About 98%
tion. of the trade is carried out by the ports. Low
3. Mt. Girnar, (of volcanic origin) is the lying areas of Gujarat are famous for producing
highest point. salt whereas fishing is the main occupation of
4. The Gir range having dense forest and the people living in coastal areas.
famous as the home of Gir lion, is located
IA H

in the southern part. THE INDIAN ISLANDS

5. Most of hills like Osem hills, Barda hills, Apart from the large number of islands in
etc. are of volcanic origin. the near proximity of the Indian coast, there are
(iii) Gujarat Plain - two main groups of islands in the Indian Ocean
C

1. Lying east of Kathiawar; slopes west- far away from the coast. One of them is the
wards. Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago in the Bay
2. The eastern part is made of alluvium and of Bengal and the other is a group of tiny islands
in fertile enough to support agriculture known as the Lakshadweep Islands in Arabian
while western part is mostly covered by Sea. These islands have gained much impor-
wind blown loess which after weather- tance and their study has become almost indis-
ing has given rise to semi-arid Land-
pensable in view of the increasing interest of
scape.
super powers in the geopolitics of the Indian
(iv) Konkan Plain -
Ocean.
1. Lies south of Gujarat plain; stretches
from Daman to Goa. The Andaman and Nicobar group of islands
2. It is characterised by cliffs of basaltic form and arcuate chain, convex to the west,
rocks. extending from 6° 45′ – 13° 45′ N and 92° 10′

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 – 94° 15′ E for a distance of about 590 km with Narcondam islands, north of Port Blair, are
a maximum width of about 58 km. This archi- volcanic islands. Some of the islands are fringed
pelago is composed of 265 big and small islands with coral reefs. Many of them are covered with
covering a cumulative area of about 8249 sq km. thick forests and some are highly dissected.
The entire chain consists of two distinct groups Most of the islands are mountainous and reach
of islands. The Great Andaman group of islands considerable heights. Saddle peak (737 m) in

E
in the north is separated by the north is sepa- North Andaman is the highest peak.
rated by the Ten Degree Channel from the The Lakshadweep Islands in the Arabian

Y
Nicobar group in the south. The Andaman is a Sea, though literally mean one lakh islands is

L
closely knit group of about 203 islands. It is 260 only a group of 25 small islands. They are
km long and 30 km wide with a total area of widely scattered over and area of 108.78 sq kms

EM
6596 sq km. This group of islands is divided into extending from 8° – 12° 20′ N – 71° 45′ 74° E

C
three major groups viz. North Andaman, Middle about 200-500 km south-west of the Kerala
Andaman and South Andaman. Little Andaman coast. The islands north of 110 N are known as
is separated from the Great Anadmans by 50 Amendivi Islands while those south of this
km wide Duncan Passage. latitude are called Cannanore Islands. In the
I
The Nicobar group of islands consists of 7 extreme south is the Minicoy island. All are tiny
AC N
big and 12 small islands together with several islands of coral origin and are surrounded by

D
tiny islands. They are scattered over a length of
262 km with maximum width of 58 km covering
an area of 1,653 sq km. The Great Nicobar, as
fringing reefs. The largest and the most ad-
vanced is the Minicoy island with and are of
4.53 sq km. Betra has and area of only 0.12 sq
S RO

its name suggests, is the largest island measur- km. Most of the islands have low elevation and
A
ing 50 × 25 km. It is the southernmost island and do not rise more than five metre above sea level.
is only 147 km away from Sumatra island of Their topography is flat and relief features such
Indonesia. as hills, streams, valleys, etc. are conspicuous by
Most of these islands are made of tertiary their absence. Shallow lagoons are seen their
sandstone, limestone and shale resting on basic western side, while on the eastern seaboard the
and ultrabasic volcanoes. The Barren and slopes are steeper.



IA H
C

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 2 CLIMATE OF INDIA

E
Y
I
ndia is a land of contrast of relief and winds of Central Asia during winter.

L
climate. Geographically India is a penin Further, these ranges act as an effective
sular extension of the great Eurasian land- physical barrier for rain-bearing south-west

EM
mass. Climatologically India comes in tropical, monsoon winds to cross the northern fron-

C
sub tropic and temperate regimes.
India is basically a tropical country although
its northern part is situated in the temperate
I
belt. In the south, the Indian coasts are washed
tiers of India. Thus, the Himalayas act as a
climatic divide between the Indian Sub-
continent and Central Asia.
4. Physiography: Physical map of India is very
by the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal closely related to the climatic conditions of
AC N
branches of the Indian Ocean which give it a
the country. Places located at higher altitude
D
typical tropical monsoon climate.

FACTORS DETERMINING THE CLIMATE

have cool climate even though they are
located in the southern India, i.e., Ooty.
S RO

Similarly, though Agra and Darjeeling are

OF INDIA
A
located on the same latitude, the tempera-
1. Location and Latitudinal Extent: The Tropic
ture of Agra in January is 16°C whereas it
of Cancer passes through the central part of
is only 4°C in Darjeeling. The physiography
India in east-west direction. Thus, northern
of India also affects the direction and speed
part of India lies in sub-tropical and temper-
of wind and the amount and distribution of
ate zone and the southern part falls in the
tropical zone. The tropical zone being nearer rainfall. The windward sides of the Western
Ghats and Assam receive high rainfall dur-
IA H

to the equator, experiences high tempera-

tures throughout the year with small daily ing June-September whereas the southern
and annual range. Area north to the Tropic plateau remains dry due to its leeward
of Cancer being away from the equator, situation along the Western Ghats. It is due
C

experiences extreme climate with high daily to physiography that the funnel shaped
and annual range of temperature. Cherrapunji valley is the wettest place on
2. Distance from the Sea: Arabian Sea and Earth.
Bay of Bengal surround the Indian penin- 5. Monsoon Winds: The most dominating fac-
sula and make climatic conditions mild along tor of the Indian climate is the 'Monsoon
the coastal areas. Areas in the interior of winds' as a result of which it is often called
India are far away from the moderating the Monsoon Climate. The south-west sum-
influence of the sea thus having extremes of mer monsoons from the Arabian sea and the
climate. That is why the annual range of Bay of Bengal bring rainfall to the entire
temperature at Kochi does not exceed 3°C country. The north-eastern winter monsoons
whereas it is as high as 20°C at Delhi. travel from land to sea and do not cause
3. The Himalayas: The Himalayan Ranges much rainfall except along the Coromandel
protect India from the bitterly cold and dry coast after getting moisture from the Bay of
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 influence of westerly winds along the
altitude of 9-13 km from west to east.
These are known as Jet Streams. Tibetan
highlands act as a barrier in the path of
these jet streams. As a result, jet streams
get bifurcated. One of its branches blows

E
to the north of the Tibetan highlands,
while the southern branch blows in an

Y
eastward direction, south of the
Himalayas. It is believed that this south-

L
ern branch of the jet stream exercises an
important influence on the winter

EM
weather in India as they bring western

IC disturbances from the Mediterranean

region to India.
(ii) Easterly Jet: Reversal in upper air circu-
lation takes place in summer due to the
apparent shift of the sun's vertical rays
AC N
in the northern hemisphere. The west-

D erly jet is replaced by the easterly jet

stream which owes its origin to the
heating of the Tibetan plateau. This leads
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to the development of an easterly cold jet

A
stream centered around 15°N latitude
and blowing over peninsular India. This
helps in the sudden onset of the south-
west monsoons.
The easterly jet stream steers the tropical
depressions into India. These depressions play
IA H

a significant role in the distribution of monsoon

rainfall over the Indian subcontinent.
7. Tropical Cyclones: Tropical cyclones origi-
nate over the Bay of Bengal and the Indian
C

ocean. These tropical cyclones have very

high wind velocity and heavy rainfall and
hit the Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and
Orissa coast. Most of these cyclones are very
destructive due to high wind velocity and
torrential rain.
8. Western Disturbance: The western distur-
Bengal. bances, which enter the Indian subcontinent
6. Upper Air Circulations: The changes in the from the west and the northwest during the
upper air circulation over Indian landmass winter months, originate over the Mediter-
influence the climate of India to a great ranean Sea and are brought into India by
extent. the westerly jet stream. They influence the
winter weather conditions over most of the
(i) Westerly Jet Stream: All of Western
Northern plains and Western Himalayan
and Central Asia remains under the
region.
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 9. El-Nino Effect: El-Nino is a narrow warm a) Role of ITCZ; according of FEOHN
current which occasionally replaces the cold monsoon is only the normal seasonal
Peru current. This is responsible for wide migration of planetary winds following
spread floods and droughts in the tropical the sun. According to him the existence
regions of the world. It is believed that the of Asian monsoon is not due to contrast
severe drought of 1987 in India was caused between land and sea but mainly due to
by El-Nino. the annual migration of thermally pro-
10. La Nina: The returning of the weather duced planetary winds and pressure
belts under continental influence. The

E
conditions to normal after an El-Nino is
called La Nina. The presence of La Nina is southeast trade winds of the southern

Y
the harbinger of heavy monsoon showers in hemisphere cross the equator and start
flowing from southwest to northeast
India.

L
direction under the effect of Coriolis
INDIAN MONSOON force. These displaced trade winds are

EM
called south west monsoon and bring

C
Monsoon comes from an Arabic word
'MAUSAM' which means season. Thus mon-
soon are seasonal winds which reverse their
direction of flow with the change of season.
I
They flow from sea to land during the summer
monsoon to the region.
b) Role of jet streams; M.T.Yin had given
this concept stating that the burst of
monsoon depends upon the upper air
circulation. Two prominent jet streams
and from land to sea during winter.
AC N
effect the monsoon winds
The theories regarding the monsoons are
D
generally divided into following two broad
categories:
• The sub tropical westerly jet stream, this
jet stream dominates in winter time in
S RO

1. Classical theory: Halley explained

A
the monsoon as resulting from
thermal 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 and
IA H

low pressure in central Asia while

the pressure is still sufficiently high
over Arabian Sea and Bay of Ben-
gal. This induces air flow from sea
C

to land and brings heavy rainfall to

India and her neighbouring coun-
tries.
In winter the sun shines vertically
over the tropic of Capricorn. The
north western part of India grows
colder than Arabian Sea and Bay
of Bengal and the flow of the
monsoon is reversed.
It was lacking in the physical in-
gredient of the effect of rotation of
the earth.
2. Modern theory:
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 upper troposphere circulation of the This plateau is considered to be one of the
northern latitudes. It has a global extent key factors in the development of monsoon.
between latitudes 25-32 ° N and can be The Tibetan plateau exerts its influence as a
located over south Asia at an elevation mechanical barrier as well as high heat
of about 12 km. the jet stream is split plateau. An anticyclone appears in upper
owing to the 0presence of Himalayan troposphere due to latent heating over the
mountain system in its path. Tibetan plateau. It generates an area of

E
The winds tend to descend over north- rising air, during its ascent the air spreads

Y
western part of India resulting in atmo- outwards and gradually sinks over the equa-
spheric stability. torial part of the Indian Ocean. It picks up

L
moisture from the Indian Ocean and causes
• Equatorial easterly jet stream, this jet is rainfall in India and adjoining countries.

EM
a prominent feature of the upper air
circulation during the Indian monsoon Characteristics of Monsoonal Rainfall

C
season appearing as a band of strong
easterlies extending from south East Asia
across the Indian Ocean and Africa to
I
the Atlantic.
The western and eastern jet streams
(i) Rainfall from the southwest monsoons
is seasonal in character, which occurs
between June and September.
(ii) Monsoonal rainfall is largely governed
AC N
flow in the north and south of the by relief or topography. For instance

D Himalayas respectively. The eastern jet

becomes powerful and stationed and
this results in more active south west
the windward side of the Western
Ghats registers a rainfall of over 250
cm. The heavy rainfall in the north-
S RO

monsoon. eastern states can be attributed to their

A
hill ranges and the Eastern Himalayas.
c) Role of Tibetan plateau, the Tibetan pla-
teau is located more than 4500 km above sea (iii) The monsoon rainfall has a declining
level with a length of 2000 km and with a trend with increasing distance from
width of 600 km in the west and 1000 in the the sea. Kolkata receives 119 cm dur-
east. ing the southwest monsoon period,
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C

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 Patna 105 cm, Allahabad 76 cm, Delhi (The abode of clouds) is the wettest part of
56 cm and Bikaner 24 cm. the country with Mawsynram and
(iv) The monsoon rains are characterized Cherrapunji getting 1221cm and 1102 cm of
by 'Breaks'. These breaks in rainfall are annual rainfall respectively.
related to the cyclonic depressions 2. Areas of High rainfall (100-200cm annual
formed at the head of the Bay of rainfall)These include eastern slopes of the
Bengal, and their crossing into the Western Ghats, major part of the northern
mainland. The frequency of such de- plain, Orissa, M.P. Andhra Pradesh, and

E
pressions is 2 to 4 per months, from Tamil Nadu.
June to September. Besides the fre-

Y
3. Areas of Low rainfall (50 - 100 cm annual
quency and intensity of these depres-
sions, the passage followed by them rainfall)

L
determines the spatial distribution of Include large parts of Gujarat, Maharashtra,
Western M.P., Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,

EM
rainfall.
eastern Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and
(v)

(vi)
IC The summer rainfall comes in a heavy
downpour leading to considerable run
off and soil erosion.
Monsoon is the pivot of the agrarian
economy of India because over three-
parts of Uttar Pradesh.
4. Areas of very Low rainfall (Less than 50
cm of annual rainfall)
These are desert and semi-deserts areas.
fourths of the total rain in the country
AC N
They include large parts of Western
is received during the southwest mon-
D
(vii)
soon season.
Its spatial distribution is quite uneven
Rajasthan, Kuchchh, and most of Ladakh
region of Jammu and Kashmir.
S RO

ranging from 12 cm in western WESTERN DISTURBANCES

A
Rajasthan to more than 400 cm in
Meghalaya. With the southward shift of the polar front
in winter, the tracks of middle latitude cyclones
(viii) The beginning of the rains sometimes
pass across the northern portion of the Indian
is considerably delayed over the whole
subcontinent during the period October to June.
or a part of the country. The rains
In the other months the tracks shift far to pole
sometimes end considerably earlier than
ward and do not usually affect the Indian
usual, causing great damage to stand-
IA H

ing crops and making the sowing of region.

winter crops difficult. This is why The temperate cyclones originates in west-
monsoons are extremely unpredictive ern Asia and Mediterranean Sea and reach the
and uncertain. Indian area in the course of their eastward
C

passage from west India and refer to as western

Rainfall Distribution
disturbances. These western disturbances causes
1. Areas of very high rainfall (annual rainfall
Snowfall in higher reaches of Himalayas
of 200cm and above)
Rainfall in north west plains which are
These include the west coast from beneficial for rabi crop
Thiruvananthapuram in the South to
The sudden cold wave that decreases
Mumbai in the North (Avg. annual rainfall the temperature of that area and hail
200 - 400 cm). Almost the whole of Assam, also takes place.
Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal
Pradesh, Sikkim, parts of Manipur, Tripura LOCAL WINDS
and northeastern tip of West Bengal also
receive 200cm or more, with isolated During summers the atmospheric pressure is
pockets receiving over 400 cm. Meghalaya low all over the country. In the months of May
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 and June high temperature in North West India visibility reduces to few meters only. Such
builds up steep pressure gradient and under dust storms are common in Rajasthan,
such conditions dust laden and strong winds Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh etc.
blows. In West Bengal and adjoining areas of
a) LOO: it is hot dust laden winds that usually Jharkhand, Orissa the direction of storm is
starts in the morning and reaches its peak mainly from the North West and are called

E
at afternoon. This increases the temperature NORWESTERS.
of the area and causes high humidity. c) KAL BAISAKHIS: these are violent storms

Y
b) AANDHIS: these are basically thunder- causes heavy damage to standing crops,

L
storms which move like a solid wall of dust livestock and human beings. Maximum oc-
and sand. The winds velocity is high and curs in month of March and April.

EM


IC
AC N
D
S RO
A
IA H
C

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 3 WATER RESOURCES AND
DRAINAGE PATTERN

E
Y
W
ater is essential for human civiliza and drought syndrome. Overexploitation of

L
tion, living organisms, and natural groundwater is leading to reduction of low
habitat. It is used for drinking, clean- flows in the rivers, declining of the groundwater

EM
ing, agriculture, transportation, industry, recre- resources, and salt water intrusion in aquifers
IC ation, and animal husbandry, producing elec-
tricity for domestic, industrial and commercial
use. Due to its multiple benefits and the
problems created by its excesses, shortages and
quality deterioration, water as a resource re-
of the coastal areas. Over canal-irrigation in
some of the command areas has resulted in
water logging and salinity. The quality of sur-
face and groundwater resources is also deterio-
rating because of increasing pollutant loads
AC N
D quires special attention. from point and non-point sources. The climate
change is expected to affect precipitation and
WATER RESOURCES OF INDIA water availability.
Rivers, estuaries, groundwater and other India is gifted with a river system compris-
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water bodies constitute the water resource of ing more than 20 major rivers with several
A
India. tributaries. Many of these rivers are perennial
Water resources of a country constitute one and some of these are seasonal. The rivers like
of its vital assets. India receives annual precipi- Ganges, Brahmaputra and Indus originate from
tation of about 4000 km3 .The rainfall in India the Himalayas and carry water throughout the
shows very high spatial and temporal variabil- year. The snow and ice melt of the Himalayas
ity and paradox of the situation is that and the base flow contribute the flows during
the lean season. More than 50% of water
IA H

Mousinram near Cherrapunji, which receives

the highest rainfall in the world, also suffers resources of India are located in various tribu-
taries of these river systems. Average water
from a shortage of water during the non-rainy
yield per unit area of the Himalayan rivers is
season, almost every year. The total average
almost double that of the south peninsular
C

annual flow per year for the Indian rivers is

rivers system, indicating the importance of snow
estimated as 1953 km 3 .The total annual
and glacier melt contribution from the high
replenishable groundwater resources are as-
mountains.
sessed as 432 km3 .
Apart from the water available in the vari-
The annual utilizable surface water and
ous rivers of the country, the groundwater is
groundwater resources of India are estimated as
also an important source of water for drinking,
690 km3 and 396 km3 per year, respectively. irrigation, industrial uses, etc. It accounts for
With rapid growing population and improving about 80% of domestic water requirement and
living standards the pressure on our water more than 45% of the total irrigation in the
resources is increasing and per capita availabil- country. As per the international norms, if per-
ity of water resources is reducing day by day. capita water availability is less than 1700 m3 per
Due to spatial and temporal variability in pre- year then the country is categorized as water
cipitation the country faces the problem of flood stressed and if it is less than 1000 m3 per capita
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3. Water Resources and Drainage Pattern.pmd 30 7/11/2014, 1:24 PM
 per year then the country is classified as water Promotion of participatory action in rehabilitat-
scarce. ing tanks for recharging would go a long way
in augmenting groundwater supply. Due to
WATER CONSERVATION declining water table, the cost of extraction of
Our country being a monsoon land is having groundwater has been increasing over time and
a short period of about three to four months of wells often go dry. This posses serious financial

E
rainfall. Thus, water conservation in India is burden on farmers. Hence, special programmes
must to complete the scarce surface water need to be designed to support these farmers.

Y
supply for the greater part of the year. This Finally, the role of government will have to
switch from that of a controller of groundwater

L
process of water conservation in our country is
done because of less water resources which development to that of a facilitator of equitable
and sustainable development.

EM
include rainy, ground, sea, pond and river
water in it. Thus, to improve and to make better Large canal infrastructure network for pro-

IC water facilities for water supply, government

issued numerous of soil and water conservation
plans for it.

Groundwater and Surface water

viding irrigation has been the prime goal of the
Government of India, since the first five-year
plan, which continued up to seventh five-year
plan. In some of the irrigation project com-
mands such as Sarda Sahayak in UP, Gandak
AC N
management in Bihar, Chambal in Rajasthan, Nagarjuna

D To protect the aquifers from overexploitation,

an effective groundwater management policy
Sagar in Andhra Pradesh, Ghataprabha and
Malaprabha in Karnataka etc , problems of
water logging are being faced. The main reason
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oriented towards promotion of efficiency, eq- for excessive use of surface water as compared
A
uity and sustainability is required. to groundwater is it's much lower price for
Agricultural holdings in India are highly irrigation as compared to the cost incurred in
fragmented and the rural population density is using groundwater. Water logging problems
large. The exploitation of groundwater resources could be overcome if conjunctive use of surface
should be regulated so as not to exceed the and groundwater is made. Groundwater utili-
recharging possibilities, as well as to ensure zation for irrigation in waterlogged areas can
social equity. The detrimental environmental help to lower the groundwater table and re-
IA H

consequences of over-exploitation of ground- claim the affected soil. Over exploitation of

water need to be effectively prevented by the groundwater in areas like Mehsana, in Gujarat;
Central and State Governments. parts of Meeurt and Varanasi districts in Uttar
Overexploitation of groundwater should be Pradesh, Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and Karnal
C

avoided, especially near the coasts to prevent district in Haryana etc. have resulted in mining
ingress of seawater into freshwater aquifers. of groundwater. Many research workers have
Clearly, a joint management approach combin- focused the causes of water logging. Several
ing government administration with active groundwater flow modelling studies have fo-
people participation is a promising solution. In cused on assessing the waterlogged areas and
critically overexploited areas, bore-well drilling measures to control problems of water logging
should be regulated till the water table attains and salinization
the desired elevation. Artificial recharge mea- It is desirable that the irrigation needs for
sures need to be urgently implemented in these fulfilling crop water requirements should be
areas. Amongst the various recharge techniques, satisfied by judicious judicious utilization of
percolation tanks are least expensive in terms of available canal water in conjunction with
initial construction costs. Many such tanks al- groundwater so as to keep the water table
ready exist but a vast majority of these struc- within the acceptable range.
tures have silted up. In such cases, cleaning of Thus, the optimal conjunctive use of the
the bed of the tank will make them reusable. region's surface and groundwater resources
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 would help in minimizing the problems of sprinkler's arm. When applied with appropriate
water logging and groundwater mining. water saving techniques, this method also can
achieve efficiencies as high as 95%. Since this
Rain water harvesting method operates at low pressure, energy costs
Rainwater harvesting is the process to cap- are reduced by 20 percent to 5 percent com-
ture and store rainfall for its efficient utilization pared with conventional systems.
and conservation to control its runoff, evapora-
tion and seepage. Some of the benefits of DRAINAGE SYSTEMS OF INDIA

E
rainwater harvesting are: India is blessed with hundreds of large and

Y
• It increases water availability small rivers, which drain the length and breadth
• It checks the declining water table of the country. The annual yield of water in the

L
• It is environmentally friendly rivers of the country is 18, 58,100 million cubic
• It improves the quality of groundwater meters, 1/3rd (33.8%) of which is contributed

EM
through dilution, mainly of fluoride, ni- by the Brahmaputra followed by the Ganga
IC trate, and salinity, and
• It prevents soil erosion and flooding,
especially in the urban areas.

Recycle and reuse of water

(25.2%), the Godavari (6.4%), the Indus (4.3%),
the Mahanadi (3.6%), the Krishna (3.4%), and
the Narmada (2.9%).
On the basis of the origin of rivers, the
Indian drainage system can broadly be di-
AC N
D Another way through which we can im- vided into–
prove freshwater availability is by recycle and (1) The Himalayan river system including Indus,
reuse of water. It is said that in the city of Brahmaputra, Ganga and their tributaries,
Frankfurt, Germany, every drop of water is and
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recycled eight times. Use of water of lesser

A
(2) The Peninsular river system which include
quality, such as reclaimed wastewater, for cool- Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery,
ing and fire fighting is an attractive option for
Narmada, Tapi and their tributaries.
large and complex industries to reduce their
water costs, increase production and decrease Similarly on the basis of orientation to the
the consumption of energy. This conserves bet- sea, the Indian drainage system can be di-
ter quality waters for potable uses. Currently, vided into -
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recycling of water is not practiced on a large (A) The Bay of Bengal drainage
scale in India and there is considerable scope (B) The Arabian sea drainage.
and incentive to use this alternative
About 77% of the drainage area of the
country is oriented towards the Bay is Bengal
C

Drip irrigation
and it consists of large numbers of rivers like
Drip irrigation consists of a network of Ganga, Brahmaputra, Mahanadi, Godavari,
porous or perforated piping, usually installed Krishna, Cauvery, Penneru, Vaigai etc. while
on the surface or below ground, which delivers 23% of the country's drainage area is oriented
water directly to the root zones of the crops. towards the Arabian sea including the Indus,
These techniques keep evaporation losses at a Narmada, Tapi, Sabarmati, Mahi and large
very low level (about 5%). Hence, this system number of swift flowing western coast rivers
cuts water use upto 60% as compared with descending from the Sahyadris. Over 90% of the
gravity systems. water carried by the Indian rivers is drained
into the Bay of Bengal and rest into the Arabian
LEPA Sea or forms inland drainage. Water-divide
The LEPA method delivers water to the plays an important role in deciding the direction
crops from drop tubes that extend from the of the river flow.
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 HIMALAYAN RIVER SYSTEMS The dismemberment was probably due to
the Pleistocene upheaval in the western
Important features:- Himalayas, including the uplift of the Potwar
• Himalayan rivers are typical example of Plateau (Delhi Ridge), which acted as the water
antecedent drainage, i.e. they were in ex- divide between the Indus and Ganga drainage
istence before the uplift of the Himalayas. systems. Likewise, the downthrusting of the

E
It is evident from the deep gorges of the Malda gap area between the Rajmahal hills and
rivers like Indus, Satluj, Alaknanda, the Meghalaya plateau during the mid-Pleis-

Y
Bhagirathi, Brahmaputra and Kosi. Also, tocene period, diverted the Ganga and the
Brahmaputra systems to flow towards the Bay

L
most of them are not consequent to the
Himalayan relief. of Bengal.

EM
• Because these rivers are fed by extensive The Indus System

IC •
snow cover of the Himalayas, they are
perennial in nature. During the monsoon
season they receive heavy Rainfall and
reach to their maximum discharge.
The geologically unstable condition and
This is one of the largest river basins of the
world, covering an area of 1,178,440 sq. km (in
India 321,290 sq. km) and a total length of 2,880
km (in India 709 km). The Indus, also known
as the Sindhu, is the westernmost of the Hima-
AC N
friable nature of the terrain cause consid-
layan rivers in India.
D erable meandering or drastic changes in
their courses and uncertainty and capri-
ciousness in their behaviour.
The Indus originates from a glacier near
Bokhar Chu (31°15' N latitude and 81°40' E
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longitude) in the Tibetan region at an altitude

A
• The valleys are in immature stage of devel-
opment and, therefore, they are character- of 5,182 m in the Kailash Mountain range. In
ized by a number of rapids, waterfalls, and Tibet, it is known as 'Singe Khamban' or Lion's
cascades. mouth until it is joined by the Dhar. It enters
India and continues to flow in the northwest
Evolution of the Himalayan drainage direction between Ladakh and Jaskar ranges. In
India, the Indus flows only through the Leh
Geologists believe that a mighty river called
IA H

district in Jammu and Kashmir. The gradient of

Shiwalik or Indo-Brahma traversed the entire the river is very gentle (30 cm per km). It
longitudinal extent of the Himalayas from Assam receives a number of tributaries such as the
to Punjab and onwards to Sind, and finally Shyok, the Gilgit, the Gortang, the Zaskar, the
discharged into the Gulf of Sind near lower
C

Hunza, the Nubra, the Shigar, the Gasting and

Punjab during the Miocene period. The remark- the Dras.
able continuity of the Shiwalik and its lacustrine
Indus enters Pakistan near Chillar in the
origin and alluvial deposits consisting of sands,
silt, clay, boulders and conglomerates support Dardistan region and finally emerges out of the
this viewpoint. It is opined that in due course hills near Attock where it receives the Kabul
of time Indo-Brahma river was dismembered river on its right bank. The other important
into three main drainage systems: tributaries joining the right bank of the Indus
are the Khurram, the Tochi, the Gomal, the
(i) the Indus and its five tributaries in the Viboa and the Sangar. They all originate in the
western part; Sulaiman ranges. The river flows southwards
(ii) the Ganga and its Himalayan tributaries in
and receives 'Panjnad' a little north of Mithankot.
the central part; and
The Panjnad is the name given to the accumu-
(iii) the stretch of the Brahmaputra in Assam
lated water of the five rivers of Punjab namely
and its Himalayan tributaries in the
the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas and
eastern part.
the Satluj. Indus finally discharges into the
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 Arabian Sea, east of Karachi. The average Harike. The average annual flow of the Beas at
annual flow of water in the Indus river is Mandi is 15,800 million cubic meters.
110,450 million cubic meters at Kalabagh. The Satluj, an antecedent river, originates
The Jhelum, an important tributary of the from the Mansarovar-Rakas Lake near Darma
Indus, rises from a spring at Verinag situated at Pass at an altitude of 4,570 m in Tibet where it
an altitude of 4900m in the south-eastern part is known as Langchen Khamban. It flows al-
of the valley of Kashmir. It flows northward most parallel to the Indus for about 400 km
through Srinagar and the Wular lake. At before entering India through the Shipki La

E
Muzaffarabad, the river takes a hairpin bend Pass. It has created a 900 m deep gorge in Nari
southwards and receives river Kishenganga on Khorsan province of Tibet. Its main tributary

Y
its right bank. Thereafter, it forms the India- Spiti joins it at Namgia. It is a very important
river as it feeds the canal system of the Bhakra

L
Pakistan boundary for 170km and emerges at
Potwar plateau near Mirpur. Its main tributar- Nangal project. After entering the plains at

EM
ies are the Lidar, the Sind, and the Pohru from Rupar, it turns westward and is joined by the
Beas at Harike. From Ferozepur to Fazilka, it
IC Kashmir Himalayas. The average annual flow
of water in the Jhelum river is 27,890 million
cubic meters at Mangala. It joins the Chenab at
Trimmu near Jhang in Pakistan.
The Chenab, the largest tributary of the
forms the boundary between India and Paki-
stan for 120 km. Out of its total length of 1,450
km, it flows for 1,050 km in India. Its average
annual flow at Rupnagar (Rupar) is 16,600
million cubic meters.
AC N
D Indus, originates near Bara Lacha Pass and is
formed by two streams, the Chandra and the The Ganga River System
Bhaga, which join at Tandi near Keylong in
Himachal Pradesh. Here, it is also known as The Ganga originates as the Bhagirathi from
the Gangotri glacier at Gaumukh, at an eleva-
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Chandrabhaga. It flows towards northwest

A
tion of 7,010 m. Alaknanda, the other head-
through Pangi valley and enters Jammu and
stream of Ganga, has its source in the Satopanth
Kashmir. At Akhnur, the Chenab enters the
glacier near Badrinath. The Alaknanda consists
plain. The river flows for 1,180 km before
of the Dhauli and the Vishnu Ganga which
entering into Pakistan. The average annual flow
meet at Joshimath. The Alaknanda river meets-
of water in the Chenab river is 29,000 million
cubic meters at Marala. It joins the Satluj at • The Dhauliganga river at Vishnuprayag,
● The Pindar river at Karnaprayag,
IA H

Panchnad in Pakistan.
● The Mandakini or Kali Ganga at
The Ravi has its source in the Kullu hills near Rudraprayag and finally
Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh. Flowing in ● The Bhagirathi river at Devprayag.
the northwest direction, it drains the area lying
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between the Pir Panjal and the Dhauladhar At Devprayag Ganga gets its name. After
traversing 280km from its source, Ganga de-
ranges. It enters Punjab plains near Madhopur
bouches on the Gangetic Plain at the pilgrimage
and enters Pakistan 26km south of Amritsar. It
town of Haridwar. Here, some of its waters is
debouches into Chenab at Sarai Sindhu near
diverted to the Ganges Canal, which irrigates
Rangpur. Its annual flow at Madhopur is 8,000
the Doab region of Uttar Pradesh. The Ganges,
million cubic meters.
whose course has been roughly southwestern
The Beas originates from the Beas Kund near until this point, now begins to flow southeast
the Rohtang Pass at an elevation of 4,000 m through the plains of northern India. The river
above the mean sea level. The river flows through follows a 770 km curving course passing through
the Kullu valley and forms gorges at Kati and the city of Kanpur before being joined from the
Lorji in the Dhauladhar range. It enters the southwest by the Yamuna at Allahabad. Joined
Punjab plains near Pong. Then it takes south- by numerous rivers such as the Kosi, Son,
westerly direction and meets the Satluj near Gandak and Ghaghra, the Ganges forms a
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 formidable current in the stretch between is 1,376 km. Much of its water feeds the western
Allahabad and Malda in West Bengal. On its and eastern Yamuna and the Agra canals for
way it passes the towns of Varanasi, Buxar, irrigation purposes.
Patna and Bhagalpur. At Bhagalpur, the river The Chambal rises from Janapao hills near
meanders past the Rajmahal Hills, and begins Mhow in the Malwa plateau of Madhya Pradesh
to run south. and flows northwards through a gorge up-

E
At Pakur, the river begins its attrition with wards of Kota in Rajasthan, where the
the branching away of its first distributary, the Gandhisagar dam has been constructed. From

Y
Bhagirathi-Hooghly, which goes on to form the Kota, it traverses down to Bundi, Sawai
Hooghly River. Near the border with Bangladesh Madhopur and Dholpur, and finally joins the

L
the Farakka Barrage, built in 1974, controls the Yamuna in Etawah district of U.P. The Chambal
flow of the Ganges, diverting some of the water

EM
is famous for its badland topography called the
into a feeder canal linking the Hooghly to keep Chambal ravines. The total length of the river

IC it relatively silt-free. The Farakka barrage project

consists of a barrage across the Ganga at Farakka
and another across the Bhagirathi at Jangipur.
After entering Bangladesh, the main branch
of the Ganges is known as the Padma River until
is 1,050 km. The Banas joins it at Sawai
Madhopur.
The Sind originates in Vidisha plateau of
Madhya Pradesh. It flows for a distance of 415
km before joining Yamuna.
AC N
it is joined by the largest distributary of the

D Brahmaputra- the Jamuna River at Goalundo.

Further downstream, it is fed by the Meghna
River, the second largest tributary of the
The Betwa rises in the Bhopal district and
joins Yamuna near Hamirpur after traversing a
distance of 590 km. The Dhasan is its important
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Brahmaputra, and flows as Meghna to enter the tributary.

A
Meghna Estuary near Sagar island. The Ken is 360 km long river rising from the
The total length of Ganga is 2525 km, of Barner Range of Madhya Pradesh. It joins
which 310 km is in Uttarakhand, 1140 km in Yamuna near Chila.
Uttar Pradesh, 445 km in Bihar, and 520 km in The Son is a large south bank tributary of
west Bengal. The remaining 110 km stretch of the Ganga, originating in the Amarkantak
the Ganga forms the boundary between Bihar plateau. After forming a series of waterfalls
IA H

and Uttar Pradesh. The Yamuna and the Son at the edge of the plateau, it turns northeast-
are its major right bank tributaries. The impor- ward. It reaches Arrah, west of Patna, to join
tant left bank tributaries are the the Ganga. The important tributaries of the Son
Ramganga, the Gomati, the Ghaghara, the are the Johilla, the Gopat, the Rihand, the
C

Gandak, the Kosi and the Mahananda in the Kanhar and the North Koel.
order from west to east.
The Damodar occupies the eastern margins
The Yamuna, the western most and the of the Chotanagpur Plateau where it flows
longest tributary of the Ganga, has its source in through a rift valley and finally joins the Hooghly.
the Yamnotri glacier on the western slopes of The Barakar is its main tributary. Once known
Banderpunch range (6,330 m). Small streams as the 'sorrow of Bengal' for its devastating
like Rishiganga, Uma, and Hanuman Ganga floods, the Damodar has been now tamed by
join it in the mountains. Tons joins it near Kalsi. the Damodar Valley Corporation, a multipur-
It enters plains at Tajewala. It is joined by the pose river project.
Chambal, the Sind, the Betwa and the Ken on
The Ramganga is a small river rising in the
its right bank which originates from the Penin-
Garhwal hills near Kalagarh.
sular plateau while the Hindon, the Rind, the
Sengar, the Varuna, join it on its left bank. It It changes its course to the southwest direc-
joins the Ganga at Prayag (Allahabad). The tion after crossing the Shiwalik and enters into
total length of Yamuna from its origin to Prayag the plains of Uttar Pradesh near Najibabad.
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 Finally, it joins the Ganga near Kannauj. Its known as 'the Sorrow of Bihar'. Hanuman
main tributaries are the Khoh, the Gangan, the Nagar barrage has been constructed in 1965 to
Aril, the Kosi, and the Deoha (Gorra). tame the river. The Kosi joins Ganga near
The Ghaghara originates in the glaciers of Kursala.
Mapchachungo near Gurla Mandhata peak
south of Mansarovar. It is known as Karnali in The Brahmaputra River System
western Nepal. After collecting the waters of its The Brahmaputra, one of the largest rivers
tributaries - Tila, Seti and Beri, it comes out of of the world, has its origin in the

E
the mountain, cutting a deep gorge at Shishapani. Chemayungdung glacier of the Kailash range.
The river Sarda (Kali or Kali Ganga) joins it in

Y
Mariam La separates its source from the
the plain before it finally meets the Ganga at Mansarovar lake. From here, it traverses east-

L
Chhapra. Its other tributaries are the Sarju and ward longitudinally for a distance of nearly
the Rapti. Its average annual flow is 94,000 1,200 km in a dry and flat region of southern

EM
million cubic meter. Tibet, where it is known as the Tsangpo, which
IC The Sarda or Saryu river rises in the Milan
glacier in the Nepal Himalayas where it is
known as the Goriganga. Along the Indo-Nepal
border, it is called Kali. After reaching the plain
means 'the purifier.' The Rango Tsangpo is the
major tributary of this river from the north in
Tibet. It emerges as a turbulent and dynamic
river after carving out a deep gorge in the
near Tanakpur, it is called as Chauka. Then it Central Himalayas near Namcha Barwa (7,756
AC N
D takes southeasterly course to join the Ghaghara. m). The river emerges from the foothills under
the name of Siang or Dihang. It enters India
The Gandak comprises two streams, namely
west of Sadiya town in Arunachal Pradesh.
Kaligandak and Trishul Ganga. It rises in the
Flowing southwest, it receives its main left bank
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Nepal Himalayas between the Dhaulagiri and

A
tributaries, viz., Dibang or Sikang and Lohit;
Mount Everest and drains the central part of
thereafter, it is known as the Brahmaputra.
Nepal. Gandak is known as narayani in Nepal.
It enters the Ganga plain in Champaran district The Brahmaputra receives numerous tribu-
of Bihar and joins the Ganga at Sonpur near taries in its 750 km long journey through the
Patna. The average annual flow is 52,200 mil- Assam valley. Its major left bank tributaries are
lion cubic meters. Its main tributaries are the the Burhi Dihing, Noa Dihing, Dhansiri (South),
Dibru, Dikhu, and Kalang whereas the impor-
IA H

Mayangadi and the Bari.

tant right bank tributaries are the Subansiri,
The Burhi Gandak originates from the west-
Kameng, Dhansiri (north), Manas, and Sankosh.
ern slopes of Sumesar hills near Indo-Nepal
The Subansiri, which has its origin in Tibet, is
border and flows in south-east direction. It joins
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an antecedent river. The Brahmaputra enters

Ganga opposite Monghyr. Its length is 610 km.
Bangladesh near Dhubri and flows southward.
The Kosi is an antecedent river with its In Bangladesh, the Tista joins it on its right bank
source to the north of Mount Everest in Tibet, from where the river is known as the Jamuna.
where its main stream Arun rises. After crossing It finally merges with the river Padma, which
the Central Himalayas in Nepal, it is joined by falls in the Bay of Bengal.
the Sun Kosi from the West and the Tamur Kosi The Brahmaputra is well-known for floods,
from the east. It forms Sapt Kosi after uniting channel shifting and bank erosion. This is due
with the river Arun at Triveni. Soon after to the fact that most of its tributaries are large,
debouching onto the plain the river becomes and bring large quantity of sediments owing to
sluggish due to heavy load. The river channel heavy rainfall in its catchment area. It has a
is braided and it shifts its course frequently. This braided channel for most of its course in Assam
causes devastating floods. Thus the Kosi is and forms the worlds largest river island 'Majuli'.
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 THE PENINSULAR DRAINAGE SYSTEM and the Tapi which flow through the rift valley
are, however, exceptions.
The Peninsular drainage system is older
than the Himalayan one. This is evident from
Evolution of the peninsular drainage
the broad, largely-graded shallow valleys and
the maturity of the rivers. The Western Ghats Three major geological events in the distant
running close to the western coast act as the past have shaped the present drainage systems

E
water divide between the major Peninsular of Peninsular India:

Y
L
EM
IC
AC N
D
S RO
A
IA H
C

rivers, discharging their water in the Bay of

Bengal and small rivulets joining the Arabian (i) Subsidence of the western flank of the
Sea. Most of the major Peninsular Rivers except Peninsula leading to its submergence be-
Narmada and Tapi flow from west to east. The low the sea during the early tertiary pe-
major river systems of the peninsular drainage riod. Generally, it has disturbed the sym-
are - the Mahanadi the Godavari, the Krishna metrical plan of the river on either side of
and the Cauvery. Peninsular rivers are charac- the original watershed.
terized by fixed course, absence of meanders (ii) Upheaval of the Himalayas when the
and non perennial flow of water. The Narmada northern flank of the peninsular block was

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 subjected to subsidence and the conse- (iii) The tributaries of Ganga and Yamuna
quent trough faulting. The Narmada and such as Chambal, Sind, Betwa, Ken,
the Tapi flow in trough faults and fill the Son and Damodar flow in north-east-
original cracks with their detritus materi- erly direction.
als. Hence there is a lack of alluvial and
deltaic deposits in these rivers. The East Flowing Rivers of the Peninsula
(iii) Slight tilting of the Peninsular block from The Mahanadi rises near Sihawa in Raipur
northwest to the southeastern direction district of Chhattisgarh and runs through Orissa

E
gave orientation to the entire drainage to discharge its water into the Bay of Bengal. It
system towards the Bay of Bengal during

Y
is 851 km long and its catchment area spreads
the same period.
over 1.42 lakh sq. km. Some navigation is

L
carried on in the lower course of this river. 53
The Peninsular River Systems
per cent of the drainage basin of this river lies

EM
Important features of the Peninsular River in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, while 47
IC system:
• The peninsular rivers originate at lower
altitudes and drain areas which are geo-
logically more stable and, therefore, are
per cent lies in Orissa. The main tributaries are
the Ib, the Mand, the Hasdo and the Sheonath
on the left bank and the Ong, the Jonk, and the
Tel on the right bank. World's longest dam
Hirakud is situated on this river.
devoid of meanders.
AC N
D • The river Channels have reached the base The Godavari is the largest peninsular river.
levels and have low gradients. It is also called the Vridha Ganga or the Dakshin
Ganga. It rises from the Triambak plateau in the
• Larger deltas are formed by larger rivers at Nasik district of Maharashtra and discharges its
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their mouth (except those flowing towards water into the Bay of Bengal. Its tributaries run
A
west). through the states of Maharashtra, Madhya
• The broad, largely graded and shallow Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Andhra
valleys of the peninsular rivers indicate Pradesh. It is 1,465 km long with a catchment
that they have existed for a much longer area spreading over 3.13 lakh sq. km, 49 per
period than the Himalayan rivers. cent of which lies in Maharashtra, 21 per cent
• Most of the peninsular river flow towards in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, 24 per-
cent in Andhra Pradesh and the rest in Orissa.
IA H

the east because the main watershed lies in

The Manjra is the only important right bank
Western Ghats in close proximity to the
tributary which passes through Nizam Sagar
west coast. Notable exceptions are Narmada
dam. The Penganga, the Wardha, the
and Tapi, which flows in a direction op-
Wainganga, the Indravati, the Pranhita, and
C

posed to this general trend.

the Sabari are its principal left bank tributaries.
• There are a large number of river systems The Penganga joins the Wardha which in turn
in the peninsular drainage. There are three joins the Wainganga to become short-span
main directions of flow of peninsular riv- Pranhita which merges with the Godavari. The
ers- Indravati rises from Kondhan hills of Eastern
(i) The Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Ghats. The Godavari is subjected to heavy
Krishna, the Cauvery and several small floods in its lower reaches to the south of
rivers draining south-east into the Bay Polavaram, where it forms a picturesque gorge.
of Bengal. It is navigable for only 300 km in the deltaic
(ii) The Narmada and the Tapi flowing stretch. After Rajamundri, the river splits into
west as well as several small streams Gautami Godavari in the east and Vashishtha
originating from the Western Ghats Godavari in the west forming a large Lobate
flow westward into the Arabean sea. type delta.
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3. Water Resources and Drainage Pattern.pmd 38 7/11/2014, 1:24 PM
 The Krishna is the second largest east- Jabalpur. It makes other waterfalls at Mandhar,
flowing peninsular river which rises near Dardi and Maheshwar (Sahasradhara Falls).
Mahabaleshwar in the Sahyadris. Its total length After flowing a distance of about 1,310 km, it
is 1,400 km. The Koyna, the Muneru, the meets the Arabian sea south of Bharuch, form-
Ghatprabha, the Malprabha, the Tungbhadra, ing a broad 27 km long estuary in the Gulf of
the Musi, and the Bhima are its major tributar- Khambhat. Its catchment area is about 98,796
ies. Of the total catchment area of the Krishna, sq. km. The Sardar Sarovar Project has been

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27 per cent lies in Maharashtra, 44 per cent in constructed on this river. The Hiran, the Orsang,

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Karnataka and 29 per cent in Andhra Pradesh. the Barna and the Kolar are its major right bank
The Kaveri rises from Taal Kaveri in tributaries. The major left bank tributaries are

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Brahmagiri hills in Karnataka. Its length is 800 the Burhner, the Banjar, the Shar, the Shakkar,
km and it drains an area of 81,155 sq. km. Since the Kundi and the Tawa.

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the upper catchment area receives rainfall dur- The Tapi or the Tapti is the second largest

IC ing the southwest monsoon season (summer)

and the lower part during the northeast mon-
soon season (winter), the river carries water
throughout the year with comparatively less
fluctuation than the other peninsular rivers.
The river descends from the South Karnataka
westward flowing river. It is also known as 'The
Twin' and 'The Handmaid' of the Narmada. It
originates from Multai in the Betul district of
Madhya Pradesh. It is 730 km long and drains
an area of 65,145 sq. km. Nearly 79 per cent of
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its basin lies in Maharashtra, 15 per cent in
Plateau to the Tamilnadu Plains through the
D Sivasamudram Falls. The river island Srirangam
is in its middle course. About 3 per cent of the
Madhya Pradesh and the remaining 6 per cent
in Gujarat. Its main tributary is the Purna
joining it near Bhusawal. Other tributaries are
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Kaveri basin falls in Kerala, 41 per cent in the Betul, the Patki, the Aner, and Gomai on the
A
Karnataka and 56 per cent in Tamil Nadu. Its right bank and the Khursi, the Girna, the Bori
important tributaries are the Herangi, the and the Panjhara on the left bank.
Hemavati, the Lokpavani, the Shimsha and the
The Luni is the largest river system of
Arkavati from the north and the
Rajasthan, west of Aravali. It originates near
Lakshamantirtha, the Kabini, the Suvarnavati,
Pushkar in two branches, i.e. the Saraswati and
the Bhavani and the Amravati from south.The
the Sagarmati, which join with each other at
other east flowing rivers of the peninsular India
Govindgarh. From here, the river comes out of
IA H

are, from north to south, the Subarnarekha, the

Aravali and is known as Luni. It flows towards
Brahmani, the Penneru, the Ponnaiyar, and the
Vaigai. The Brahmani forms after the confluence the west till Telwara and then takes a southwest
of the Koel and the Sankh near Rourkela. Its direction to join the Rann of Kuchchh. The
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tributaries are the Kura, the Sankhad and the entire river system is ephemeral.
Tikra. The tributaries of the Penneru are the The Sabarmati is the name given to the
Jayamangli, the Kunderu, the Saigileru, the combined streams of the Sabar and the Hathmati.
Chitravati, the Papagni and the Cheyyeru. The It rises from Mewar in Aravali range and falls
Baitarni, the Vamsadhara and the Palar are into the Gulf of Khambhat. Its tributaries are the
other important rivers. Sedhi, the Meshwa, etc.
The Mahi rises in the Vindhyas and falls
The West Flowing Rivers of the Peninsula into the Gulf of Khambhat. Its drainage area is
The Narmada, the largest west flowing shared by Madhya Pradesh (19%), Rajasthan
river of the peninsula, originates on the western (47%), and Gujarat (34%). Its tributaries are the
flank of the Amarkantak plateau at a height of Som, the Anas and the Panam.
about 1,057 m. Flowing in a rift valley between
the Satpura in the south and the Vindhyan The West Flowing Rivers of the Sahyadris
range in the north, it forms a picturesque gorge The rivers flowing towards the Arabian sea
in Marble Rocks and Dhuandhar waterfall near have short courses. These drain 3% of India's
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3. Water Resources and Drainage Pattern.pmd 39 7/11/2014, 1:24 PM
 land area but carry 18% of country's water 2. Parallel drainage system: A parallel drain-
resources. In Karnataka, the Kalinadi rises from age system is a pattern of rivers caused by
Belgaum district and falls in the Karwar Bay. steep slopes with some relief. Because of the
The source of Bedti river lies in Hubli Dharwar steep slopes, the streams are swift and
and traverses a course of 161 km. The Sharavati straight, with very few tributaries, and all
is another important river in Karnataka flowing flow in the same direction. This system
towards the west. It originates in Shimoga forms on uniformly sloping surfaces, for
district and drains a catchment area of 2,209 sq. example, rivers flowing southeast from the

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km. The famous Jog or Gersoppa Falls made by Aberdare Mountains in Kenya.
the Sharavati is the highest in India. The Bhadra

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originates near Aniali village in Rajkot district
in Gujrat. The Vaitarna rises from the Triambak

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in Nasik district at an elevation of 670 m.

EM
Goa has a few rivers which can be men-
tioned here. They are Mandovi, Rachol and
IC Juari.
Kerala has a narrow coastline. The longest
river of Kerala, Bharathapuzha rises near
Annamalai hills. It is also known as Ponnani. It
drains an area of 5,397 sq. km. The Periyar is
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D the second largest river of Kerala. Its catchment
area is 5,243 sq. km. Other rivers of Kerala
worth mentioning are the Pamba river which
falls in the Vembanad lake after traversing a
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3. Trellis drainage system: The geometry of

A
course of 177 km, the Beypore and the Pannam.
a trellis drainage system is similar to that
of a common garden trellis used to grow
DRAINAGE PATTERNS
vines. As the river flows along a strike
A drainage system is the pattern formed by valley, smaller tributaries feed into it from
the streams, rivers, and lakes in a particular the steep slopes on the sides of mountains.
drainage basin. They are governed by the topog- These tributaries enter the main river at
raphy of the land, whether a particular region approximately 90 degree angles, causing a
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is dominated by hard or soft rocks, and the trellis-like appearance of the drainage sys-
gradient of the land. tem. Trellis drainage is characteristic of
folded mountains, such as the Appala-
Types of drainage system chian Mountains in North America.
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1. Dendritic drainage system: Dendritic 4. Rectangular drainage system: Rectangu-

drainage systems are the most common lar drainage develops on rocks that are of
form of drainage system. In a dendritic approximately uniform resistance to ero-
sion, but which have two directions of
system, there are many contributing streams
jointing at approximately right angles. The
(analogous to the twigs of a tree), which
joints are usually less resistant to erosion
are then joined together into the tributaries
than the bulk rock so erosion tends to
of the main river (the branches and the
preferentially open the joints and streams
trunk of the tree, respectively). They de-
eventually develop along the joints. The
velop where the river channel follows the
result is a stream system in which streams
slope of the terrain. Dendritic systems form
consist mainly of straight line segments
in V-shaped valleys; as a result, the rock with right angle bends, and tributaries join
types must be impervious and non-porous. larger streams at right angles.
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3. Water Resources and Drainage Pattern.pmd 40 7/11/2014, 1:24 PM
 5. Radial drainage system: In a radial drain- from 100 mm in the western parts of Rajasthan
age system the streams radiate outwards to over 10000 mm at Cherrapunji in Meghalaya.
from a central high point. Volcanos usually Rivers and underground aquifers often cut across
display excellent radial drainage. Other state boundaries. Water, as a resource is one
geological features on which radial drain- and indivisible: rainfall, river waters, surface
age commonly develops are domes and ponds and lakes and ground water are all part
of one system.

E
laccoliths. On these features the drainage
may exhibit a combination of radial and In addition, there are challenges of frequent

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annular patterns. floods and droughts in one or the other part of
6. Deranged drainage system: A deranged the country. With a growing population and

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drainage system is a drainage system in rising needs of a fast developing nation as well
drainage basins where there is no coherent as the given indications of the impact of climate

EM
pattern to the rivers and lakes. It happens change, availability of utilizable water will be

IC in areas where there has been much

geological disruption. The classic example
is the Canadian Shield. During the last ice
age, the topsoil was scraped off, leaving
mostly bare rock. The melting of the gla-
under further strains in future with the possi-
bility of deepening water conflicts among differ-
ent user groups. Low public consciousness about
the overall scarcity and economic value of water
results in its wastage and inefficient use. In
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ciers left land with many irregularities of addition, there are inequitious distribution and

D elevation, and a great deal of water to

collect in the low points, explaining the
large number of lakes which are found in
lack of a unified perspective in planning, man-
agement and use of water resources.
The objective of the National Water Policy is
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Canada. The watersheds are young and to take cognizance of the existing situation and
A
are still sorting themselves out. Eventually to propose a framework for creation of an
the system will stabilize. overarching system of laws and institutions and
7. Annular drainage pattern: In an annular for a plan of action with a unified national
drainage pattern streams follow a roughly perspective.
circular or concentric path along a belt of National Water Policy was adopted in Sep-
weak rock, resembling in plan a ring like tember, 1987. Since then, a number of issues
pattern. It is best displayed by streams
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and challenges have emerged in the develop-

draining a maturely dissected structural ment and management of the water resources.
dome or basin where erosion has exposed Therefore, the National Water Policy (1987) has
rimming sedimentary strata of greatly vary- been reviewed and updated in 2012.
ing degrees of hardness, as in the Red
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Valley, which nearly encircles the domal The salient features of new National Water
structure of the Black Hills of South Da-
Policy (2012) are:
kota.
a) Constitutionally the States have the right
NATIONAL WATER POLICY 2012 to frame suitable policies, laws and regu-
Water is a natural resource, fundamental to lations on water, the draft NWP, 2012
life, livelihood, food security and sustainable lays emphasis on the need for a national
development. It is also a scarce resource. India water framework law, comprehensive
has more than 17 percent of the world’s popu- legislation for optimum development of
lation, but has only 4% of world’s renewable inter-State rivers and river valleys, public
water resources with 2.6% of world’s land area. trust doctrine, amendment of the Indian
There are further limits on utilizable quantities Easements Act, 1882, etc.
of water owing to uneven distribution over time b) The draft NWP, 2012 presents a holistic
and space. Precipitation is confined to only picture of ecological need of the river
about three or four months in a year and varies rather than restricting it to only mini-
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3. Water Resources and Drainage Pattern.pmd 41 7/11/2014, 1:24 PM
 mum flow requirement. It states that the g) Water Users Associations should be given
ecological needs of the river should be statutory powers to collect and retain a
determined recognizing that river flows portion of water charges, manage the
are characterized by low or no flows, volumetric quantum of water allotted to
small floods (freshets), large floods and them and maintain the distribution sys-
flow variability and should accommo- tem in their jurisdiction.
date development needs. A portion of h) All water resources projects, including
river flows should be kept aside to meet hydro power projects, should be planned
ecological needs ensuring that the pro-

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to the extent feasible as multi-purpose
portional low and high flow releases projects with provision of storage to derive

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correspond in time closely to the natural maximum benefit from available topol-
flow regime. ogy and water resources.

L
c) It recognizes the need to adapt to climate i) The draft NWP, 2012 lays emphasis on
change scenario in planning and imple-

EM
preparedness for flood / drought with
mentation of water resources projects. coping up mechanisms as an option.
IC Coping strategies for designing and
management of water resources struc-
tures and review of acceptability criteria
has been emphasized.
Frequency based flood inundation maps
should be prepared to evolve coping
strategies
j) Appropriate institutional arrangements
d) Need and approaches towards enhanc- for each river basin should be developed
AC N
D ing water availability have been stipu- to collect and collate all data on regular
lated. Direct use of rainfall and avoid- basis with regard to rainfall, river flows,
ance of inadvertent evapo-transpiration area irrigated by crops and by source,
have been proposed as the new addi- utilizations for various uses by both sur-
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A
tional strategies for augmenting utiliz- face and ground water and to publish
able water resources. water accounts on ten daily basis every
e) Draft proposes the mapping of the aqui- year for each river basin with appropri-
fers to know the quantum and quality of ate water budgets and water accounts
ground water resources in the country based on the hydrologic balances.
has been proposed with provision of Planning and implementation of water re-
periodic updation. sources projects involve a number of socio-
IA H

economic aspects and issues such as environ-

f) A system to evolve benchmarks for water
mental sustainability, appropriate resettlement
uses for different purposes, i.e., water
and rehabilitation of project-affected people
footprints, and water auditing should be
and livestock, public health concerns of water
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developed to ensure efficient use of water. impoundment, dam safety, etc.

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3. Water Resources and Drainage Pattern.pmd 42 7/11/2014, 1:24 PM
 4 SOIL AND VEGETATION

E
Y
L
SOIL SOIL TYPES AND DISTRIBUTION

EM
C
Soil is the topmost layer of the earth's sur- There are different types of soils in India
face. It consists of a mixture of minute particles and climate, altitude and composition of bed-
of disintegrated rocks, minerals, organic matter rock are the major factors that control the soil
and bacteria. Soil is formed when forces of formation in India. Disproportion in the an-
I
nature such as temperature, rain, wind, waves, nual distribution of rainfall in the country and
animals and plants act on rocks and break them
AC N
excessive heat contribute characteristics to the
into tiny pieces over a long period of time.
D
Soil consists of four layers. The first or
topmost layer of soil is made up of minute soil
soils of the country. Seven major types of soils
in India are Alluvial soils, Black soils, Desert
soils, Red and yellow soils, Saline soils, Lateritic
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particles and decayed plant and animal matter. soils and mountain soils.
A
This layer is vital for the cultivation of
crops. The second layer is made up of
fine particles like clay; the third layer is
a combination of weathered basic rock
materials and soil while the fourth layer
consists of un-weathered hard rocks.
IA H

Each type of soil benefits different

types of crops through their unique physi-
cal, chemical and biological properties.
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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 high
iron content and is fit for crops like red
gram, Bengal gram, green gram, ground-
nut and castor seed. Black soil is rich in
calcium, potassium and magnesium but
has poor nitrogen content. Crops like
cotton, tobacco, chilly, oil seeds, jowar,
ragi and maize grow well in it. Sandy
soil is low in nutrient content but is
useful for growing trees such as coconut,
cashew and casuarinas in areas with
high rainfall.
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 1. Alluvial Soil: This is the most crucial and soils`. These soils are most characteristic of
pervasive kind. It covers forty per cent of the Deccan trap (Basalt) region, spread
land area. In fact the complete Northern over the north-west Deccan plateau and
Plains are made up of these soils. They have are made up of lava flows. They cover the
been brought down and deposited by three plateaus of Maharashtra, Saurashtra,
enormous Himalayan rivers- Satluj, Ganga Malwa and southern Madhya Pradesh and
and Brahmaputra-and their tributaries. continue eastwards in the south, along the
Through a tapered outlet in Rajasthan, they Godavari and Krishna Valleys.

E
continue into the plains of Gujarat. They Black soils are made of exceptionally deli-
are common in eastern coastal plains, in cate that is clayey material. Owing to the

Y
the deltas of Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna
high proportion of clay, Regur soils are
and Kaveri.

L
sticky when wet and consequently, it be-
The river deposits extremely refined par- comes difficult to plough. They are well-

EM
ticles of soil, called alluvium in their plains known for their ability to retain moisture.
during the path of their long travail, spread
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over hundreds of kilometres and thousands
of years. These soils consist of diverse ratios
of sand, silt and clay. They are prevalent in
I
the coastal plains and deltas. As one moves
In addition, they are prosperous in soil
nutrients, like calcium carbonate, magne-
sium carbonate, potash and lime. They are
usually poor in phosphoric content. They
develop thick fissures in the field during
further inland in the river valleys, the soil hot weather. This helps in their ventilation;
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particles appear pretty heavier in size. In
D hence their self-ploughing eminence. This
the upper reaches of the river Valleys, i.e. soil is viscous and unmanageable to work,
near the place of their origin, the soils are
unless tilled without delay, after the first or
coarser. Such soils are more familiar in
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pre-monsoon showers.
piedmont plains, i.e. those that are near the
A
foot of mountains. Regur soils develop under semi-arid condi-
tions specifically in the areas that are cov-
Soils are distinguished according to their
ered with basalt. In the southern region of
age also. They are grouped in old alluvium
Tamil Nadu, granites and gneisses with
and new alluvium types. The so called new
alluvium may be even ten thousand years iron content also form black soils under the
old. The old alluvium is called `Bhangar`, required semi-arid climatic conditions.
Regur soils are formed in Surat and Broach
IA H

and the new alluvium is called `khadar`.

The old alluvium often contains kankar districts and also in the Narmada Valley
nodules, with calcium carbonates in sub- and Tapti Valley. In these regions, humus
soil. The new alluvium is richer compared is almost absent in the soil and black colour
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to the old. of the soil is because of the presence of

certain salts. In the hilly region of the
Alluvial soils all together are exceptionally
country, Black soils are usually thin, poor
prolific. In general, they carry ample pot-
and sandy.
ash, phosphoric acid and lime. However,
they are lacking in organic and nitrogenous Black soils or Regur soils are rich in lime
substance. Soils in the drier areas are more and it is not unusual to find lime nodules
alkaline. Alluvial soils sustain over half the deposition under the layer of this type of
Indian population. soil. Moreover, this soil is highly retentive
2. Regur Soil/Black soil: Regur soils are black of moisture and is highly productive par-
in colour and are also known as `black ticularly in the plains and along the river
soils`. Since they are perfect for growing valleys where it is clayey and deep. It is said
cotton, they are also called cotton soils, in that the feature of retaining moisture in the
addition to their local terminology of 'regur soil is extremely useful. Thus, the deeper
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 the soil, the larger is the amount of mois- is regularly ploughed. For the continuous
ture held. However, nitrogen which is con- cultivation of crops, regular application of
sidered as useful for the growth of plants fertilizers is required.
is not sufficiently found in the Regur soil. 4. Red Soil: Red soils are also known as
3. Laterite Soil: Laterite soils are generally yellow soils. Like laterite soil, red soils are
found capping the Indian flat uplands, and heavily leached and they contain a consid-

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are spread in the western coastal region, erable concentration of iron oxides. The
getting incredibly heavy rain. Lateritic soils presence of iron oxides is responsible for

Y
are also found in areas along the edge of giving this soil its reddish or yellowish
shade. Red soils are sandier and less clayey

L
the plateau in the east, covering small parts
of Tamil Nadu and Orissa and a small part comparatively. Moreover, these soils are
formed in those areas which receive rela-

EM
of Chhotanagpur Plateau in the north and
tively low rainfall and thus they are less

C
Meghalaya in north-east. The soils are
leached as compared with laterite soils.
habitually poor and can hold only pastures
Further, red or yellow soils develop usually
and scrub forests. Among the mixed types
on metamorphic rocks.
of soils, two groups are more substantial.
I
They include the desert soils of west Red soils do not contain any essential nu-
trient. Like for instance, they are poor in
Rajasthan and mountain soils of the
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nitrogen, lime and phosphorous contents.
Himalayas.
D
Laterite soil is mainly found in the tropical
regions that receive heavy seasonal rainfall.
Red soils are acidic in nature. This is one
similarity between laterite soils and red
soils. Red soils are not retentive of moisture
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High rainfall promotes leaching of the soil and hence, they are cultivated mostly dur-
A
where silica and lime are leached away ing the rainy season. For higher yield in this
and a soil rich in oxides of aluminium type of soil, constant application of ma-
predominate and are in abundance laterite nures is required. Red soils mostly develop
is called bauxite. Due to the presence of in the Indian peninsular plateau. Interest-
iron oxides the colour of laterite soil is ingly, in the lowlands and valleys, red soils
basically red. This soil is poor in lime are fertile and deep. On the other hand, on
the hill slopes, they are basically poor and
IA H

content and hence it is acidic. Laterite soils

are found on the high level plateau and thin.
hilly areas that receive high rainfall and are The northwestern half of the peninsular
specifically well developed on the Eastern block is covered by black soil and the
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Ghats in Orissa. It is also found in the remaining southeastern half is covered by

southern part of the Western Ghats includ- red soil of various shades of red and yellow.
ing the adjoining coastal regions in Ratnagiri They basically surround the whole black
District and Malabar. soil region on all sides, and cover the
eastern part of the peninsula, comprising
Humus is almost absent in this type of soil.
Chhotanagpur Plateau, Orissa, eastern
However, in the laterite soil developed in
parts of Madhya Pradesh, Nilgiris and
the forested areas in the western part of Tamil Nadu plateau. They continue north-
Karnataka, humus is present. Further, lat- wards in the west, along the Konkan coast
erite soils of high level areas are very poor of Maharashtra. They also develop in the
and least retentive of moisture and at times Eastern Ghats, Bihar plateau, and Shillong
barren. But, in the low lying areas, regular plateau. It is found in states like Mizoram
addition of soils that are washed down and Manipur. Soils are loamy in deep
from the adjacent higher areas affects depressions and in uplands they consist of
lateritization. In those areas, the lateritic gravel. They function well with dosage of
soil being either loam or mud is useful and fertilizers and irrigation waters.
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 5. Forest and Mountain Soil: Generally, there The Rajasthan desert is a vast sandy plain,
is a huge variety of soils in the Himalaya including isolated hills or out crops at
Mountain ranges. Mountain soils are found places. Though on the whole the tract is
in the dry and cold districts like Ladakh, sandy, the soil improves in fertility from
Lahul-Spiti, Kinnaur District, etc. Further, west and north-west to east and north-
in the river valleys as well as on the river east. In many parts, the soils are saline or
terraces, alluvial soils are found but across alkaline, with unfavorable physical condi-
the slopes, one generally comes across soils tions and high pH.

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of different textures. It varies from silty 7. Peaty and marshy soil: Peaty soil origi-
loam to rock fragments. Fine textured soils nates in humid regions as a result of accu-

Y
are mainly found in the river valleys or in mulation of large amount of organic matter
the outwash plains. In other parts of these

L
in the soils. These soils contain considerable
hilly districts, soils are in general stony and amount of soluble salts and 10-40 per cent
shallow but are poor in organic matter.

EM
of organic matter. Soils belonging to this

C
The basic character of the mountain soils
depend on the climate and are mainly
found in the warm temperate belt or the
cool temperate belt of the Himalaya Moun-
I
tains. Brown forest soil is mainly found in
group are found in Kottayam and
Alappuzha districts of Kerala where it is
called KARI. Marshy soil with high propor-
tion of vegetable matter also occurs in the
coastal areas of Orissa and Tamil Nadu.
the warm temperate belt lying at heights The peaty soils are black, heavy and highly
AC N
ranging from 900 to 1800 metres, which
D acidic. They are deficient in potash and
has deciduous forests. This belt comprises phosphate.
enough warmth for decomposition of veg-
8. Saline and alkaline soils: These soils are
etation. The typical brown forest soil of this
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found in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

zone is rich in humus and is deep. They are
A
These soils are liable to saline and alkaline
slightly acidic and are fertile largely used
efflorescences and are known as reh, kallar,
for raising different varieties of crops.
usar, rakar and chopan. These soils contain
6. Desert soils: A large part of the arid region toxic concentrations of soluble salts in the
belonging to the western Rajasthan, root zone. Electrical conductivity in the
Haryana, Punjab, lying between the Indus saturation extract of such soils taken as a
River and the Aravalli range is affected by measure of salts is greater than 4.0 mmhos/
IA H

the desert conditions of geologically recent cm. Exchangeable sodium percentage is

origin. This part is covered under a mantle less than 15 and pH is less than 8.5. The
of brown sand which, when combined soluble salts mainly consist of chlorides and
with the arid climate results in poor soil sulphates of sodium, calcium and magne-
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development. The most predominant com- sium. Because of the white encrustation
ponent of the desert sand is quartz but due to salts, the soil is called white alkali.
feldspar and hornblende grains also occur
The soil salinity or alkalinity or both have
with a fair proportion of calcareous grains.
It receives little monsoon rain. The sands many adverse effects, summarized below:
which cover the area are partly derived 1. Causing low yield of crops or crop failure
from the disintegration of the subjacent in extreme cases.
rocks, but are largely blown in from the 2. The limiting of the choice of crops be-
coastal regions and the Indus Valley. Some cause some crops are sensitive to salinity
of these soils contain high percentages of or alkalinity or both.
soluble salts, high pH, a varying percentage 3. Rendering the quality of fodder as poor,
of calcium carbonate and are poor in or- as at times the fodder grown on alkali
ganic matter. soils may contain a high amount of

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 molybdenum and a low amount of wash away the top layers of the soil. The steep
zinc, causing nutritional imbalance and slopes of the hills further stimulate the eroding
disesses among live-stock. power of the rain water. The soils are very thin
4. Creating difficulties in the construction and all exposed slopes are susceptible to serious
of buildings and roads and their mainte- sheet erosion or gullying.
nance. Erosion may be of little consequence for hilly

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5. Causing excessive run offs and floods tracts, but is of great significance to the plains.
due to low infiltration resulting in dam- The whole basin of Kosi river is threatened by

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age to crops. this erosion, as a result of which the rivers bring
with them millions of tonnes of sand and debris

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SOIL EROSION AND CONSERVATION annually. When the rivers reach the plains and
below and the stream flow slackens the load is

EM
Soil erosion in India is a major cause of
dropped and gets deposited in their beds. This

C
concern. Almost 130 million hectares of land i.e.
leads to choking of river channels, which in turn
approx 45% of total land is affected by serious
increase the flood danger and induces shifting
soil erosion through gorge and gully, shifting
of the course which brings disaster in train to
cultivation, water logging etc.
the whole country-side.
I
Soil erosion is the gradual removal of the top
Both surface erosion and deep gullying are
soil cover by natural agencies like water, wind
AC N
considerably influenced by the type of soil in
etc or by manmade activities as alkanisation,

etc.
D
salinization of soil, deforestation

Soil erosion is almost univer-

S RO
A
sally reorganized as a serious threat
to man's well-being. The two main
agents of erosion are wind and
water. In the case of erosion by
water, the major erosive agents are
impacting raindrops and run-off
water flowing over the soil surface.
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Erosion and sedimentation embody

the processes of detachment, trans-
portation and deposition of soil
particles. Detachments are the dis-
C

lodging of soil particles from the

soil mass by erosive agents.
Most of the land area in the
country shows evidence of degra-
dation thus affecting the produc-
tive base of economy. Out of the
total geographical area of 329 mil-
lion hectares, 175 million hectares
are considered degraded.
Although soil-erosion is frequent
throughout the country, it operates
most intensely in the hilly regions.
The precipitation often occurs in
torrents which instead of sinking
into the ground as the light drizzles,

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 India, although a given soil type may not Strategies
behave consistently under all conditions and no
There are many ways to conserve soil, some
type of soil is entirely safe from erosion. Thus,
are suited to those areas where farming is done,
sandy porous soil in the country are in general
and some are according to soil needs. Here are
least subject to gradual weathering down by
the various soil conservation methods that are
water action, since they are capable of absorb-
practiced.
ing a great amount of water in ordinary rains.
On the other hand, if the rate of percolation is a) Planting Vegetation: This is one of the
prevented by frost or by even thin strata of clay, most effective and cost saving soil con-

E
the very lack of "binding" qualities in the sandy servation methods. By planting trees,

Y
soils permit them to be moved at a very rapid grass, plants, soil erosion can be greatly
pace. Again, however, the coarseness of the prevented. Plants help to stabilize the

L
material may cause it to be deposited before it properties of soil and trees also act as a
has been carried to any great distance. wind barrier and prevent soil from being

EM
The most potent and common causes for blown away.

C
erosion in India are deforestation and overgraz-
ing. Throughout the country, as population has
increased, more and more forests have been
I
destroyed mainly by grazing cattle feeding on
This is also among strategies used for soil
conservation methods in urban areas,
one can plant trees and plants in the
landscape areas of the residential places.
The best choices for vegetation are herbs,
grass and herbs and green bushes.
AC N
D small trees, plants with wild flowers, and
Effects of soil erosion creepers which provide a ground cover.
a) Loss of fertile top soil leading to gradual b) Contour Ploughing: Contour farming or
loss of soil fertility and agricultural produc- ploughing is used by farmers, wherein
S RO

tivity. they plough across a slope and follow the

A
b) Loss of mineral nutrients from soil through elevation contour lines. This method pre-
leaching and flooding vents water runoff, and thus prevents
c) Lowering of the underground water table soil erosion by allowing water to slowly
and decrease in the percentage of soil penetrate the soil.
moisture c) Maintaining the Soil pH: The measure-
d) Drying of vegetation and extension of arid ment of soil's acidity or alkalinity is done
IA H

lands by measuring the soil pH levels. Soil gets

e) Increase in frequency of droughts and floods polluted due to the addition of basic or
f) Silting of river and canal belts acidic pollutants which can be countered
g) Recurrence of landslides by maintaining the desirable pH of soil.
C

h) Adverse effect on economic prosperity and d) Soil Organisms: Without the activities
cultural development performed by soil organisms, the organic
material required by plants will litter and
Soil conservation won't be available for plant growth. Using
Soil conservation is maintaining good soil beneficial soil organisms like earthworms,
health, by various practices. The aim of soil helps in aeration of soil and makes the
conservation methods is to prevent soil erosion, macro-nutrients available for the plants.
prevent soil's overuse and prevent soil contami- Thus, the soil becomes more fertile and
nation from chemicals. There are various mea- porous.
sures that are used to maintain soil health, and e) Crop Rotation Practice: Crop rotation is
prevent the above harms to soil. Here are the soil the soil conservation method where a
conservation methods which are practiced for series of different crops are planted one
soil management. after the other in the same soil area, and

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 is used greatly in organic farming. This which takes place with continuous crop-
is done to prevent the accumulation of ping. Manures can be animal and plant
pathogens, which occur if the same plants residues. They ensure yet another aspect
are grown in the soil, and also depletion of soil conservation viz, the building up
of nutrients. of soil productivity.
f) Watering the Soil: We water plants and l) Keeping the soil covered: Grasses are

E
trees, but it is equally important to water even more firm protectors of soil than the
soil to maintain its health. Soil erosion trees.

Y
occurs if the soil is blown away by wind. m) River embankments: By making river
By watering and settling the soil, one can

L
embankments, soil erosion can be re-
prevent soil erosion from the blowing duced along the bank of the rivers.
away of soil by wind. One of the effective

EM
soil conservation methods in India is the VEGETATION

IC
drip irrigation system which provides
water to the soil without the water run-
ning off.
g) Salinity Management: Excessive collec-
tion of salts in the soil has harmful effects
Located at tropical latitudes, the beautiful
land of India is characterized by rainfall regimes
and diverse temperature and climate. India's
climate helps in the growth of forests in the
country. However, in the past thousand years,
AC N
on the metabolism of plants. Salinity can various types of human activities have altered
D
lead to death of the vegetation and thus
cause soil erosion, which is why salinity
management is important.
the climatic formations in the country to a large
extent. The natural vegetation in India prima-
rily comprise of forests.
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h) Terracing: Terracing is among one of the

A
Vegetation growing in correspondence with
best soil conservation methods, where different environmental conditions is the natu-
cultivation is done on a terrace leveled ral vegetation of a particular place. Several
section of land. In terracing, farming is major factors such as soil, topography, tempera-
done on a unique step like structure and ture and rainfall have influenced the natural
the possibility of water running off is vegetation of India to a large extent. Depend-
slowed down. ing on the atmosphere, weather, position and
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i) Bordering from Indigenous Crops: It is other factors, there can be several classification
preferable to plant native plants, but of India's natural vegetation. The many fea-
when native plants are not planted then tures that characterize the natural vegetation of
bordering the crops with indigenous crops India are the tropical deciduous forests, the
C

is necessary. This helps to prevent soil tropical rain forests, the alpine and tundra
erosion, and this measure is greatly opted vegetation, rain forests of Southern India, Hi-
in poor rural areas. malayan vegetation, the desert region, the tem-
j) No-tilling Farming Method: The process perature forests and grasslands and many more.
of soil being ploughed for farming is
called tilling, wherein the fertilizers get (A) MOIST TROPICAL FORESTS
mixed and the rows for plantation are These forests are found in the areas of quite
created. However, this method leads to high temperature and rainfall. The forests are
death of beneficial soil organisms, loss of dense, multi-layered and have many types of
organic matter and compaction of soil. trees, shrubs and lians. These forests are further
Due to these side effects, the no-tilling categorized into 4 types depending on the
strategy is used to conserve soil health. degree of wetness in the area and the dominant
k) Increased use of organic manure: life form in the forest.
Through manuring, the Indian farmers (1) Tropical moist evergreen forests: These
can check the deflection of soil nutrients, are climatic climax forests found commonly
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 in areas having annual rainfall above 250 rainfall of 150-200 cm spread over most of
cm and temperature 25-30°C. These forests the year but periods of rain alternating
are chiefly distributed on the western face with very short periods of dryness. In
of Western Ghats, Assam, Cachar, parts of several areas, the forests have been con-
West Bengal, northern Canara, Annamalai verted into open savannahs due to inten-
Hills and Coorg in Meysore and Andman sive biotic factors. These forests are chiefly
Islands. distributed in a narrow belt along Hima-
The characteristic feature of these forests layan foothills, on the eastern side of West-

E
is dense growth of very tall trees having ern Ghats, Chota Nagpur, Khasi hills, in
height of more than 45 m. Climbers, lians, moist areas of Kerala, Karnataka, sothern

Y
epiphytes and shrubs are abundant but Madhya Pradesh, parts of northern Uttar
herbs and grasses are rare in these forests. Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.

L
The carpet layer of herbs and grasses can- Chief characteristic of these forests is domi-

EM
not grow because very dense layer of leaf nance of deciduous trees that remain leaf-
canopy of trees does not allow enough light

C
to reach to the ground.
Dominant trees in forests of west coast
are Dipterocarpus indica, Palaquim and
I
Cellenia while in forests of Assam are
less for one or two months only along with
lower story of smaller trees and evergreen
shrubs.
Dominant trees of these forests in north
India are Tectona grandis, Shorea robusta,
Diptercarpus macrocarpus, D. turbinatus,
AC N
Salmella andDalbergia while in south India
Shorea assamica, Mesua ferrea andKayea
D
(2) Tropical moist semi-evergreen forests:
These are also climatic climax forests found
are Tectona grandis and Shorea sp. .
(4) Littoral and swamp forests: These forests
are found in wet marshy areas, in river
S RO

commonly in areas of annual rainfall

A
200-250 cm and temperature 25-32°C.These deltas, in saline or other swampy areas and
forests are chiefly distributed along the along the sea coasts. They are chiefly dis-
Western Ghats, in upper parts of Assam tributed in deltas of large rivers on the
and Orissa and in Andman Islands. These eastern coast and in pockets on the western
forests are more developed in the northern coast (Tidal forests), in saline swamps of
India than in southern India. Sundarban in West Bengal, coastal areas of
Characteristic feature of these forests is Andhra and Orissa (Mangrove forests) and
IA H

dense growth of evergreen trees intermixed in less saline or non-saline swampy pockets
with deciduous trees that shed their leaves throughout the India.
for very brief period of relative dryness. Chief characteristic of these forests is domi-
C

Average height of trees in these forests is nance of halophytic evergreen plants of

25-35 m and shrubs are common. Forests varying height with varying density of
have rich carpet layer of herbs, grasses plants in different area.
ferns and orchids.
Dominant plants of tidal and mangrove
Dominant trees in these forests are forests are Rhizophora, Bruguiera, Ceriops,
Dipterocarpus alatus, Hopea, Terminalia and Horitora, Avicennia, Nipa, Sonneratia and
Salmalia in Andman Island; Artocarpus, Acanthus. In less saline swamps, dominant
Micheliaand Mangifera in Orissa; Schima
plants are Ipomea, Phoenix, Phragmitis,
wallichii, Bauhinia, Phobe and Ammora in
Casuarina, Manilkara and Calophyllum.
Assam.
In other swamps, the dominant plants
(3) Tropical moist deciduous forests: These areBarringtonia, Syzygium, Myristica,
forests are found in the area having tem- Bischofia, Trowia, Lagerstroemia, Sophora,
perature of 25-30°C and quite high annual Pandanus, Entada andPremna.
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 (B) DRY TROPICAL FORESTS develop leaves only during the brief rainy
season when grasses and herbs also be-
These forests are found in the areas where
come abundant.
wet season is followed by a relatively long
period of dryness during which trees remain Dominant plants in these forests are Aca-
leafless. These forests are dominated by smaller cia nilotica, A. leucophloea, A. senegal,
trees and shrubs and have abundance of shrubs Prosopis spicigera, P. juliflora, Albizzia and

E
or sometimes grasses. This category includes Capparis.
three types of forests.

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(3) Tropical dry evergreen forests: These for-
(1) Tropical dry deciduous forests: These for- ests are found in the areas of relatively high

L
ests are found in areas having temperature temperature and small rainfall available
of 25-32°C and annual rainfall of 75-125 only during summers. The forests are dis-

EM
cm along with a dry season of about six tributed in some parts of Tamilnadu and

C
months. Distribution of these forests in Karnataka.
northern India is in areas of Punjab,
Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa. Chief characteristic features of the forests
In the southern and central India, these are dense distribution of mixed small ever-
I
forests are distributed in dry areas of green and deciduous trees of 10-15 m
height, absence of bamboos and abun-
Maharashtra, Tamilnadu, Karnataka and
AC N
Madhya Pradesh. dance of grasses.

D
Chief characteristic feature of the forests
is open canopy of small (10-15 m high)
trees and abundance of shrubs.
Dominant plants in the forests are
Memecylon, Maba, Pavetta, Foronia,
Terminalia, Ixora, Sterculia, Mesua and
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A
Dominant species of the forests in north Schleichora.
India are Shorea robusta, anogeissus,
Terminalia, Buchnnania, Somocarpus, (C) MONTANE SUBTROPICAL FORESTS
Carissa, Emblica, Madhuca, Acacia, Aegle, These forests occur in the areas where cli-
Diospyros, Bauhinia, Eugenia, Zyzyphus, mate is cooler than tropical but warmer than
Lannea, Sterculia, Dendrocalamus, temperate areas i.e. on the hills between the
Salmelia, Adina, Grewia, Adathoda and altitudes of 1000 m and 2000 m. The forests are
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Helicteres. In south India, dominant plants

dominated by semi-xerophytic evergreen plants.
are Tectona grandis, Dalbergia, Kydia,
This category includes three types of forests.
Terminalia, Pterospermum, Dillenia,
Acacia, Diospyros, Anogeissus, Boswellia, (1) Sub-tropical broad-leaved hill forests:
C

Bauhinia, Chloroxylon, Hardwickia, These forests occur in relatively moist areas

Soymida, Gymnosporia, Zyzyphus, at lower altitudes on mountain ranges.
Dendrocalamus and Holorrhena. Their chief distribution is in eastern
(2) Tropical thorn forests: These forests are Himalayas of West Bengal and Assam ,
found in the areas of high temperature of hills of Khasi, Nilgiri and Mahabaleshwar.
27-30°C and very low annual rainfall of 20- Chief characteristic feature of the forests
60 cm with long periods of dryness. These is dense growth of evergreen browd-leaved
forests are distributed in western Rajasthan, trees with abundant growth of climbers
parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and epiphytic ferns and orchids.
and Tamilnadu.
Dominant trees in the forests of north are
Chief charateristic of such forests is sparse
Quercus, Schima and Castanopsis with some
distribution of small (8-10 m high) mostly
temperate species. In the southern areas,
thorny trees with shrubs being more com-
mon than trees. The plants in these forests dominants are Eugenia and members of
remain leafless for most of the year. They family Lauraceae.
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 (2) Sub-tropical dry evergreen forests: These green, semievergreen broad-leaved and
forests occur in areas having quite low coniferous trees of up to 25 m height. In
temperature and rainfall. The forests are south India, these forests are termed Shola
distributed in the lower altitudes of eastern forests and mostly have 15-20 m high
and western Himalayas. broad-leaved trees with dense leaf canopy,
Chief characteristic feature of the forests abundant epiphytic flora and rich herba-
is presence of thorny xerophytes and small- ceous undergrowth.
leaved evergreen plants. Dominant trees in the forests of western

E
Dominant plants in the forests are Acacia Himalayas are angiosperms like Quercus,
modesta, Dodonea viscosa and Olea Betula, Acer, Ulmus, Populus, Corylus,

Y
cuspidata. Caprinus etc. and conifers like Abies, Picea,
Cedrus etc..

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(3) Sub-tropical pine forests: These forests
occur at middle altitudes between 1500- (2) Himalayan moist temperate forests: These

EM
2000 m in Himalayas. They are distributed forests are found at 1700-3500 m altitude

C
in western Himalayas from Kashmir to
Uttar Pradesh. In eastern Himalayas, the
forests occur in Khasi Jayantia Hills of
Assam.
I
Chief characteristics of the forests are
in eastern and western Himalayas. These
occur in areas having annual rainfall above
100 cm but relatively less than that in areas
of wet temperate forests.
Chief characteristic feature of the forests
AC N
open formations of pine trees.
D is presence of tall (up to 45 m high) coni-
Dominant trees in the forests are P. fers, oaks or their mixture along with thin
roxburghii and Pinus khasiana. partly deciduous undergrowth.
Dominant trees in the eastern Himalayas
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(D) TEMPERATE FORESTS are Tsuga dumosa, Quercus lineata, Picea

A
These forests are found in the areas having spinulosa, Abies densa and Quercus
quite low temperature along with comparatively pachyphylla. In the western Himalayas,
high humidity than the comparable areas of dominants in lower zones are Quercus
higher latitudes. The cause of high humidity is incana, dialata, Cedrus deodara, Pinus
greater rainfall in Himalayas except in parts of wallichiana, Picea smithiana, Abies
Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and pindrew, Cotoneaster, Berberis and Spire
IA H

Kashmir where humidity is lower. The forests while in the higher zones the dominants
occur mainly in the Himalayas at altitudes are Quercus semicarpifolia and Abies
2000-4000 m. The forests are generally domi- pindrew.
nated by tall conifers or angiospermic evergreen (3) Himalayan dry temperate forests: These
C

trees with abundance of epiphytic mosses, li- forests occur in the regions of Himalayas
chens and ferns. The category includes three having very low rainfall. They are distrib-
types of forests. uted in both eastern and western
Himalayas. Chief characteristic feature of
(1) Wet temperate forests: These forests are the forests is dominance of evergreen oaks
found at altitudes of 1800-3000 m in the and conifers. Undergrowth is formed by
cooler and humid mountains. They are scrubs.
distributed in the eastern Himalayas from
Dominant trees in the forests of compara-
eastern Nepal to Assam, in the western
tively drier western Himalayas are Pinus
Himalayas from Kashmir to western Nepal
gerardiana andQuercus ilex. In the com-
and in Nilgiri Hills of south Indian.
paratively wetter western Himalayan re-
Chief characteristic feature of the forests in gion, the dominants are Abies, Picea, Larix
the Himalayas is dense formation of ever- griffithia and Juniperus wallichiana.
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 (E) ALPINE FORESTS neaster, Rosa, Smilax, Lonicera and
These forests are found in the regions of Strobilanthus.
Himalayas having extremely low temperature (2) Moist alpine scrub forests: These forests
and humidity. The forests are dominated by are found in the Himalayas above the tree
perennial and annual herbs and grasses though line up to 5500 m altitude in somewhat
some trees may also be present in areas of moist areas.

E
relatively high humidity. Abundant lichen flora Chief characteristic feature of the forests

Y
is characteristic feature of these forests. This is dominance of dwarf, evergreen shrubby
category includes three types of forests. conifers and broad-leaved trees along with

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prominent shrub layer under them.
(1) Sub-alpine forests: These forests are found
Dominant trees in the forests are Juniperus

EM
in open strands throughout the Himalayas
and Rhododendron

C
between the altitude 3500 m and the tree
tine. (3) Dry alpine forests: These forests are found
in comparatively more dry areas of
Chief characteristic feature of the forests
Himalaya's upto 5500 m altitude.
is presence of some evergreen conifers and
I
broad-leaved trees along with prominent Chief characteristic feature of the forests
is open formation of xerophytic scrubs with
AC N
shrub layer.
many herbs and grasses.
D
Dominant trees in the forests are Abies
spectabilis, Rhododendron and Betula.
Prominent shrubs in the forests are Coto-
Dominant plants in the forests are
Juniperus, Caragana, Eurctia, Salix and
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Myricaria.



A
IA H
C

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 5 AGRICULTURE

E
Y
Agriculture has been a way of life and izers and irrigation are known collectively as

L
continues to be the single most important live- the Green Revolution, which provided the in-
lihood of the masses. Agricultural policy focus crease in production needed to make India self-

EM
in India across decades has been on self-suffi- sufficient in food grains, thus improving agri-

C
ciency and self-reliance in foodgrains produc-
tion. Considerable progress has been made on
this front. Foodgrains production rose from 52
million tonnes in 1951-52 to 244.78 million
I
tonnes in 2010-11. The share of agriculture in
culture in India.
The adoption of HYVs occurred quickly. By
1970, about 20 percent of the wheat area and
30 percent of the rice area in country was
planted to HYVs, and by 1990, the share had
AC N
real GDP has fallen given its lower growth rate
increased to about 70 percent for both crops.
relative to industry and services. However, what
D
is of concern is that growth in the agricultural
sector has quite often fallen short of the Plan
Yields of rice and wheat virtually doubled.
Higher yields and profitability also led farmers
to increase the area of rice and wheat they grew
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targets. During the period 1960-61 to 2010-11,

A
foodgrains production grew at a compounded at the expense of other crops. And with faster-
annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 2 per growing varieties and irrigation, they grew
cent. In fact, the Ninth and Tenth Five Year more crops on their land each year. These
Plans witnessed agricultural sectoral growth changes more than doubled cereal production
rate of 2.44 per cent and 2.30 per cent respec- in India between 1970 and 1995.
tively compared to 4.72 per cent during Eighth Poor infrastructure, high transport costs,
Five Year Plan. During the XI Five Year plan, limited investment in irrigation, and pricing and
IA H

agriculture growth is estimated at 3.28 per cent

marketing policies that penalized farmers made
against a target of 4 per cent.
the Green Revolution technologies too expen-
India is the largest producer in the world of sive or inappropriate for much of the country
milk, cashew nuts, coconuts, tea, ginger, tur-
C

masses.
meric and black pepper, and has the world•fs
largest cattle population (281 million).It is the Impact of Green Revolution
second largest producer of wheat, rice, sugar,
groundnut and inland fish. It is the third largest Like other developing countries, Green Revo-
producer of tobacco. India accounts for 10% of lution has influenced the economy and way of
the world fruit production with first rank in the life in India to a great extent as is evident as is
production of banana and sapota. India•fs from the following points:
population is growing faster than its ability to 1. Increase in agricultureal Production: The
produce rice and wheat. introduction of Green Revolution in 1967-
68 has resulted in phenomenal increase in
GREEN REVOLUTION the production of agricultural crops espe-
The introduction of high-yielding varieties of cially in foodgrains. From 1967 onwards,
seeds after 1965 and the increased use of fertil- the Green Revolution aimed at bringing
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 about a Grain Revolution. The production 6. Industrial Growth: Green Revolution
wheat increased by more than three times brought about large scale farm
between 1967-68 and 2003-04 while the mechanisation which created demand for
overall increase in the production of cereals different types of machines like tractors,
was only two times. On account of this harvestors, threshers, combines, diesel en-
reason, it is said that the Green Revolution gines, electric motors, pumping sets, etc.
Besides, demand for chemical fertilizers,

E
in India is largely the Wheat Revolution.
pesticides, insectivides, weedicides, etc. also
2. Prosperity of Farmers: With the increase in

Y
increased considerably. Consequently, in-
farm production the earnings of the farm- dustries producing these items progessed

L
ers also increased and they became pros- by leaps and bounds. Moreover, seceral
perous. This has, especially, been the case agricultural products are used as raw ma-

EM
with big farmers having more than 10 land. terials in various industries. These indus-

C
3. Reduction in import of foodrgrains: The tries are known as agro based industries.
main benefit of Green Revolution was the Textile, sugar, vanaspati, etc. are some
increase in the production of foodgrains, as outstanding examples of agro based indus-
tries.
I
a result of which there was a drastic reduc-
tion in their imports. We are not self suf- 7. Rural Employment: While on one hand,
AC N
ficient in foodgrains and have sufficient large scale unemployment was feared due

D
stock in the central pool. Sometimes we are
in a position to export foodgrains also. The
per capita net availability of foodgrains has
to mechanization of farming with the in-
troduction of Green Revolution technology
in India, there was an appreciable increase
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also increased from 395 grams per day in in the demand for labour force due to
A
early 1950s to the level of 436 grams in multiple cropping and use of fertilizers.
2003, this inspite of the rapid increase in According to Gobind Thukral, "Green Revo-
population. In the words of Dantwala, lution has generated lakhs of new jobs in
Green Revolution had given a breathing Punjab. Almost 15 lakh poor people from
time. As a result, there will be relief from the impoverished regions of Bihar eastern
anxiety of food shortage and the planners Uttar Pradesh and Orissa work here they
IA H

will concentrate more on Indian planning. not only earn their bread and butter, but
take back home new ideas and technol-
4. Capital Farming: Big farmers having more
ogy". As per findings of Bhalla and Chadha
than100 hectares of land have tended to
in respect of Punjab, " The drive towards
get the maximum benefit from Green Revo-
C

mechanization was caused mainly by the

lution technology by investing large amount
scarcity of labour and relatively high wage
of money in various inputs like HYV seeds,
rate especially during peak agricultural
fertilizers, machine, etc. This has encour-
operations." During the last few years, a
aged capitalistic farming.
large number of farm labours have mi-
5. Ploughing back of profit: The introduction grated from Bihar and eastern Uttar
of Green Revolution helped the farmers in Pradesh to Punjab where they find better
raising their level of income. Wiser farmers opportunities of earning a livelihood.
ploughed back their surplus income im- 8. Change in the Attitude of Farmers: The
proving agrucultural productivity. This led Indian farmer had remained illiterate, back-
to further improvement in agriculture. ward and traditional and had been using
According to a study conducted by Punjab conventional methods of cultivation since
Agriculture University, Ludhiana farmers the early times. But Green Revolution has
plough back about 55 per cent of their brought about a basic change in his atti-
income for agricultural progress. tude towards farming. The way he has
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 readily adopted the Green Revolution tech- fast becoming uneconomic and they are
nology are available, no farmer denies their often given up in favour of wheat or even
effectiveness. The desire for better farming rice. The result is that an excess of produc-
methods nad a better standerd of living is tion in two main foodgrains (wheat and
growing not only among the relatively rice) and shortages in most others today
small number of affluent farmers using the prevail side by side. Major commercial
new technology, but also among countless crops like cotton, jute, tea and sugarcane
farmers still from outside looking in." are also slmost untouched by the Green

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Revolution. The rate of growth in produc-
Demerits or Problems of Green Revolution tion of pulses has declined from 1.39 per

Y
cent per annum in the pre-Green Revolu-
Green Revolution is a unique event in the tion period to only 0.79 per cent annum

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agricultural history of Independent India. This during the period from 1967-68 to 1994-95.
has saved us from the disasters of hunger and This is not good for a balanced growth on

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starvation and made our peasants more confi- Indian agriculture. Central Government has

C
dent than ever before. But it has its own inher-
ent deficiency segments. Ever since its inception,
the income gap between large, marginal and
small farmers has increased, gap between irri-
I
gated and rainfed areas has widened and some
2.
taken some steps to remove these imbal-
ances.
Regional Disparties: Green Revolution
technology has given birth to growing
disparties in economic development at in-
AC N
crops have benefited more than the others,
D ter and intra regional levels. It has so far
sometimes even at the cost of other crops. It is
affected only 40 per cent of the total cropped
neither product-neutral nor region-neutral and
area and 60 per cent is still untouched by
leaves uneven effects of growth on products,
it. The most affected areas are Punjab,
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regions and classes of people. This has given Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh in the
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birth to a plethora of socio-economic problems. north and Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu
According to Radha Krishna Rao. "The spiral- in the south. It has hardly touched the
ing prices of fertilizers, the tendency to use them Eastern region, including Assam, Bihar,
frequently and the stagnant wheatand rice West Bengal and Orissa and arid and semi-
yields in Punjab and Haryana have combined arid areas of Western and Southern India.
to confirm that Green Revolution has reached In short, Green Revolution affected only
IA H

ripened old age". The fatigue of the Green those areas which were already better
Revolution is already visible. Still the man la- placed from agricultural point of view.
cuna in the Green Revolution is that up till now Thus the problem of regional disparities
it is an unfinished task. Some of the demerits or has further aggravated as a result of Green
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problems of Green Revolution are briefly dis- Revolution.The ratio between the lowest
cussed as under : and highest yield-rates among the states for
1. Inter-Crop Imbalances: The effect of Green the 1975-78 period amounted to 1 : 3.2 in
Revolutions primarily felt on foodgrains. paddy, 1 : 3.7 in wheat, 1 : 3.4 in cereals,
Although all foodgrains including wheat, 1 : 3.2 in pulses, 1 : 3.2 in food grains, 1 :
rice, jowar, bajra and maize have gained 3.0 in oilseeds, 1 : 3.2 in sugarcane, 1 : 4.9
from the Green Revolution, it is wheat in cotton and 1 : 1.6 in jute. Studyof some
which has benefited the most. It has areas sample surveys recently conducted by the
from coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds. Indian Agricultural Statistics Research In-
The HYV seeds in latter crops have either stitute (IASRI) revealed that the single most
not been developed so far at all, or they are important factor is the 'input differential'
not good enough for farmers to risk their which alone can explain extreme yield
adoption. Consequently, their cultivation is variation seven under similar physical and

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 cultural conditions. According to a study line. The land holdings are generally small
by Bhalla and Alagh, 69 districts with a in rice producing areas and the economic
relatively high productivity levels account position of the farmers living in those areas
for 20 per cent of the cultivated area and is extremely miserable. In short, Green Revo-
36 per cent of output, consume 44 per cent lution has made the rich richer and ren-
of fertilizers, employ 50 per cent of tractors dered the poor poorer resulting in wide-

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and 45 per cent of irrigation pumps and spread social and economic tensions.
have 38 per cent of India's gross irrigated
4. Unemployment. Except in Punjab, and to

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are.
some extent in Haryana, farm mechaniza-

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Regional disparties in crop yields can be tion under Green Revolution has created
reduced by evolving suitable disease resistant widespread unemployment among agri-

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high-yield strains of paddy for most eastern cultural labourers in the rural areas. The

C
parts and by developing irrigation facilities and worst hit are the poor and the landless
a suitable dry farming technology for the arid people.
and semi-arid western and southern regions. 5. Other Problem. Agriculture under Green
3. Increase in Inter-Personal Inequalities: It Revolution has not grown at a rate which
I
has been observed that it is the big farmer was expected in the beginning. The differ-
ential rates of growth of different crops and
AC N
having 10 hectares or more land. Who is
their regional variations have already been
D
benefited the most from Green Revolution
because he has the financial resources to
purchase farm implements, better seeds,
discussed. Some scholars have expressed
serious doubts about the capability of HYV
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fertilizers and can arrange for regular sup- seeds itself. Analysing the role played by
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ply of irrigation water to the crops. As miracle seeds in the Green Revolution,
against this, the small and marginal farm- Vandana Shiva says that the term HYV is
ers do not have the financial resources to a misomer. In acutality, these seeds are
purchase these farm inputs and are highly responsive to certain key inputs
depreived of the benefits of Green Revolu- such as fertilizer and irrigation and as such
tion Technology. There were about 1,053 they should have been called highly
lakh holdings in Indian in 1990-91 out of resonsive varieties. Shiva says that there is
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increasing evidence that the indigenous

which only 1.6 per cent exceeded 10 hect-
varieties could also be high yielding given
ares n size. Francine R. Rankel has con-
the required doses of inputs. According to
cluded from his study of Ludhiana
Shiva, "the inevitability of the Green Revo-
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(Paunjab), West Godavari (Andhra

lution option was built on neglecting the
Pradesh, Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu), Palghat
other avenues for increasing production
(Kerala) and Bardhaman (West Bengal)
that is more important such as improving
that the greater beneficiaries are those farm-
mixed cropping systems, improving indig-
ers who own 10 to 12 hectares of land.
enous seeds and improving the effiency of
Similar conclusion was drawn by G.R.
use of local resources." Vandana Shiva
Saini from his study of Ferozepur (Punjab) further comments that "having destroyed
and Muzaffarnagar (U.P.). G.S. Bhallal and nature's mechanisms for controling pests
G.K. Chadha have found out that Green through the destruction of diversity, the
Revolution has benefited the farmers in 'miracle seeds' of the Green Revolution
general but one-third of them are small became mechanisms for breeding new pests
farmers with 2.5 acres of land and are and creating new diseases". In a case study
living below poverty line. Another 24.0 per of Punjab, M.K. Sekhon and Manjeet Kaur
cent of the farmers own 2.5 to 5.0 acres of of P.A.U. Ludhiana have warned against
land and they are also lining below poverty the excessive use of groundwater, chemical
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 fertilizers and pesticide. This will lead to development to really become a mass move-
large scale depletion of groundwater and ment.
will adversely affect the health of soil. 5. High Yields: Though there has been a
tremendous increase in yields of some crops
Suggestions for Strengthening of Green as a result of introduction of HYV seeds
Revolution and other farm inputs; they are still much
Following suggestions are put forward for less when compared with the world's best.
sustainability of Indian Agriculture and for the Therefore, there is still a large scope of

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stability of Green Revolution in India. increasing the yields. Moreover, the possi-
bility of increasing area under cultivation

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1. Wider Area. So far Green Revolution has has been almost exhausted and the only
affected only 40 per cent of the culturable way to increase production is to lay more

L
area in India. The remaining parts espe- stress on increasing yields.
cially the eastern region and larger parts of

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peninsular India (except Andhra Pradesh 6. Intensity of cropping: Intensity of crop-
ping is the ratio of gross croppped area to
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and Tamil Nadu) are still unaffected by
Green Revolution. These areas need to be
covered by Green Revolution Technology
so that agricultural production in India as
I
a whole is increased and at the same time
the net sown area. It is expressed on per-
centages and it calculated with the help of
the following formula:

regional disparties are removed. Intensity of cropping =

AC N
2. More Crops: The greatest benefit drawn
D
from the Green Revolution is that by wheat,
although rice is also benefited to some
In 1999-2000, total cropped area was 189.7
million hectares and net sown area was 142.2
million hectares. Thus the intensity of cropping
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extent. Other crops such as cotton, jute, tea comes out to 134.3. Cropping intensity varies
A
and sugarcane are not affected by it and from 100 per cent in Mizoram to 194.43 per cent
pulses and oilseeds have suffered at the in Punjab (1991-2000). Next to Punjab is West
hands of Green Revolution. These crops Bengal (174%), Himachal Pradesh (173%), fol-
should also be brought under the canvas of lowed by Haryana (169%), and Uttar Pradesh
Green Revolution. A greater input of re- (151%). It is higher than the national average in
search and development is required in this Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, and Manipur,
connection. Sikkim, Bihar and Orissa (Fig. 23.1). It is low
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3. Irrigation: Green Revolution has left greater and very low in the states of peninsular pla-
impact in areas which were better served teaus. The densely populated northern plains.
by irrigation facilities. About 2/3rd of the Coastal plains and deltas, which are irrigated or
total cropped area is still without proper are favoured by sufficient rainfall, are marked
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irrigation. There is an urgent need to with high intensity of cropping. Very low and
extend irrigation facilities to these areas for low intensities predominate in the hilly, arid,
the success of Green Revolution. Minor semi-arid and semi-humid lands of Rajasthan,
irrigation schemes especially tube-wells can Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,
play an important role in this direction. Karnataka, and north eastern hilly states where
4. Small Farmers: About 85 per cent are small soils are light or heavy and irrigation facilities
farmers in Indian who are almost entirely are absent or negligible.
deprived of the benefits of Green Revolu- The index of the intensity of cropping de-
tion. Rather they have suffered a lot be- pends upon the extent of area sown more than
cause they lost employment opportunities once. Higher the extent of area sown more than
dut to mechanisation of farming. These once higher will be the intensity of cropping, In
poor farmers should be helped in all pos- other words, intensity of cropping is the indica-
sible ways if we want Indian agricultural tor of the efficiency of land use. Higher the
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 index of intensity of cropping higher is the Grey Revolution Fertilizer produc-
efficiency of land use. The main factors influ- tion
encing intensity of cropping are irrigation, fer- Pink Revolution Onion production/
tilizer, early-maturing high-yielding varieties of Pharmaceutical (In-
seeds, mechanization of agriculture and plant dia)/Prawn pro-
protection measures through the use of insecti- duction
cides, pesticides and weedicides. The availabil- Meat & Tomato

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Red Revolution
ity of water for irrigation ensures the use of production

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higher doses of fertilizers which, in turn, re- Round Revolution Potato production
duces the extent of fallow land. The quick-

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Silver Fiber Revolution Cotton production
ripening varieties of seeds help in taking more
than one crop from the same field in one Silver Revolution Egg/Poultry pro-

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agricultural year. duction

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Intensity of cropping increased from 110 per White Revolution Milk/Dairy pro-
duction (In India -
cent in 1950-51 to 134.3 per cent in 1999-2000. Operation Flood)
This means that even now only 34.3 per cent of
Yellow Revolution Oil Seeds produc-
I
the net sown area is used for raising more than
one crop in a year. This is too small compared
tion
AC N
to 90 per cent in China and 40 per cent in Evergreen Revolution Overall develop-
ment of Agriculture
D
Bangladesh. Therefore, there is much scope for
increasing the intensity of cropping.
SOCIAL FORESTRY
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WHITE REVOLUTION India's population has crossed the figure of

A
Operation Flood was a rural development 1000 million. Cultivable land per capita has
programme started by India's National Dairy declined significantly. With the present rate of
Development Board (NDDB) in 1970. One of deforestation, there would be hardly any forest
the largest of its kind, the programme objective cover in the coming fifty years. Already there
was to create a nationwide milk grid. are acute shortages of fuel wood and fodder.
Even to sustain present demand, fuel wood
It resulted in making India the largest pro-
IA H

production must be increased. Survival for the

ducer of milk and milk products, and hence is
poor is becoming precarious. Women are forced
also called the White Revolution of India. It also
to walk miles in search of fuel wood, fodder and
helped reduce malpractices by milk traders and
water. Scant supply of forest-based raw mate-
merchants. This revolution followed the Indian
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Green Revolution and helped in alleviating rials has devastated the livelihood of millions of
poverty and famine levels from their dangerous tribals and others dependent on forests, as also
proportions in India during the era. their culture and way of life. India's future is
hinged to the revival of its degraded forests and
Operation Flood's objectives included:
different cultivable and non-cultivable land re-
• Increase milk production ("a flood of milk") sources.
• Augment rural incomes
One of the most serious problems threaten-
• Fair prices for consumers
ing the country today is its population growth.
Although the foodgrain production in the last
List of other agricultural revolution
few years has kept pace with the population
Black Revolution Petroleum produc- increase, the daunting task of feeding each and
tion everyone in the next century is the biggest
Blue Revolution Fish production challenge before us. In our attempts to meet
such increasing demands, the improper and
Golden Fiber Revolution Jute Production
over-use of chemical inputs had deteriorated

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 the agro-ecosystems to a considerable extent. sugggested two new directions. A greater em-
Moreover, the pressure due to growing human phasis on production forestry by establishing
and cattle population on the land has added to Forest Development Corporations and a
the deterioration of land status of the country. programme on Social Forestry to deal primarily
The increasing deterioration of land due to soil- with fuelwood and fodder production for the
erosion, injudicious use of chemical fertilizers, rural poor.
water logging, salinity/alkalinity, shifting culti- Social forestry was to be a programme of the
vation etc. necessitates a more scientific ap- people for the people, and by the people. Be-

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proach towards the utilization of these lands, cause social forestry is labour intensive, it was
often termed as degraded or waste-lands. The also hoped that it would contribute significantly

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growing awareness in the world on the environ- to rural employment. Social forestry, with its
ment conservation and the emphasis on the village woodlots, farm forestry and other affor-

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concept of sustainability has focused on the area estation activities seemed to promise the green-
ing of the country. And, in the long run, this

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of 'wasteland utilization' as an important com-
ponent of sustainable development. would have meant halting deforestation and

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Why Social Forestry?
Social forestry is seen as an instrument of
I
sustainable development. This is due to its
significant contribution to the ecological regen-
eration of the country.
Social forestry was maintained by govern-
ment and significant funds set apart for its
potential of resolving the three basic issues of progress, particularly from the Sixth Plan on-
AC N
rural poor simultaneously. It has a capacity to
D wards. Centrally sponsored schemes were
provide food security, fuel security and liveli- accepted for increasing fuel-wood in the fuel-
hood security with eco-friendly approach to wood deficient districts. International agencies
development thus leading to sustainable devel- gave generous support for social forestry not
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only to increase the supply of fuel-wood and

A
opment.
As a source for meeting the daily needs of fodder, but also to ensure the participation of
public requirements viz., timber, fuel, fodder, the rural poor so that the control of these
industrial and medicinal products, forests are resources would be in the hands of the poor.
quite significant. In view of the various devel- It may be recalled that the National Com-
opmental schemes, the pressure on forest re- mission on Agriculture (1976) spelt out the
sources to cope up with the increasing demand objectives of social forestry as:
IA H

has become much more severe. As such, the gap (1) fuelwood supply to replace cowdung
between the demand and supply is on the (2) small timber supply
increase. To bridge this gap to a certain extent, (3) fodder supply
it is inevitable to raise forests on all available (4) protection of agricultural fields against
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government and private lands. winds, and

Social forestry assumes an important role in (5) recreational needs.
removing the regional imbalances which occur
in vegetation. Since there is no chance of in- Local Organization efforts
creasing the area under forests, the only alter-
Significance of local organization is broad in
native is to bring as much private land under
achieving the prospect of social forestry. Volun-
forests as may be possible. Hence the need to
tary agencies can set up a model after carefully
have a vigorous social forestry programme is
realised. studying the local needs. They have to identify
the areas and species suitable for a specific type
Government for social forestry of land to meet the needs. The achievement of
the programmes rest on association of the people.
In 1976, the National Commission on Agri- People should involve themselves in planning,
culture in its review of the forestry sector execution and management of resources meant
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 for them. One suggestion that could be given for and economic well-being of the village commu-
this is forming a village council for planning and nity in a span of three to four years. Sukhomajri
implementing various activities at the village has established a Water Users Association, which
level. Grass roots level planning is the strength provides an equal share of the rain- water
of voluntary agencies. They should have cred- collected by building a small dam. Even the
ibility and it is reinforced by the enthusiasm of landless are entitled to an equal share, which

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the local people. A village should have a dy- they can barter for share-cropping, money etc.
namic local leader who can motivate people for Everyone in the village has a vested interest in

Y
the cause. safeguarding the watershed, so that the dam
The main role of local agencies involved in does not get silted.

L
the cause of forest development is regeneration Earlier the trees were planted in the water-
of forests and rebuilding the tribal community. shed by the Forestry Department to stop soil

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The voluntary sector is not homogenous but has erosion, but the villagers did not cooperate. The

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a great variety. Some voluntary agencies view
afforestation as a source of income generation,
some as regeneration of environment and others
I
as part of community building. So the success
also depends on the approach of the local
forest officials threatened the villagers and im-
posed heavy fines when caught with their cattle
grazing in the watershed. But these mecha-
nisms, as we know from experience elsewhere,
did not work. Only when the community estab-
AC N
agencies. lished its own organisation and assured equi-

D
In West Bengal, social forestry has been
more successful because the village panchayats
were actively involved in identifying land ben-
table distribution of benefits that every member
of the community endeavored to safeguard the
afforestation in the watershed.
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eficiaries. The revitalisation of village panchayats With the building of the check-dam, with
A
in West Bengal was based on implementation of availability of harvested rain-water, with the
land reforms and distribution of surplus lands. consensus on equitable sharing of water, the
The protection of forests by village communities economy of the village boomed.
has been so successful that the West Bengal
Government has extended the scheme to other Selecting suitable Species
parts in the state as well. Without a local To meet the needs, proper species should be
IA H

organisation, active participation and involve- identified specific to the land capabilities and
ment of people is difficult to achieve. environmental conditions. Voluntary agencies
In many successful projects of afforestation can select the species which can meet the local
and the sustainable use of forests, the principle demand for fuel, fodder and timber. Sometimes,
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of equity in distribution of local resources has despite firewood shortage people do not show
contributed significantly to the success of the any preference for better varieties. This is per-
project. In the Chipko village in the Himalayas, haps due to the perception of the farmers that
the women in the villages have organised them- they will not be profitable. A multipurpose
selves for safeguarding their ecosystems and in indigenous tree would assume greater impor-
developing fuelwood and fodder resources in tance which has quick growing provenance.
their common lands. They identified fragile Acute fodder shortage is a major problem that
slopes and planted them to prevent landslides. is faced by the farmers. So, due importance
Another successful example of a local should be given to the fodder species.
organisation based on equitable sharing of re- Any of the following species combination
sources is the Sukhomajri project in the Shivalik can be planted by an individual to meet his
hills. The Sukhomajri village has been able to requirement: Artocarpus for fruit, fuel and
protect its watershed, save the village from foldder, Tectona grandis for timber, Eucalyptus,
falling into a widening gorge because of massive Neem etc. for medicinal value, bamboo for
erosion and has been able to increase the social timber, etc.
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 Barriers blocking the Success totally ignored in comparison to produc-
tion efforts under the social forestry
Despite reasonable development in the right
programmes. Forest co-operatives which
direction further acceleration in social forestry
had once played very significant role have
calls for identification of major barriers blocking
almost disappeared now.
the success of the programme. On the basis of
several studies and reports they can be listed as 6) People's participation in social forestry
follows: projects is much less than desired. Staffs
engaged on project implementation have
1) Critical analysis of objectives of social for-

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different approach. 'I manage, you partici-
estry and actual outcome show that there
pate' has been a dominant underlying prin-

Y
is a priority over fodder and fuel wood tree
ciple behind government projects. How-
plantation which has resulted into insig-

L
ever, the FAO defines people's participa-
nificant contribution to improving the con-
tion "as the process by which the rural
sumption of poor families. As a result, the

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people are able to organize themselves and
pressure on forest land has not significantly

2)
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reduced. Block plantation on degraded
waste land has remained much less than
strip plantation.
I
Bureaucratic and departmental imperatives
7)
through their own organization are able to
identify their needs, share in design, imple-
mentation and evaluation of the participa-
tory action."
The role of NGOs is very significant in
are more powerful than poor people's in-
AC N
terests which reflect in the decision regard- developing non-forest area through social
forestry, besides promoting people's par-
D
ing choice of plantation. Consequently
projects that given the government help, ticipation in the social forestry. National
Waste Land Development Board has devel-
people would be willing to invest their
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labour and capital has failed to a larger oped specific guidelines for participation of
A
extent. NGOs. However, recent project report of
the department on "Integrated Forest De-
3) One of the observations of a social forestry velopment" has made sad remarks about
evaluation report notes that ever increasing the performance of NGOs.'
targets and complex and intensified ad-
ministration provide little time for exten- 8) Small and marginal farmers, despite the
sion or seeking the 'participation' which recognition of Tree as a ready saving bank,
IA H

remained 'an ideology without a do not show enthusiasm to plant trees. The
methodolgy.' response is poor because of problems of
security, ownership, pricing, marketing and
4) People's participation is not forthcoming as
even benefits.
species selection and spacing are left to the
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forestry sector which emphasize on rev- 9) It is notable that employment programmes

enue generating plants and environmen- under Anti-Poverty schemes have specific
tally significant plants but not people's target provision to cover forest develop-
current needs oriented plants. In the name ment work which could be easily linked up
of next generation the needs of present to social forestry programmes. Such link-
generation is neglected. Benefits which could age is missing due to lack of co-ordination
flow to the poor from species yielding among government departments.
intermediate products were not properly Thus, critical review of social forestry
appreciated. Thus, productions of grasses, programmes help us to identify specific issues to
legumes, fodder, fruit and minor forest promote them with accelerated momentum
products are neglected. through participation of people and active sup-
5) The structure of marketing arrangements port of Government and non-government orga-
and pricing of minor forest produce are nizations.
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 Suggested Policy Actions opment resource for social action. It started a
The specific and pragmatic policy actions project, viz Tarabalu Seedlings (TS), in 1985
are not easy to suggest. However, a modest with the assistance of the society for the Promo-
effort could be made to point out broad policy tion of the Wasteland Development and the
actions: Social Forestry Department of Karnataka. The
objectives include rising of experimental nurser-
A) Specific measures are needed to be taken

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ies in 60 schools involving students and teach-
up to reach the poor. Now that forest ers, developing scientific afforestation of de-
personnel have developed friendly image

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graded land and initiating social forestry.
through social forestry programmes, people
The School Nursery Development Programme

L
will be approachable through Panchayats
has evoked good response from students and
and NGOs.
teachers. Kisan nurseries that are developed by

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B) Educating people for understanding the the Social Forestry Department of Karnataka

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importance of ongoing social forestry
programmes. However, apart from dis-
semination of information and knowledge
of social forestry, it should be "one facility
I
centre" for adoption of social forestry by
also supply seedlings to farmers. But people
would like to go in for seedlings from TS because
there they have a sense of belonging. They think
that the seedlings are grown by their own
children. So they prefer these seedlings to those
AC N
the people. supplied by Kisan nurseries, since an element of

D
C) Aghakhan Rural Development support
Programme (AKRSO) has not only received
due recognition by the department as the
attachment is present there. If social forestry has
to become a social movement, it has to take roots
in the minds of the people and not just in the
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model of NGO participation but it has also minds of the foresters and bureaucrats. The
A
shown an approach to deal with School Nursery Development Programme has
afforestration through landless laboures. to clearly focus on nutrition habits among school
Efforts could be made to replicate such children.
models.
Tree Patta Scheme
D) Decision making process of the programme
must be highly decentralized with adequate As part of social forestry and rural develop-
IA H

participation of the beneficiaries which ment a 'tree patta' scheme was jointly evolved
would help balancing the needs of the poor by the National Wastelands Development Board
and society and economy at large. A bal- (NWDB) and the Ministry of Rural Develop-
ance between ecological stability and eco- ment. The scheme involved access to common
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nomic progress will be achievable only by land for afforestation purposes. The patta holder
this way. was given access to land with usurer rights of
trees and grasses grown on the land. The
School Nursery Programme scheme did not take off primarily because land
Nursery establishment is the foremost im- was not available for the purpose. Only very
portant activity in the social forestry programme. rocky and degraded land was offered and even
The nurseries should be easily accessible to the that meant various political and bureaucratic
farmers; that means, decentralised nurseries hurdles. The policy in terms of treeless forest
should be established so that the enthusiasm land-about 35 to 40 m ha has been that it is to
and interest of the people in planting trees can be safeguarded and not allowed to be used even
be boosted. A classic example of the nursery for afforestation purposes under the guidance
establishment by the Tarabalu Rural Develop- of the Forestry Department. Without access to
ment Foundation in Chitradurga district of land, social forestry and other afforestation
Karnataka can be quoted. It runs 157 educa- schemes can only be on paper and rhetoric for
tional instiutions which is a tremendous devel- the birds.
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 Conclusion limited-population supporting capacity, beyond
that there will be degradation and irreversible
Social Forestry was conceived as people-
loss of productivity because of improper and
centred programme, a programme to empower
excessive use.
the rural poor for their fuelwood, fodder and
other timber needs. In time, social forestry Agroforestry systems hold promise to pro-
became a government programme, a programme vide such sustainable land management. The
of the Forest Department. Major funds of social production of food grains, fruits, fodder, fuel-
wood, timber etc. can be obtained simulta-
forestry were used in protected and reserved

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neously through these systems. The total pro-
forests, and the only benefit to the poor was in
duction-mix can be selected depending upon

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terms of employment; it is sad to observe that
the area, climate, demand etc.
even here, in some instance it was found that

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minimum wages were not paid. Agroforestry is a way to reduce the existing
pressure on the forest. The practice is very old,
Lack of appropriate policies regarding ac-

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but the term is definitely new and for the last
cess of land to the poor for afforestation

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purposes, defunct Acts and laws, which hinder
rather than motivate people, resulted in vested
interests controlling the social forestry
I
programme. Instead of fuelwood and fodder,
one decade it has taken a scientific approach.
The need is for diversification of agriculture to
reduce the risk of crop failure due to uncertainty
of weather conditions and erosion hazards.
People raise trees, crops and animals tradition-
social forestry has largely provided raw mate-
ally on the same farm. This practice of mixed
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rials to paper, pulp and building industry,
farming has developed over centuries for meet-
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bypassing the rural poor.
New programmes require new strategies
ing most of the requirements of family.
Agroforestry is a collective name for land
and new structure. Social Forestry too needs to
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use systems and technologies where woody

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be doused in an appropriate organisation struc- perennials (trees, shrubs, palms, bamboos, etc.)
ture which encourages and promotes people's are deliberately used on the same piece of land
participation. One such structure promoted was management unit as agricultural crops and/or
the Rashtriya Virkshamitra Sahyog Mandal animals in some form of spatial arrangement or
(RVSM), an agency jointly sponsored by the temporal sequence.
National Wastelands Development Board, and In agro forestry, there are both ecological
the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). and economical interactions between the differ-
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The RVSM has promoted tree growers coopera- ent components. In simple terms, agriculture is
tives for fuelwood and fodder in several states. a land use system where agricultural crops are
Social forestry and massive afforestation by grown for the production of food grains, fodder,
the people cannot be a programme of a single etc. Forestry, on the other hand, is land use
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government department. Social forestry must be system where forest trees, shrubs etc. are grown
a people's movement. Schools, colleges, munici- for the production of wood, fodder and other
palities, government departments, and other benefits. Agroforestry is a hybrid of both land
identified institutions should share the respon- use systems where the object is to obtain yield
sibility to plant trees and maintain them either of grains, fodder, fuelwood, fruit, wood and
other benefits.
directly or through a contract system with local
people.
Advantages of Agro-forestry
AGROFORESTRY There is serious concern over degradation of
environment. Serious adverse ecological mani-
The land management patterns in India
festation, increase of carbon-dioxide (CO2) in
vary from area to area depending upon land the atmosphere, global warming, serious soil
characteristics and the climate. The land has a losses, repeated droughts, floods and serious
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 pollution, etc. are the results of dwindling forest pasture crops are grown along with tree
resources. An agroforestry system helps to in- species.
crease the tree cover. It also makes available to • Agri-Silvipastoral System: This system is
people the required quantity of timber, fruit, the result of the union between silvipastoral
fuel-wood, fodder etc. for which they tradition- and agri-silvicultural systems. Under this
ally depend on forests. Thus, this system helps system, the same unit of land is managed
in reducing the pressure on forests and helps in

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to get agricultural and forest crops where
conservation and development. farmers can also rear animals.

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Different areas are gravely under the threat • Agri-Horticultural System: If agricultural
of pollution. Air, water and noise pollution are

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crops are grown along with fruit trees, the
common. Trees guard from distinct kinds of system is referred to as agri-horticultural
pollutants. The best safeguard against land-

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system.
slides is through agroforestry i.e. mixed forests

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• Silvi-Horticultural System: In this system,
and grasses. This requires careful selection of
tree species are managed to get timber, fuel
tree species, grasses etc. Agroforestry sys-
wood etc. and horticultural crops are grown
tems maintain soil fertility through recycling of
in the interspace.
nutrients and prevent soil erosion and loss of
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nutrients through leaching and runoff. Reduc- • Silvi-Horti pastoral System: A combina-
tion of tree species, horticultural crops and
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tion in erosion and surface run off helps in
grasses are practiced in this system. The
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reducing flood damage. Many leguminous tree
species fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and
return much more in leaf-fall than they take
three combinations are based on the prin-
ciple that each of its components draws
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from the soil. Leaves of the trees could be used nutrients from different layers of soil.
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as green manure and help the farmer in increas- • Silvi-Agri-Sericultural System: This is a
ing soil fertility. very complex system of agro-forestry. In
Agroforestry system is therefore helpful in this system, crops/vegetables are grown
maintaining land productivity at optimum lev- along with tree species (silk host plants).
els over a long period of time. These systems The larval excreta are good manure for the
constitute sustainable land management. crops/vegetables.
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These systems are capable of meeting the • Silvi-Agri-Lac Cultural System: In this
demands of raw materials of several agricul- system, crops are grown along with lac
tural and forest based industries. Some of the host plants. It is very common in Chota
industries e.g. paper and pulp mills, sports Nagpur plateau of Jharkhand.
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goods, furniture, saw mills, etc. are meeting • Horti-Silvi-Agri-Apicultural System: The
requirements from forestry and agroforestation land is managed for concurrent production
produce. Poplar has been widely cultivated in of flowers, crops and honey. Flowering
the Tarai area of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana plants often favour increases of parasites
and is being used by several industries, e.g.,
and predators of crop pests and thus an
match splints, plywood, packing cases etc.
antiregulatory bio-control system operates
Such systems improve the productivity of here.
plants and animals since they are based on • Multi-Storeyed Agroforestry System: This
sustainable land management and maximum
system is managed by the combination
utilisation of natural resources, to increase the
between cultural practices and the natural
ecological and economic benefits.
processes of vegetation production and
reproduction. It represents a profitable pro-
Various Forms of Agroforestry
duction system and constitutes an efficient
• Silvipastoral System: In this system of buffer between villages and forests. This is
sustainable land management, improved common in coastal parts of Southern India
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 where coconut is grown with black pepper cesses is known as silk reeling. Presently
and tapioca (cassava). silk reeling is done using three types of
• Aqua-Agri-Hortipastoral System: In this reeling devices viz. Charka, Cottage basins
system, fruit trees are planted on the ter- and Multi-end basins. Poor quality co-
raced land around the water tanks, ponds, coons can be reeled economically on charka.
etc. and crops (agricultural and pastoral) About 50% of silk produced is of charka
are grown in the interspace. The fallen and about 35 - 40% is at cottage basins and
leaves of trees enrich the pond nutrients for a small quantity of silk is from multiend

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fish. reeling. The silk obtained out of the reeling
process is referred to as "Raw Silk".

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SERICULTURE ● Silk Weaving: The raw silk cannot be
directly used for weaving. The raw silk is

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Sericulture is an agro-based industry. It in-
to be twisted before they are fed into looms.
volves rearing of silkworms for the production

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The operation of conversion of raw silk into
of raw silk, which is the yarn obtained out of
twisted silk, is termed as twisting. The

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cocoons spun by certain species of insects. The
major activities of sericulture comprises of food-
plant cultivation to feed the silkworms which
spin silk cocoons and reeling the cocoons for
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unwinding the silk filament for value added
twisted silk is referred to as Ready Silk.
Twisting is undertaken either by separate
entrepreneurs or by the weavers them-
selves. The silk weaving is done either on
benefits such as processing and weaving. handlooms or power looms. The tradi-
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tional silk sarees and dhoties are made on
India has the unique distinction of being the
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only country producing all the five kinds of silk
- Mulberry, Eri, Muga, Tropical Tasar and
handlooms whereas the printed sarees,
dress materials, etc., are made on power
looms.
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Temperate Tasar.
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Sericulture Activities Eco- friendly activity
● Moriculture: Cultivation of mulberry plants • As a perennial crop with good foliage and
is referred to as Moriculture. It is an root-spread, mulberry contributes to soil
agricultural activity. In Tamil Nadu, mul- conservation and provides green cover.
berry cultivation is mainly taken up in • Waste from silkworm rearing can be re-
irrigated condition. Flat, deep, fertile, well cycled as inputs to garden.
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drained loamy and clay loamy with good • Dried mulberry twigs and branches are
moisture holding capacity soil is ideal for used as fuel in place of firewood and
mulberry cultivation. therefore reduce the pressure on vegeta-
Silkworm Rearing: Silkworm Rearing is
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● tion/forest.
considered to be an agro based cottage • Being a labour intensive and predominantly
industry since it involves mulberry cultiva- agro-based activity, involvement of smoke-
tion. Silkworms are reared for the produc- emitting machinery is minimal.
tion of "cocoons" which is the raw material
• Developmental programmes initiated for
for silk production. The farmers rear silk-
mulberry plantation are mainly in upland
worms and produce cocoons. By market- areas where un-used cultivable land is
ing the cocoons the farmers earn money. It made productive.
is ideally suited for the rural areas of
• Mulberry can also be cultivated as inter-
Sericulture States. Silkworms are reared in
crop with numerous plantations.
well ventilated rearing shed following shoot
rearing method • Mulberry being a deep-rooted perennial
● Silk Reeling: Extraction of silk filament plant can be raised in vacant lands, hill
from cocoons by employing a set of pro- slopes and watershed areas.
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 • Currently, only about 0.1 % of the arable well as upon human factors such as the density
land in the country is under mulberry of population duration of occupation of the
cultivation. area, land tenure and technical levels o the
people.
DRY ZONE FARMING
Dry zone agriculture basically belongs to
Net sown Area

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fragile, high risking and low productive agricul- 1. Agriculture land means cultivated area it
tural eco-system. This spreads over those areas includes net cropped area and fallow lands.

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of country where annual amount of rainfall is Cropped area in the year under consider-
ation in called net sown area.

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less than 75cm. dry lands cover about 22%of
country's area. More than three-fifth of 2. India stands seventh in the world in terms

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Rajasthan and one - fifth of Gujarat and some of total geographical area but second in
areas of Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Andhra

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terms of cultivated land.
Pradesh and Karnataka come under dry lands.
3. Net sown area to total geographical area
Due to low productivity it grows jowar, varies from state to state.
bajra, maize, cotton, groundnut, pulses and
4. Net shown Area is 46%
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oilseeds.
5. Percentage wise Punjab and Haryana are
AC N
Problems of dry zone agriculture: highest and Arunachal Pradesh is Lowest
• DHere rainfall is scarce and uncertain which
makes the region susceptible to draughts 6.
(3.2% )
Area wise largest Net shown area- Madhya
Pradesh- Maharashtra-U.P- Rajasthan-
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and famines
Andhra Pradesh- Karnataka.
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• Here soil is sandy which lacks nutrient
materials for soil fertility
Culturable Waste
• The area is prone to problem of soil erosion
• Low yield and more susceptible to pests Culturable Waste' is the land available for
and diseases cultivation but not used for cultivation for one
• Fields are scattered and the use of new reason or the other.
farm machineries lacking 1. It is not being used at present due to such
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• These areas lack infrastructural facilities as constraints as lack of water, salinity or

transport, market, storage etc. alkalinity of soil.
With the growing emphasis on food security
2. of total area of Goa is Culturable waste.
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of the masses need of the hour is to launch

second green revolution related to coarse grains
3. Rajasthan has maximum culturable waste-
and oilseeds which should be based on organic
land about 36% followed by Gujarat M.P,
farming methods to counter the drawbacks of
U.P., and Maharashtra.
first green revolution.
Land not available for cultivation
LAND RESOURCES OF INDIA
This can be classified in two types:
Major Land Forms of India a) Land put to non-agricultural use.
1. Plain 43% b) Barren and uncultivable land.
These areas cannot be brought under plough
2. Mountain & hills 30%
except at high input cost with possible Low
3. Plateau 27% returns. In India land not available for cultiva-
tion is 13.8 percent. The largest areas in this
The utilization of land depends upon physi- category Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan. M.P,
cal factors like topography, soil and climate as Gujarat, U.P. Bihar.
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 Permanent Pastures and other grazing Land under tree crops and groves
land 1. Land under tree crops and groves include
1. About 4 percent of total area, Grazing all cultivable land which are not included
takes place mostly in forest and other in net shown area, but have been put to
uncultivated land where pastures are avail- some aquaculture use.
able. 2. Land State wise tree crops- Orissa, Uttar
2. Permanent pastures land- Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka.



Pradesh, M.P. Karnataka, Gujarat, and

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Rajasthan.

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IC
AC N
D
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A
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 6 MINERALS

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Y
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Minerals are valuable natural resources be- imported to meet the demand for either blend-

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ing finite and non-renewable. They constitute ing with locally available mineral raw materials

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the vital raw materials for many basic industries
and are a major resource for development. The
history of mineral extraction in India dates back
to the days of the Harappan civilization. The
I
wide availability of the minerals in the form of
abundant rich reserves made it very conducive
and/or for manufacturing special qualities of
mineral-based products. To meet the increasing
demand of uncut diamonds, emerald and other
precious and semi- precious stones by the do-
mestic cutting and polishing industry, India
continued to depend on imports of raw uncut
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for the growth and development of the mining stones for their value-added re-exports.
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sector in India.
The country is endowed with huge resources MINERAL BELTS OF INDIA
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of many metallic and non-metallic minerals. (1) North-Eastern Peninsular Belt:

A
Mining sector is an important segment of the
Indian economy. Since independence, there has 1. It is the richest mineral belt of India.
been a pronounced growth in the mineral 2. Comprises of Chotanagpur plateau and
Orissa plateau in Jharkhand, W. Bengal
production both in terms of quantity and value.
and Orissa.
India continued to be wholly or largely self- 3. The Chhotanagpur plateau is known as
sufficient in minerals which constitute primary the mineral heart land of India, also
mineral raw materials to industries, such as,
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Ruhr of India.
thermal power generation, iron & steel, ferro- 4. It contains large quantities of coal, iron,
alloys, aluminium, cement, various types of manganese, mica, bauxite, Copper,
refractories, china clay-based ceramics, glass, Chromites, and Kyanite.
chemicals like caustic soda, soda ash, calcium
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carbide, titania white pigment, etc. India is, by (2) Central Belt:
and large, self-sufficient in coal (with the excep- 1. It is the 2nd largest mineral belt of India.
tion of very low ash coking coal required by the 2. Comprises of Chhattisgarh, M.P, Andhra
steel plants) and lignite among mineral fuels, Pradesh and Maharashtra.
bauxite, chromite, iron, manganese ores, and 3. It has large deposits of Manganese, baux-
rutile among metallic minerals; and almost all ite, limestone, marble, coal, gems (Panna),
the industrial minerals with the exception of mica, iron ore, graphite etc.
chrysotile asbestos, borax, fluorite, kyanite, (3) Southern Belt:
potash, rock phosphate and elemental sulphur.
1. It comprises mostly of Karnataka plateau
Despite high degree of self-sufficiency, some
and contiguous T.N. upland.
quantities of flaky and amorphous graphite of
2. It lacks coal deposits except lignite at
high fixed carbon, kaolin and ball clay for
Neyveli (T.N.).
special applications, very low silica limestone, 3. It is more or less similar to northeastern
dead-burnt magnesite and sea water magnesia, peninsular belt as far as deposits of fer-
battery grade manganese dioxide, etc. were rous minerals and bauxite is concerned.
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 (4) South-Western Belt: (i) Jharkhand & Orissa: Gurumahisani-
1. Southern Karnataka & Goa are included. Badampahar belt
2. It has deposits of iron-ore, garnet and (ii) M.P. and Eastern Maharashtra region:
clay. (a) Bailadila, Raoghat (Bastar dist.)
(5) North-West Belt: (b) Dalli-Rajhara group (Durg dist.)
(c) Lohara-piplagaoh and surajgarh deposits
1. Extends along the Aravallis in Rajasthan
(Eastern Maharashtra).
and in adjoining parts of Gujarat.
2. Important minerals - Copper, lead, zinc, (iii) Karnataka:

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Uranium, mica, bauxite, gypsum, man- (a) Sandur range (Bellary dist.)

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ganese, salt. (b) Bababudan Hills (Chikmanglur dist.)
(6) The Indian Ocean (c) Tumkur, Shimoga & Chitradurg dist.

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(d) North Kanara deposit.
1. Along with availability of petroleum and
(iv) Goa-Ratnagiri area:

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natural gas in the off shore areas the sea
bed contains manganese nodules, phos-

C
phorite nodules and barium sulphate
concentration
2. The best quality nodules are found in
I
water depths of more than 4000m.
(a) Goa: North (rich), Central (medium), South
(poor
(b) Ratnagiri dist.
(v) Rajasthan: Bhilwara & Udaipur dist.
(C) Limonite & Siderite: Damuda series
3. Phosphate nodules are mainly found near
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D Andaman Islands. (Raniganj coal field), Garhwal (Uttaranchal)
and Mirzapur dist. of U.P. and Kangra
DISTRIBUTION OF MINERALS Valley (H.P.)
• Largest reserves: (i) Karnataka (ii) Orissa
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IRON ORE: (iii) Chhattisgarh (iv) Andhra Pradesh

A
• Largest producers: (i) Orissa (ii) Karnataka
Types of iron-ore: (iii) Chhattisgarh (iv) Goa
(A) Magnetite - contains 72% pure iron. MANGANESE ORE:
(B) Hematite - contains 60-70% pure iron.
• India has the 2nd largest manganese ore
(C) Limonite - contains 40-60% pure iron.
reserves in the world after Zimbabwe.
(D) Siderite - contains 40-50% pure iron.
• India is its 5th largest producer after Brazil,
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(A) Magnetite ores: Gabon, S.Africa and Australia.

• Orissa, Maharashtra, M.P, Karnataka and
• This type of ore in India is either of igneous Andhra Pradesh produce more than 99%
origin or metamorphosed banded magnetic
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of it.
silica formations probably of sedimentary • Manganese Ores Occurs in Dharwar sedi-
type. mentary socks.
• It occurs in Dharwar and Cuddapah sys-
tem of the peninsula. Production centres:
(i) Karnataka: Kudremukh deposits. 1. Orissa - Sundergarh, Kalahandi,
(ii) Tamil Nadu: Salem, Nilgiri, and Koraput, Keonjhar, & Mayurbhanj
Dharampuri. 2. Karnataka - Sandur, N.Kanara, Tumkur,
(iii) Andhra Pradesh: at the trijunction of Shimoga
Adilabad, Karimnagar and Nizamabad 3. M.P. - Balaghat, Chhindwara, Jabalpur,
dist. and Khammam and Warangal dist. Jhabna
(iv) Kerala: Kozhikode dist. 4. Maharashtra - Nagpur, Bhandara, South
Ratnagiri
(B) Hematite Ores: It also occurs in Dharwar
5. Jharkhand - Singhbhum
& Cuddapah system of the peninsula.
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 6. Rajasthan - Udaipur, Banswara • Important mines are:
7. Andhra Pradesh - Vishakhapatnam, Jharkhand - Subarnarekha, Sona nadi,
Srikakulam. streams draining Sonapat Valley.
• Largest reserves - (i) Orissa (ii) Karnataka • Kerala - River terraces along Panna Puzha
(iii) M.P. & Chakiye Puzha.
• Largest producers - (i) Orissa (ii) • Largest producers - (i) Karnataka (ii) Andhra

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Maharashtra (iii) M.P. Pradesh (iii) Jharkhand.

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COPPER: SILVER:
• Important ores - cuprite, Malachite, • Chief ores: Argentine, Stephanite,

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chlcocite, Bronite, Chalcopyrite, and Azur- Pyrogyrite and Pronstite
• It occurs in mixed form with Zinc, Copper,

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ite.
• Production centres: Lead and Gold.

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Rajasthan - Khetri copper belt - (a) Mandan
Kaddhan section (b) Kolihan section (c)
Dariba.
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Jharkhand - Singhbhum copper belt
M.P. - Balaghat
• Silver is also found in lead-Zinc ores of
Zawar mines (Rajasthan), Kolar gold fields
and Hutti gold mines of Karnataka.
Largest producer - (i) Rajasthan (ii)
Jharkhand (iii) Karnataka.
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• Largest reserves: - (i) Rajasthan (ii) M.P. (iii) ZINC:

•
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Jharkhand
Largest producers: - (i) M.P. (ii) Rajasthan
•
•
Main Ore: Zinc-blend.
It is a mixed ore containing lead and zinc
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(iii) Jharkhand (Pb+Zn).

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• More than 99% of the total zinc of India is
LEAD: produced in Zawar area in Udaipur dist. of
• Galena (lead sulphide) is the chief ore. Rajasthan.
• It is found in the reins of limestone, sand- • Small quantity of this Ore is also produced
stone & slates. in Sikkim.
• Some deposits have been found in
• Major deposits are in Precambrian series.
Udhampur dist. (J&K) and South Arcot
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Production center: - Zawar mines (Udaipur

dist. (Tamil Nadu)
dist.) in Rajasthan
• Largest reserves: - Rajasthan BAUXITE:
• Largest producers: - Rajasthan
• An important ore of Aluminium.
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• The deposits were formed mainly in ter-

GOLD:
tiary period.
• It is found in quartz veins or reefs of quartz • It is associated with Laterite rocks.
(Lead-gold), occasionally associated with • Largest reserves: (i) Orissa (ii) Andhra
iron and copper sulphide. Pradesh (iii) Gujarat
• Three important gold fields of India: • Largest Producers: (i) Orissa (ii) Gujarat
(i) Kolar gold field - Kolar dist. (Karnataka) (iii) Jharkhand.
(ii) Hutti gold field - Raichur dist.
MICA:
(Karnataka)
(iii) Ratnagiri gold field - Anantpur dist. • Three major types of mica found in India
(Andhra Pradesh) are: (i) Muscovite (Potash mica) (ii) Biotite
• Alluvial gold - Gold is also found in the (Iron-magnesium mica) (iii) Phlogopite.
• About 95% of India's mica is found in three
alluvial sand and gravels of many streams
states of Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and
and rivers.
Jharkhand
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 • Productions areas: (ii) Tertiary Coalfields:
Rajasthan: • Contains the coal of younger age.

Mica belt from Jaipur in NE to Udaipur • Primarily confined to extra peninsular re-
in SW Rajasthan. gion, viz. Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal
Pradesh, Nagaland, Himalayan foothills of

Bhilwara is the most important centre.
Darjeeling in W.Bengal, J&K, U.P. Rajasthan,

Light green or pink colour, high quality
Kerala, T.N. and U.T. of Pondicherry.
mica. • Assam coal is of high grade as fuel while

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Andhra Pradesh: coals of Kashmir and T.N. have a lower

Nellore mica belt between Guntur and percentage of fixed carbon.

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Sangam (100 km long and 25 km wide.)
Types of Indian Coal:

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Nellore mica is generally light green in
colour. 1. Anthracite - (80-95% carbon) it is found

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Jharkhand & Bihar: only in J&K and that too in small quantity.

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A belt of 150 km length and 20 km width
runs from Gaya to Bhagalpur through
Hazaribagh, Giridih and Munger.
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Kodarma is the most important centre
2.

3.
Bituminous - (40-80% carbon) most of it is
found in Jharkhand, Orissa, W.Bengal,
Chhattisgarh and M.P.
Lignite (Brown Coal) - (40-55% carbon) it
is found in Palan (Rajasthan), Neyveli (T.N),
and world's largest mica market. Lakhimpur (Assam) Karewa (J&K).
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This belt contains the richest deposits of
Dhigh quality Ruby-mica & Bengal-mica. Distribution:

Largest producers: (i) Andhra Pradesh Most of the coalfields are found in the
(ii) Rajasthan (iii) Jharkhand.
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eastern part of India particularly to the east of

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78° E longitude. Maximum concentration is in
FOSSILS FUEL MINERALS: the north-eastern part of the peninsular plateau
comprising parts of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh,
COAL: Orissa and eastern M.P. and western part of W.
• Coal is the primary source of energy ac- Bengal adjoining parts of Maharashtra also
counting for about 68% of the total com- have large deposits of coal.
mercial energy consumption in the coun-
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Gondwana Coal:
try.
• There are two main categories of the coal • Jharkhand: Jharia, Bokaro, Giridih,
bearing strata in the country:- Dhanbad, Karnapura, and Ramgarh (most
of the coal fields are located in a narrow
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(i) Gondwana Coalfields: It accounts for belt in east west direction almost along
98% of the total reserves and 99% of the 24°N latitude).
total production of coal in India. Of the • Orissa: Dhenkanal, Sambalpur and
113 major coalfields found all over the Sundergarh dist. (Talcher coalfield is the
India, 80 are located in the rock system most important.
of lower Gondwana age. There are about • Andhra Pradesh: Singrauni, Tandur,
75 separate basins, mainly confined to Kathagudam (Godavari Valley has the larg-
peninsular India, in the valleys of certain est reserves)
rivers viz. Damodar (Jharkhand-West • Maharashtra: Kamptee, Wardha Valley,
Bengal), Mahanadi (Chhattisgarh- Ballarpur and Warora (Chandrapura dist.)
Orissa), Son (M.P.-Jharkhand), Godavari • W. Bengal: Raniganj, Burdawan, Purulia,
& Wardha (Maharashtra-Andhra), Virbhum, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling.
(Raniganj is the largest coalfield).
Indravati, Narmada, Pench and Kanha.
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 • U.P: Singrauli coal fields (Mirzapur dist.) (v) Aliabet: Located at Aliabet Island in the
Gulf of Cambay. Commercial production is
Tertiary Coal: expected to start soon.
• Assam: Makum, Nazira, Mikir hills, and (vi) Krishna-Godavari Basin: Ravva field
Dilli-Jeypore (Makum coalfield in Sibsagar • Largest producers -
dist. is most developed) (i) Mumbai High

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• Rajasthan: Palan-Bikaner. (ii) Gujarat
• Meghalaya: Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills.

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(iii) Assam
• Arunachal Pradesh: Namchick-Namrup (iv) T.N.

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coalfield (Tirap dist.) (v) Andhra Pradesh
• Largest coal reserves: (i) Jharkhand (ii)
• The first boring was made at Nahar Pung

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Orissa (iii) Chhattisgarh (iv) W. Bengal in 1866 in Makum area of Assam.

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• Largest coal producers: (i) Jharkhand (ii)
Chhattisgarh (iii) Orissa (iv) M.P Oil Refineries:
PETROLEUM: At present there are 18 refineries in the
I
In India petroleum resources are confined to
country, of which 16 are in Public sector, one
is joint sector and one in private sector.
AC N
the sedimentary rocks Mesozoic and tertiary

D
periods. However, most of the areas are of pre-
Cambrian age, which are regarded as highly
unfavorable regions for oil fields.
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A
Important Potential Basins:
Upper Assam, Southern Assam-Surma Val-
ley, Tripura, Sunderbans (W. Bengal), coastal
region of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, T.N. Kerala,
Kutch region, Saurashtra, Southern Gujarat
(Ankleshwar), Narmada valley (M.P.) Western
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Himalaya and Ganga basin. The only off-shore

basin is Bombay High.

Important Oil fields:

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(i) Assam: Digboi, Naharkatiya, Hagrijan-

Moran, Surma valley, Rudrasagar and
Lakwa are new areas.
(ii) Gujarat: Cambay, Ankleshwar, Kabul,
Nawgam, Kosamba, Dholka, Sanand.
(iii) Bombay High (Mumbai High): It is an
offshore structure in 2500 km2, 176 km off
Mumbai coast, where production started in Public Sector Refineries: Digboi, Nunmati,
1976. Bongaigaon and Numaligarh in Assam, Barauni
Produces about 2/3 of the total production (Bihar), Haldia (W. Bengal), Vishakhapatnam
of India. (Andhra Pradesh), Chennai & Narimanam
(T.N), Kochin (Kerala) Trombay (Maharashtra),
(iv) Bassein: Newly discovered off shore region
Koyali (Gujarat), Karnal, Panipat (Haryana),
south of Mumbai High.
Mathura (U.P.)
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 • Joint sector Refineries: Mangalore ZIRCONIUM & ILMENITE:
(Karnataka). Deposits of commercial value occur is the
• Private sector Refinery: Jamnagar beach sands of Kerala coast.
(Gujarat).
• The first refinery was established at Digboi PROBLEMS POSED BY MINERAL
is 1901. RESOURCES
• Jamnagar (Gujarat) refinery has the largest
a) Depletion of mineral resources: Due to
capacity followed by Koyali

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excessive exploitation many minerals are

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Natural Gas: going to be depleted in near future. Thus
proper mineral policy for scientific conser-

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It is available both alone and in association vation of minerals is needed.
with crude oil but most of the output comes
b) Ecological problems: Mineral extractions

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from associated sources. The associated gas
have lead to serious environmental prob-

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fields are Ankleshwar and Cambay in Gujarat,
Mumbai High and in Assam. Petroleum refin-
eries also produce fuel gas as by product.
I lems. Rapidly growing mining activities
has rendered large agricultural tracts al-
most barren. Natural vegetation has been
removed from vast tracks. In hilly mining
Recent findings:
areas landslides are frequent phenomena
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• Largest producers - (i) Mumbai High (ii)
D causing loss of human beings and property.
Gujarat (iii) Andhra (iv) Assam, and (v)
c) Pollution: Mining extraction process causes
Tripura.
air pollution, water pollution, soil pollu-
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• Krishna-Godavari basin, Ravva field, Barmer tion, noise pollution and radioactive pollu-
A
(Rajasthan). tion.

ATOMIC MINERALS d) Social problems: New discoveries of mines

or establishment of new mining industry
large amount of local masses has to be
THORIUM:
displaced. This simply converts them to
• Main Ores - Thorianite (38-80% of tho- refugees. The pollution by mining extrac-
IA H

rium), Monazite (upto 18% thorium). tion makes them more prone to diseases.
• Monazite deposits of commercial value are
found in about 160 km belt between cape CONSERVATION OF RESOURCES
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Comorin and Quilon (in Kerala)

In world of diminishing resources, it be-
• India possesses the largest reserves of Mona-
comes essential that the mineral resources should
zite known in the world.
be judiciously used by the present generation to
ensure a resource base for future generations.
URANIUM:
The strategies include:
• Main ores: Pitch blend (50-50% uranium), a) New researches should be undertaken to
Uranite (65-80% uranium) find out and develop replacement minerals
Production: Jharkhand - Jadugoda mines for use in place of scarce minerals which
(Singhbhum) are in short supply and are going to be
Rajasthan: Bissundi (Ajmer), Umra depleted soon.
(Udaipur) b) Researches should be carried on to develop
Andhra Pradesh: Sankara mines (Nellore) new technology which should avoid wast-

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 age and promote maximum utilization of e) Walking on a path that leads to sustainable
by- products development.
c) There should be curbing on wastage min- f) Use of renewable sources of energy.
ing methods that deplete the environment g) Avoid over-exploitation of the mineral re-
sources.
too.
h) Use of biogas as a fuel for cooking instead
d) Use of alternate sources of energy like solar
of the non-renewable sources of energy.

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energy, hydroelectric energy etc.

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IC
AC N
D
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A
IA H
C

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 7 INDUSTRIES OF INDIA

E
Y
India started her quest for industrial devel- 2. Located in the heartland of cotton growing

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opment after independence in 1947.There has area,
been many industrial policies in the country 3. Cheap labour in nearby Konkan belt

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since that time, the latest being the New Indus- 4. Natural humid climate of Mumbai has been

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trial Policy of 1991. With three-fourths of India's
population residing in rural areas, 60% of the
labour force constitutes agricultural industry.
The remaining 23% is in services and 17% is in
I
industry.
5.
of special advantage.
Local Parsi and Bhatia merchant's financial
condition and their considerable experi-
ence in business matters.
Maharashtra, Gujarat, M.P., U.P., West
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Some of the important industries are textiles,
D Bengal and Tamil Nadu are leading in cotton
steel, food processing, cement, fertilizer and textile production.
machinery.
Maharashtra is the largest producing state
- 122 mills in the organized sector out of which
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TEXTILE INDUSTRY
A
59 are only in Mumbai. Mumbai is known as
cottonpolis of India or Manchester of India.. The
1. Cotton-Textile Industry
factories have the advantage of local cotton,
It in the largest organized modern industry cheap and easily available hydel power, near-
of the country and provides 2nd largest employ- ness of Mumbai ports help in import of raw
ment after Railways. Though the first modern materials and machines and simultaneously in
textile mill was started at Fort Gloster (Howrah) export of finished products. Mumbai, Akola,
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in 1818 but it could not survive. The real Amravati, Sholapur, Kolhapur, Jalgaon, Hubli,
beginning of the industry goes back to 1854 in Pune, Nagpur, Billmiori are notable centres.
Mumbai. Earlier it was heavily concentrated in Gujarat ranks second in production. There
cotton growing region due to infrastructural are the numbers of mills, 130 out of which 70
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facilities but later it started to disperse to the lies only in the Ahmedabad. Surat, Bhavnagar,
market region since the raw cotton is neither Rajkot and Vadodara are other notable centers.
weight losing nor weight gaining. Still it is Location in the cotton belt, cheap labour, and
mostly concentrated in the cotton providing capital availability are main factors of location
region. of a number of cotton textile industries.
On modern pattern, first mill come up in West Bengal: Kolkata is the most important
1854 in Mumbai and later on in Ahmedabad.
center. There are 45 mills in the districts of
These two centers are virtually having one-fifth
Chaubis Pargana, Hooghly and Howrah dis-
of total cotton mills even today the underlying
tricts. Howrah has 14 and Srirampore has 10
factors are:-
mills. Port facility, cheap labour, availability of
1. Mumbai, being a port facility was con- coal and vast market are main factors of loca-
nected with the hinterland and as well as tion of a large number of cotton textile indus-
world market. tries.
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 Uttar Pradesh- There are 41 mills out of 3. Silk Textile
which 14 are located in Kanpur. Kanpur is
India is the only country in the world which
known as Manchester of North India. Varanasi,
produces all the four silk varieties - Mulberry,
Agra, Moradabad, Aligarh, Modinagar, Bareli
Eri, Tasar and Muga. India produced 15% of the
and Saharanpur are other centers.
world's silk. It is the second largest producer of
Tamil Nadu- The numbers of mills are natural silk after China. 95% of Indian silk

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highest in India - 208 mills. Chennai, Coimbatore, comprises of Mulberry category. It gives em-
Madurai are main centers of productions. ployment to more than 6 million people. Only

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Coimbatore in known as Manchester of South 15% of the total output is exported because
India. Main factors of localization are local

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remaining part is consumed in sari.
cotton, power facility from Pykara projects,
1. Karnataka is the largest producer with

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cheap and abundant labour, and lignite coal
60% of mulberry silk. 5% of its population
from Neyveli coal mines. Tamil Nadu ranks first

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is engaged in silk industry especially in
in the production of cotton yarn in the country south Karnataka, Bangalore, Raidurg,
followed by Maharashtra. Belgaum, Harihar, and Hubli.
2. West Bengal stands second with 13% of
I
2. Woollen Textile
total silk. Murshidabad and Bankura are
First woolen textile mill came up in 1876 at
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main centres.
Kanpur and second one at Dhariwal in 1883.
D
These are mainly concentrated in Punjab,
Maharashtra and U.P. which account for about
3. In Jammu & Kashmir 3.6 lakh persons are
engaged in this industry. Udhampur,
Jammu, Srinagar, Baramula and Anantnag
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¾ of the total spindlage capacity.

are main centers of production.
A
1. Punjab: Largest producer of Woolen tex-
4. Assam is the largest producer of muga silk
tile. New Isserton Mill at Dhariwal is the
in the country.
largest center of hosiery in India. Other
centers are -Amritsar, Ludhiana, and 5. In Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh pro-
Kharar. duction is concentrated in Bilaspur, Bastar,
Mandla, Balaghat, Shahdol, Sarguja,
2. Maharashtra: 2nd largest producer. There Raipur and Raigarh. Bastar produces 15%
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are two centers of production in of national and 50% of state silk. There are
Maharashtra-Mumbai and Thane. Mumbai 215 centers of production in the State.
is the most important center. Two units in
6. Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh
Mumbai are Modella textile Industries and
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are other states of mulberry silk produc-

the Raymond Woolen mills.
tion. In Punjab Amritsar, Ludhiana,
3. U.P.: Kanpur is the largest center in the Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur are important cen-
state. Other centres are - Mirzapur, ters.
Varanasi, Shahjahanpur, Agra, and
7. Bihar, Orissa, U.P. and Maharashtra are
Modinagar. Kanpur is the main center
Tasar silk producers. Bhagalpur is famous
where woolen mills are famous by the
for Tasar silk. In U.P. Mirzapur, Varanasi,
name of Lal Imli Mills.
Shahjahanpur, Pratapgarh are important
4. Gujarat: Jamnagar, Ahmedabad, Kalol and centers.
Vadodara.
5. Haryana: Panipat is other center of pro- 4. Jute Textile
duction in Haryana. Known as 'Golden Fiber' - The first mill was
6. Jammu & Kashmir: Srinagar is important established at Srirampore in 1855 which rose to
center where Pashmina and Namda are 26 mills till 1895 and 111 in 1945-46. The
famous wool. partition had most severe impact on this indus-
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 try as three fourth production areas lies in (b) Iron-ore from Noamundi (Singhbhum distt
Bangladesh. About 8 lakh hectares land was of Jharkhand) and Gurumahisani
devoted to jute cultivation and production was (Mayurbhanj dist. Of Orissa);
10 million tones. West Bengal is the largest (c) Manganese from Joda mines (Keonjhar,
producer followed by Bihar, Assam and Orissa. Orissa)
Presently there are 73 mills in India out of (d) Limestone and dolomite form Sundergarh
which 40 are on the bank of the Hooghly from and Birmitrapur, Orissa
Bansberia to Birlapur in a length of 90 kms. The (e) Cheap electricity form Damodar Valley

E
following factors are responsible for unusual Corporation;
concentration in this belt (i) the natural humid (f) Industrial region around Kolkata serves as

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climate, availability of clean water from the a valuable outlet for the disposal of finished
Hooghly, nearby availability of coal from products;

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Raniganj mines and the dense population pro- Indian Iron and Steel Company (IISCO):

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vides cheap and abundant supply of labour. (ii) IISCO has three plants in Kulti, Hirapur and
The beginning was made from the export point Burnpur in West Bengal. IISCO enjoys the
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of view; hence nearby port location was highly
beneficial (iii) the cheapest mode of transporta-
tion for moving the jute from field to factories.
I
Chandernagar, Noakhali, Chandrahati,
following facilities:-
(a)
(b)
(c)
Iron ore from Guna mines (Singhbhum)
Coal from Raniganj and Jharia
Manganese from Keonjhar
Bansberia, Titagarh, Agarpara, Rishra, Salika (d) Limestone from Birmitrapur
AC N
Howrah, Behighat are main centers. In Bihar (e) Hydel power from DVC
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the units are located at Katihar, Purnea and
Darbhanga. In A.P. jute industries are at
Visveshwaraya Iron and Steel Works
(VISL): Formerly known as Mysore Iron and
Vishakhapatnam, Ellury, and Guntur.
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Steel Company, it was set up in 1923 at

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Bhadravati on the Bank of River Bhadra on the
METALLURGICAL INDUSTRY
Dirur-Shimoga branch of Southern railway. All
raw materials are available within the radius of
1. Iron and Steel Industries 50 kilometers.
For the first time pig iron was produced in (a) Iron ore from Kemangundi mine of
1874 at Burnpur by Bengal Iron Works but Bababudan hills (40 kms.);
financial crunch forced to down the shutter in
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(b) Limestone is obtained form the distance of

1877. It was in 1907 at Sakchi (now Jamshedpur) 20 kms;
where first successful attempt was made by J.N. (c) Manganese from Shimoga and Chitradurg
Tata by establishing Tata Iron and Steel Com- (98 km);
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pany. In TISCO pig iron was produced in 1911 (d) Adjacent reserve fulfils the need of coal;
and steel in 1913. The Indian Iron & Steel Hindustan Steel Limited (HSL): Govern-
Company (IISCO) was set up in 1919 at Burnpur ment of India established the HSL in order to
followed by the setting up of Mysore Steel increase the production of iron and steel. Con-
Works at Bhadravati (now Visveshwaraya Iron sequently, three plants under the public sector
and Steel Works) in 1923. After independence i.e. Bhilai, Rourkela and Durgapur came into
development of iron and steel industries was existence during the 2nd Five Year Plan. During
envisaged in 2nd Five Year Plan. 3rd Five Year Plan a steel plant at Bokaro was
Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO): It also proposed.
is the largest steel plant in private sector. It
Rourkela Steel Plant: Rourkela Steel Plant
enjoys the following facilities -
was established in 1954 with the help of Ger-
(a) Coal form Jharia and Raniganj coalfields man technology (Krupps Demag) 431 km south
(only 60 kms. away); of Kolkata on Kolkata- Bombay railway line.
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 The capacity is of 1.8 million tonnes of steel. This Vijayanagar Steel Plant: It lies near Hospet
unit enjoys the following facilities - in Bellary district of Karnataka. The capacity is
(a) Iron-ore from mines in Keonjhar and of 3.0 million tonnes of steel ingots. The Units
Sundergarh Dist.; enjoys these facilities
(b) Good quality coal from Jharia, Bokaro (240 (a) Iron ore from local mines (Hospet region);
km), Talcher; (b) Coking coal form Kanhan valley (C.G) and

E
(c) Limestone form Hathibari and Birmitrapur Singareni (A.P.);
lying only 25 kms away; (c) Water from Tungbhadra dam (32 km);

Y
(d) Manganese form nearby Baspam and Bolani (d) Dolomite and limestone form nearby mine
mines; (200 km);

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(e) Hydel power from Hirakud Project; Salem Steel Plant: It is in Salem district of

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Bhilai Steel Plant: It lies in Durg district of Tamilnadu. The magnetic iron-ore, limestone
and dolomite are available in nearby mines.

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Chhattisgarh. It is the largest steel Plant in
India. The plant has installed capacity of 4.0 Lignite coal is obtained from nearby mines.
million tonnes of steel, which is to be enhanced Vishakhapatnam Steel Plant: This is first
upto 6.0 million tones. It receives:- and only shore-based steel plant in India. The
I
(a) Iron ore from Dalli-Rajhara which is only unit has installed capacity of 3.0 million tonnes
of ingots steel. The production began in 1992.
32 kms form the plant;
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It receives
(b) Coking coal from Jharia and Bokaro (225
D
km) and low quality coal form Korba;
(c) Limestone form Nandi mine, (24 km) and
dolomite form Hirni mine of Bilaspur.
(a) Coals form Jharkhand;
(b) Iron-ore from Bailadila mines;
(c) The port facility;
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(d) Manganese form Balaghat district-220 km; Mini Steel Plants: Presently there are 199
(e) Water from Tandulla and Gandhi Canals; mini steel plants with the installed capacity of
Durgapur Steel Plant: It lies 175 km west of 6.2 million tonnes. In private sector Lloyds Steel
Kolkata in Bardhaman district. The capacity is Industries, Nippon Denro in Maharashtra. Eicher
1.6 million tonnes of ingots steel. The facilities Steel in Gujarat, Jindal Strips in M.P. and
available to this unit are:- Malvika Steel in U.P. are fast emerging. There
are several units of sponge iron in India. India
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(a) Iron-ore from Gua and Noamundi (190

is ninth largest producer of steel in the world
km);
but per capita consumption is very low, 32 kg
(b) Coal from Raniganj and Jharia - 70 kms;
against the world average of 150 kg a person.
(c) Limestone form Birmitrapur,
Now India is exporting iron and steel.
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Bhawanathpur and Hathibari mines of

Orissa; 2. Aluminium Industry
(d) Hydel power form DVC; Water form
Durgapur dam; The availability of raw material (Bauxite)
(e) Nearness form Kolkata provides market and power is the most important factors for the
facility; location of this industry. Since the raw material
is weight loosing, the industries are mostly
Bokaro Steel Plant: Established at Bokaro
located in areas producing bauxite and where
on Bokaro River in Hazaribagh district of
cheap hydro-electricity in available.
Jharkhand. The capacity is of 4.0 million tonnes
of steel. The unit enjoys the following facilities:- The first aluminum plant of the country was
established in 1937 at Jaykaynagar (W. Bengal),
(a) Coal form Jharia coalfield and local mines; which was primarily a coal region. The 2nd
(b) Availability of cheap power form DVC; plant was established in 1938 at Muri
(c) Iron-core form Kiriburu mine in Keonjhar (Jharkhand), which was bauxite producing
district and limestone form Palamau dis- region. Presently there are six units in India two
trict; in public sector and four in private sector.
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 Aluminum Cooperation of Important Resource Availabilities
Company Countries Centers Bauxite Electricity
Electricity

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

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Muri (Jharkhand) Local Thermal
Hirakud (Orissa) Eastern Ghat Hirakud Hydel Plant

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Alwaye (Kerala) Belgaum (Karnataka) Hydel
MALCO Italy Chennai, Mettur,Salem (T.N.) Shevroy & Javadi Hills Hydel

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Bharat Aluminium Co. Ltd. (BALCO): It is 4. Rakha copper project (Singhbhum)

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a public sector company having two units: 5. Dariba copper project (Alwar)
Korba
C (Chhattisgarh) and Ratnagiri
(Maharashtra). The annual capacities of these
two units are 40000 and 50,000 tonnes a year
respectively.
I 6. Chandmari copper project (Jhunjhuna)
Agnigundala Copper-Lead project in Guntur
district of Andhra is coming up at fast rate.
Sterlite Industries is a private sector which has
National Aluminium Co. Ltd. (NALCO): It commissioned its copper smelter at Tuticorin.
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is the largest unit in India and lowest cost
D Birla Copper Ltd. Has set up a copper project
producer in the world, established in 1981 in at Dahej in Gujarat. Swil Copper Ltd. is setting
Orissa with installed capacity of 2.18 lakh up a plant at Bharuch in Gujarat.
tonnes. The plant is at Damanjodi and the
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smelter is at Angul. 4. Lead Industry

A
Hindustan Aluminum Corporation Ltd. 1. The first Lead smelting plant was set up at
(HINDALCO): This was set up in 1958 having Tundoo near Dhanbad by Metal Corpora-
its main factory at Renukut in Mirzapur district tion of India. It was taken over by
of U.P. Its capability is 1.75 lakh tonnes. Hindustan Zinc Ltd. The ore is supplied
Indian Aluminum Co. Ltd. Kerala from Zawar and Dariba mines of Rajasthan.
(IANDALCO): It is an integrated plant having 2. Another plant has been established at
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units at different places. The first plant in the Vishakhapatnam based on the ore supply
devices is located at Muri (Jharkhand) second at from Agnigundala.
Alwaye (Kerala) and third at Belur (W.Bengal). 3. The Lead-Zinc Complex was constructed
New Plant has been established at Belgaum in at Chanderia in 1991 under the British aid
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Maharashtra. programme.
Madras Aluminium Company (MALCO):
5. Zinc Industry
It was established in 1965 at Mettur.
At present there are 4 zinc smelters in the
3. Copper Smelting Industry country, one each at Alwaye (Kerala), Debari
and Chanderia (Raj) and Vishakhapatnam.
Hindustan Copper Ltd. (HCL), estd. in 1967
is the sole producer of primary copper in the Alwaye Plant: The Alwaye plant is totally
country. It has 6 plant complexes. dependent upon imported supplies of zinc con-
1. Khetri copper complex (Rajasthan) centrates. It started production in 1967.
2. Indian Copper complex (Maubhandar near Debari Plant: It started production in 1968.
Ghatsila) Besides, it also produces Sulphuric acid,
3. Malanjhkhand copper project (M.P.) Cadmium, Phosphoric acid and Super Phos-

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 phate. Half of ore is supplied by Balaria and two important centers. Kerala, Orissa, Haryana,
Rajpur-Dariba mines and rest is imported. Rajasthan, West Bengal and Assam are other
Chanderia Plant: It was set up in 1991 producing states. Per hectare consumption of
based on the supplies from Bhilwara and fertilizer is highest in Punjab. High domestic
Chittorgarh. It also produces lead and silver. consumption force India to import fertilizers.

Vishakhapatnam Plant: It receives ore from Public Sector:

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Agnigundala mines and gives a production of
(1) Fertilizer Corporation of India - Sindri,

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40000 tonnes per annum.
Gorakhpur, Talcher and Ramagundam.

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FERTILIZERS INDUSTRY (2) National Fertilizer Ltd. - Nangal, Bhatinda,
Panipat, Vijaipur, Durgapur, Barauni,
There are three types of chemical fertilizers,

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Namrup and Trombay.
viz.

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(3) National Chemical & Fertilizer ltd. -
(i) Nitrogenous fertilizers (67%) Trombay
(ii) Phosphatic fertilizers (21%) and (4) Madras Fertilizer ltd. - Always, Cochin
(iii) Potash fertilizer (12%). (5) Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd.
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The first fertilizer (Nitrogen based) plant - Udyogmandal and Kochi.
was established in 1906 at Ranipet (T.N.). India (6) Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd. -
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is the third largest producer and consumer of Trombay and Thal.
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fertilizer in the world. It produces mainly two
types of fertilizers: (1) Nitrogenous (2) Phos-
phate. Potash based fertilizer is produced in
(7) Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Ltd.-
Namrup, Durgapur and Barauni.
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Joint Sector: Madras Fertilizer ltd.

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very limited quantity due to lack of raw material
and is completely dependent on import of pot- Under the Ministry of Mines: Rourkela,
ash. Majority of chemical fertilizer factories are Neyveli, Khetri
located near oil refineries. Co-operative sector: IFFCO (Kalol, Kandla,
Gujarat and Tamil Nadu lead in production Phulpur and Aonla)
followed U.P., Punjab, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Gas based plant along HBJ pipeline:
Kerala, Haryana, A.P., Assam and West Bengal. Vijaipur, Aonla, Hazira, Jagdishpur, and
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Gujarat is the largest producer of nitrogenous Babrala.

fertilizer (14.7%) and second largest producer of
phosphate fertilizer (30.6%). Units at Bharuch CEMENT INDUSTRY
and Kandla produce phosphate fertilizer. Ni-
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trogenous fertilizer is produced at Vadodara Manufacturing of cement started at Ranipet

and Kalol. Tamil Nadu is the largest producer (Chennai) in 1904. But this attempt proved
of phosphate fertilizer (37%) and second largest abortive and the successful attempt was made
of nitrogenous fertilizer. Four units are located in 1912 when Indian Cement Co. Ltd. set up a
at Tuticorin, Neyveli, Chennai and Ellore. plant at Porbandar. India is the 2nd largest
Tuticorin is the largest unit. producer of cement in the world after China.
In U.P. 95% of nitrogenous fertilizer is pro- All the raw materials (limestone, dolomites coal,
duced from four units at Kanpur, Gorakhpur, gypsum etc.) are heavy and weight losing,
Phulpur and Varanasi. In Punjab two units are therefore, the industry is concentrated in the
at Nangal and Bhatinda. In Maharashtra ni- source region of these raw materials, mainly in
trogenous fertilizer and phosphate fertilizer is limestone producing region, and is influenced
produced. Trombay has the largest nitrogenous by the minimization of transportation cost.
fertilizer factory in the country. Andhra Pradesh There are 103 large and 252 small cement
contributes phosphate and nitrogenous fertil- factories in India with installed capacity of
izer. Ramagudam and Vishakhapatnam are 740.7 lakh tones a year. Madhya Pradesh,
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 Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka is the largest market of hides in the country.
and Maharashtra produce 80% of total national Only 10% of the total production comes from
production of cement. organized sector. Though India is the largest
1. Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh is the country in animal wealth its share in the leather
largest producer of cement of India pro- market is only of 3.0%. Germany is the largest
ducing one fifth of total production. 14 importer of India leather goods.
large and 15 small factories are located
here. Satna, Katni, Durg, Kymore, Maihar,
Tanning

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Mandhar, Damoh, Bilaspur and Raipur are The first tannery was set up at Kanpur in
important centers. 1867. At present Kanpur, Chennai and Kolkata

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2. Andhra Pradesh is the second largest pro- are the largest tanning centres. Other centers

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ducer (10.7%). There are 10 factories in the are Agra, Bangalore, Belgaum, Bhopal, Mokama
state of Karimnagar, Adilabad, (Bihar), Phulbani (Orissa), Sherbaug (Guj),

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Cementnagar, Vijayawada, Vijayanagar, Kapurthala, etc. Central Leather Research Insti-

3.
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Mancherla, Vishakhapatnam and Krishna.
Pedapalli is the biggest plant.
Rajasthan produces 11% cement-
Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Sirohi, Nimbaheda,
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Sawai Madhopur and Lakheri are main
tute is at Chennai.

Leather Goods
The main centres are Chennai, Ranipet,
Ambur, Vaniambadi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Kanpur,
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centers of production.
D Agra, Kolhapur, Jalandhar, Delhi, Batanagar,
4. Gujarat produces 9% of cement - Sika, Faridabad and Jaipur.
Ahmedabad, Dwarka, Porbandar, Sevolia,
Ramarao, Bhavnagar and Okha are main Sugar Industry
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centers.
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It is the 2nd largest agro-based industry after
5. Tamil Nadu produces 8.7% of cements. cotton textile. India is the 2nd largest producer
Nine factories are there at Shankridurga, of sugar after Cuba but if Gur & Khandsari are
Talaiyathu, Dalmiapuram, Talukkapatti, taken into account it is the largest. In 1950-51
Alangulam and Salem. the production was 11.4 lakh tones, which
6. Jharkhand, Karnataka, U.P. and Orissa increased 280 lakh tones in 2006-07. The num-
are other cement producing states in India. ber of sugar mills was 139 in 1950-51 rose to 530
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The highest consumption is in the state of in 2007-08. Since sugarcane in a heavy, weight
Maharashtra followed by Uttar Pradesh. losing and perishable raw material, most of the
7. Sea-conch based cement industry: Dwarka industries are located in the region of sugar
(Gujarat), Thiruvanantapuram (Kerala), cultivation. More than 85% sugar is produced
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Chennai (T.N.) in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra,

8. Sludge based cement factories: Sindri Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and
(Jharkhand), Talcher (Orissa) Karnataka.
9. Other Important Centers: Sindri, Jhinupani, Maharashtra is the largest producer of sugar
Khalari, Chaibasa, Kalyanpur (all in in India with 90 sugar mills. It produces 40% of
Jharkhand); Dalmia Nagar, Japla (Bihar) total sugar production in India. Ahmednagar,
Nasik, Kolhapur, Sholapur, Pune, Satara, Sangli
LEATHER INDUSTRY and Aurangabad are main producing districts.
Tamil Nadu is the largest producer of leather Uttar Pradesh is the second largest pro-
in the country, contributing 65% followed by ducer; number of sugar mills are 103 - produces
Kolkata, Kanpur, Bombay, Aurangabad, 28% of sugar. In western U.P. Saharanpur,
Kolhapur, Dewar, Jalandhar and Agra. Kanpur Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad and
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 Bulandshahar and in Terai belt - Deoria, Gonda, Gujarat - 16 mills mainly in, Bhavnagar,
Basti, Pilibhit, Bahraich and Gorakhpur are Jamnagar, Amreli, Banaskantha, Junagarh Surat
main producing districts. and Rajkot.
Tamil Nadu is the third largest producer Andhra Pradesh - 35 mills mainly in Krishna,
with 32 sugar mills. Coimbatore, Arcot, Nazimabad, Medak, Chittur, East and West
Tiruchirapalli and Madurai are main producing Godavari.

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district. Per hectare production is highest in this Haryana (Rohtak, Ambala), Punjab
state. (Amritsar, Jalandhar) and Bihar (Darbhanga,

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Karnataka has 30 mills located at Belgaum, Saran, Champaran and Muzzafarpur) are other
main producers.

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Mandya, Bijapur, Bellary, Shimoga and
Chitradurg.

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INDUSTRIAL REGIONS

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 Industrial region refers to the continuous The main problems are: -
development of industrial landscape over a
large area by the concentration of a number of • High degree of congestion.
factories of different industries. lGradual filling of Kolkata port making the
shipping facilities somewhat difficult.
Industrial region has following • Bottle-neck in South-East and Eastern rainy-
characteristics: days.
• Paucity of space.
a) Predominance of industries and concentra- • Shortage of drinking water and civic ameni-

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tion of factories. ties.
b) Emergence of many big and small towns

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• Environmental pollution.
supporting residential colonies of industrial • The state government is pursuing the policy

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workers and markets for industrial goods of liberalization but problem of land acqui-
and raw materials. sition is acting as a main obstacle for

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c) Dense network of transport and communi- redevelopment of the region.

d)
e)
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cation lines.
Sparse rural population
Emphasis on the production of consumer
goods.
I 2. Mumbai-Poona Belt: It is the most impor-
tant industrial region of the country. It has
a heavy concentration of cotton textile,
engineering, oil refiners, fertilizers and
chemical industries. The belt consists of
On the basis of workers employed, B.N.
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Sinha classified industrial regions into three Mumbai, Kurla, Ghatkopar, Andheri,
Jogeshwari, Thane, Bhandrup, Kalyan,
1)
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categories.
Major Region: Those employing a mini-
Pimpri and Poona.
Cheap labour, easy availability of hydro-
mum daily number of 1.5 lakh workers are
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major industrial regions. electricity, raw cotton along with the port
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2) Minor Region: Those employing 25000 facilities; act as the main assets of this area.
workers daily as minor industrial regions The industrial development of this region
and has almost reached its saturation stage.
3) Industrial Districts: Those employing less After partition cotton producing area re-
than 25000 workers are industrial districts. duced thus effected the raw material sup-
ply and high transport cost of coal and
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Major industrial regions are:-- other minerals effected the growth. But
1. Kolkata - Hooghly Belt: It is an old and now it has developed as an economic hub.
important region of the country stretching 3. Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Surat Belt: It is the
along the either side of the river - from third largest industrial region comprising
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Naihati to Budge- Budge along the left within its fold the centers of Kalol,
Bank and from Tribeni to Nalpur in the Ahmedabad, Nadiad, and Vadodara, Surat,
right bank. Cotton textile, silks, jute engi- Nava sari and Ankleshwar, leather goods
neering chemical and pharmaceuticals, and a wide variety of engineering units are
leather and foot-wears industries are lo- established here. The initial advantage was
cated here. The region is facilitated with the availability of raw cotton from the
rich hinterland of Ganga, Brahmaputra hinterland and the transport network along
Plain, and the enough availability of good with the Kandla port.
coal, cheap local labour and the port facil- 4. Madurai-Coimbatore-Bangalore Region:
ity of Kolkata. Cheap and skilled labour, large market
The region is experiencing stagnation and were the chief factors, which attracted a
relative decline in industrial growth in number of industries. Availability of cheap
recent years. hydel power helped in various ways.
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 Cotton textile, sugar plants, leather goods, India. Besides, many more mini industrial
chemicals, H.M.T. Bharat Electricals, Iron regions and industrial districts are fast
and Steel, Hindustan Aeronautics have emerging in different parts of the country
assisted the development of this area. in recent times.
5. Chotanagpur Plateau Region: Locally avail- 6. Mathura-Delhi-Saharanpur Ambala belt:
able coal, iron-ore mica, bauxite copper, It has the advantage of the proximity of the

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limestone, manganese have given rise to national capital; availability of cheap raw
heavy industries like iron and steel at materials; nearness of large market and

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Jamshedpur, Durgapur, Kulti, Burnpur, regular supply of power. This region
Bokaro along with many associated indus- spreads in two separate belts running in

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tries. Proximity to Kolkata port, vast net- north-south direction between Faridabad
work of railways, cheap labour supply and Ambala in Haryana and Mathura and

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from the tribal areas and the development Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

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of DVC and numerous thermal power
stations helped the area to develop as a
major industrial region on the map of
I The capital city has predominance of engi-
neering, electronic, chemical, glass and
consumer industries.



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 8 TRANSPORT

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Y
INTRODUCTION Each transport sector is discussed below in

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detail with recent developments and problems
A well-knit and coordinated system of trans- and solution of present era.

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port plays an important role in the sustained

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economic development of a country. Develop-
ment being a multi dimensional process; rests
upon the resources of the region and
infrastructural facilities like transport and com-
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munication. It is the transport which helps in
RAIL TRANSPORT
The Indian railway system is the second
largest system in the world under the single
management. Railways virtually forms the life-
line of the country, catering to its needs for large
movement of goods and materials from pro-
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scale movement of traffic, both freight and
ducer to consumer ends. The transport facility
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increases the linkage between backward and
developed regions of the country thus reducing
passenger, thereby contributing to economic
growth as well as promoting national integra-
tion. It is a multi gauge system operating on
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regional disparity among regions. The transport three gauges - the broad, the metre and the
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also helps in maintaining the uniformity in the narrow.
prices, remove scarcity of goods during time of
The Indian railway had a modest beginning
crisis, promotes national integration and cohe-
in 1853 when first train flagged off from Mumbai
siveness. to Thane. The detailed railway expansion plan
India's transport sector is large and diverse; was chalked out under Lord Dalhousie. During
it caters to the needs of 1.2 billion people. the post independence era the new strategy was
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The present transport system of the country chalked out that included expansion of the
comprises several modes of transport including route length, gauge conversion, electrification
rail, road, coastal shipping, air transport, pipe- on tracks, modernizing the signaling system,
lines etc. Transport has recorded a substantial improvement in passenger safety and amenities,
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growth over the years both in spread of network better management of freight and passenger
traffic, Introducing high speed passenger trains
and in output of the system. The Ministry of
etc.
Shipping, Ministry of Road Transport and High-
ways, Ministry of railways and civil aviation is
Factors effecting distribution pattern of
responsible for the formation and implementa-
Railways
tion of policies and programmes for the devel-
opment of various modes of transport. 1. Geographical factors; this includes the
However, the sector has not been able to profile of terrain. As northern plain with level
topography, high population density and rich
keep pace with rising demand and is proving to
agricultural presence have attracted high level
be a drag on the economy. Major improvements
of railway network. There are practically no
in the sector are required to support the country's
railways in the flood plains of many rivers in
continued economic growth and to reduce
Bihar and Assam. The plateau region of south
poverty.
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 India sometimes hinders railway development. The first coach, named 'JIBON SMRITI', will
The Himalayan region in the north is almost depict the life of Tagore through photographs,
devoid of railways due to rugged topography while the second 'GITANJALI' will exhibit his
but by using new technologies new railway poems and songs. 'JOGAJOG'
network has been established in Jammu and 'MUKTODHARA' will exhibit his literature;
Kashmir. Similarly Konkan railway acts as a the fourth 'CHITRAREKHA' will depict paint-
masterpiece of engineering passing through ings of Tagore and other eminent artists. The

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rugged Western Ghat. But the density of rail- last 'SMARANIKA' will exhibit and sell handi-

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way network decreases in sandy areas, hilly craft and other items from SANTINIKETAN,
areas where cost of installation exceeds the founded by the poet.

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profit dimension. Tagore, who was born in 1861 and died in
2. Economic factors; as railways develop 1941, is among the most revered writers in the

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more in economically advanced areas where the world who churned out poems, plays, songs,

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need for railway network is felt more. This is
because of the economic linkages we find the
highest density of railways near big urban and
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industrial centres and in areas rich in mineral
and agricultural resources. The rich coal, iron
novels and short stories. He was the first Indian
to win the Nobel Prize in 1913.

2. MOTHER EXPRESS:
Mother Express', an exhibition train to com-
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ore deposits of Chotanagpur region created memorate the birth centenary of Mother Teresa,

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high demand for rail network. The cotton grow-
ing tract of Deccan favoured rail development
despite physical constraints arising out of west-
was launched by railway ministry.
The train focuses on the life, work and
message of Mother Teresa, would travel all
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ern ghat topography.

over the country in the six months. The train
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3. Political and administrative factors; Brit- comprises three air-conditioned coaches, in
ish administration developed railway network which photographs, write-ups on the life and
to enhance their penetration to interior India as message of Mother Teresa have been kept for
well as to provide better connectivity to major public viewing. The Missionaries of Charity
ports. After independence the government fol- helped the railways by supplying photographs
lowed this only policy but for uniform inclusive and various materials.
growth the rail network has been enhanced to
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Mother Teresa loved the poor and served

all over country with passage of time. them and was the embodiment of peace. Mother
Teresa saw Christ in the poorest of the poor, the
Trains as a Social Campaigner lepers, the homeless, the HIV and AIDS patients
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in the slums of Calcutta and also those suffering

1. SANSKRITI EXPRESS from Poverty of Loneliness and Abandonment
Indian Railways will run an exhibition train in the Western World
Sanskriti Express to celebrate Nobel laureate
Rabindranath Tagore's 150th birth anniversary
3. RED RIBBON EXPRESS:
and showcase his life and philosophy. Red Ribbon Express is an AIDS/HIV aware-
The train, to be flagged off by Railway ness campaign train by the Indian Railways.
Minister Mamata Banerjee May 9, 2011 will The motto of the Red Ribbon Express is
touch important stations in various parts of the "Embarking on the journey of life"
country before returning to Kolkata May 8 next To provide awareness among the people
year. both urban & rural population of our country,
Five air-conditioned coaches have been the Red Ribbon Express project was developed.
modified at the LILUAH RAILWAY WORK- The concept of the project was to provide
SHOP in Howrah to depict Tagore's achieve- knowledge, precautions to the public to fight
ments and thoughts. against the dreadful disease "AIDS"
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 On-platform and off-site communication up. Considering the need for DFCs on other
activities such as exhibits, street plays and important routes, a preliminary engineering
demonstrations are used. Treatment and coun- cum traffic survey (PETS) is being undertaken
seling services were also available on the coach. on the following routes---north-south (Delhi to
The projects target audience was broad, Chennai), east-west (Kolkata to Mumbai), east-
including youth groups, women's groups, stu- south (Kharagpur to Vijayawada), and south
dent communities, urban slum dwellers and (Goa to Chennai)
farmers. The DFC project is expected to reduce con-

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In its first phase the train was expected to gestion at various terminals and junctions. It
travel 27,000km, reaching 180 stations and will provide the efficient and fast movement of

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holding programmes in over 50,000 villages. To freight along the corridor. The project is cur-
reach outer districts, buses and bicycles are rently facing land acquisition problems.

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used.
2. MONO RAIL IN MUMBAI

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The Red Ribbon Express, in its second phase,

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also devotes information to general health,
hygiene and communicable diseases such as
swine influenza, tuberculosis and reproduc-
tive and child health services.
I 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 occupy
less space as well as reduce travel time.
Ongoing Developments With the objective, to support public rapid
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transit system such as suburban rail system and
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1. DEDICATED FREIGHT CORRIDOR
PROJECT (DFC)
metro rail system and where public rapid transit
system is not available or impossible to provide
such system and where widening of roads is not
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The DFC project was first proposed in April

possible due to structures on either sides, Mono
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2005 to address the needs of the rapidly devel-
Rail system is proposed to be implemented in "
oping Indian economy. The existing quadrilat-
city of dreams" MUMBAI. Once completed it
eral railway network, also known as the Golden
will be world's second longest Monorail corri-
quadrilateral, which links the major metropoli-
dor.
tan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata,
is unable to support the growing demand due Larsen and Toubro along with Scomi has
to capacity constraints. A dedicated freight received the contract to build and operate the
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corridor was, hence, required to address these monorail.

concerns.
Salient features of Monorail system:
Ministry of Railways, under the direction of
the Indian Government, has taken up the dedi- 1. In Monorail System train runs on a narrow
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cated freight corridor (DFC) project. The project Guide way Beam, wheels of which are
involves the construction of six freight corridors gripped laterally on either side of the beam.
traversing the entire country. The purpose of 2. Monorail is a Light Weight System and its
the project is to provide a safe and efficient cost of execution is less compared to heavy
freight transportation system. rail systems and it takes approximately 1.5
The DFC project envisaging a Western DFC to 2 years for execution.
(1534 km) from Mumbai to Rewari to cater 3. Mono rail System requires 1.00 m wide
largely to the container transport requirement space (Column Size 0.8 m × 1.5 m) the
and an Eastern DFC (1839 km) from Ludhiana space of a footpath or a divider and it rests
to Dankuni largely to serve coal and steel traffic on a single pillar of height 6.5 m without
is being implemented by the Dedicated Freight disturbing the existing traffic.
Corridor Corporation of India Ltd. (DFCCIL). 4. As compared to other systems Monorail
Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor is also coming produces less noise and is eco-friendly and

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 hence easily acceptable in dense residential Recently we have seen in news that due to
locale. presence of railway track in elephant corridor
5. Monorail System is in use in Tokyo (Japan) accidents and death of around five elephants
from 1963, in Kuala-Lumpur (Malaysia) for took place. Similarly for the establishment of
last 5 years and in china for last 3 years. railway tracks in hilly areas dynamites are used
6. Monorail System is Safe and reliable sys- to break hills which in turn cause air pollution
tem. as well as lead to frequent landslides.

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Thus environmental angle has to be in-

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Effect on Indian Economy cluded along with economic and cultural angle
• The construction and expansion of the while developing railway networks.

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railways have been proved to be beneficial
for the economic and inclusive growth of Problems and Solutions

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the economy. It provides a better linkage Indian railway have progressed a lot, both

• IC
between 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 raw
materials with proper penetration to mar-
quantitatively and qualitatively but this system
is still plagued by a number of problems which
require immediate attention.
1. SAFETY: Safety has become a prime con-
cern for railways after frequent accidents
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ket areas. occurred recently killing about hundreds of
•
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Railways have been very helpful in the
development of Indian agriculture. Now
farmers can send their agricultural goods to
passengers. There are several factors which
are responsible for increasing number of
accidents as over raged tracks, wagons,
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distant places and can fetch good incomes. coaches, bridges and signaling system. The
• Railways also help in maintaining uniform tracks suffer from fatigue and wear and
price level for agricultural products through tear in due course of time. The railway
better movement. zones should monitor safety measures and
• New industrials hubs have been emerged implement them on priority basis in the
as higher mobility of raw materials reduced larger interest of passengers. All vacancies
the concentration of industries mainly related to safety should be filled soon.
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around raw material centres. As Kanpur is Proper training to railway personnel, par-
ticularly in safety segments needed to re-
known for cotton garments whereas the
duce the implementation time after acci-
raw materials are present in Maharashtra
dents.
and Gujarat.
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• Railways are playing significant role in 2. COST AND REVENUE PROBLEMS:

running country's administration and safe- Railways used to face the problem of finan-
guarding its freedom and integrity, as it cial crisis. The annual rate of increase in
cost has overtaken that of revenue. New
provides easy movement of police, troops,
trains have been launched and frequency
defence equipments etc.
of mobility have too increased a lot thus up
gradation of tracks, amenities, safety mea-
Environmental side Effects
sures causes a heavy burden on exchequer
The penetration of railway networks in ev- of railway. The solution can be allowing
ery nook and corner of the country; on one PPP model in railways for up gradation of
hand enhancing the economy, cultural linkages, infrastructure.
and national integration but on the other hand 3. SOCIAL BURDEN: A railway has a dual
leading to environment depletion. The laying of role of being commercial organization along
new tracks requires clearance of forests that with social organization .it has to provide
affects the biodiversity and forest dwellers both. facilities at low cost. Suburban passenger

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 services, concessionary travel to certain Thus, it is important that cities function effi-
section of society, being a social campaigner ciently - that their resources are used to maxi-
etc creates the financial crisis on railways. mize the cities' contribution to national income.
City efficiency largely depends upon the
ROAD TRANSPORT effectiveness of its transport systems, i.e., effi-
Road is the indigenous mode of transport cacy with which people and goods are moved
.Roads offer door to door services and construc- throughout the city. Poor transport systems
tion can be undertaken even in areas of difficult hampers economic growth and development,

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terrain. In developing country like India road is and the net effect may be a loss of competitive-
a harbinger of economic development and pros- ness in both domestic as well as international

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perity. markets

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Thus proper development of urban trans-
Importance of Roads port to meet the needs of growing population

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is urgently needed in country like INDIA. The
1. Roads play a very important role in the

2.
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transportation of goods and passengers for
short and medium distances.
It helps farmers to move their perishable
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agricultural products soon to markets and
public transport system helps in improving
urban-rural linkage and improves access of the
rural/semi-urban population in the periphery
to city centres for the purpose of
labour supply without proliferation of slums
mandis. Thus encourage farmers to switch within and around cities.
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to more commercially viable agricultural
The major objective of urban transport ini-
3.
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products.
Road transport system establishes easy
tiative is to provide efficient and affordable
public transport. A National Urban Transport
contact between farms, fields, factories and Policy (NUTP) was laid down in 2006, with the
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markets, thus leading to better linkage be-

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objective of ensuring easy, accessible, safe, af-
tween consumer and producer. fordable, quick, comfortable, reliable, and sus-
4. Mobility is one of the most fundamental tainable mobility for all. In order to provide
and important characteristics of economic better transport, proposals for bus rapid transit
activity as it satisfies the basic need of going system (BRTS) were approved.
from one location to the other, a need The quality and quantity of roads had been
shared by passengers, freight and informa- improved by providing better signaling system,
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tion. Road transport provides a better foot over bridges for pedestrians, over bridges
mobility that leads to economic develop- and flyovers to decrease travelling time, diverg-
ment. ing heavy vehicles directly to highways without
5. It is suitable for transportation of both accessibility to city roads etc.The new concept
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perishable and non perishable goods con- of low floor buses has been introduced in capital
trolling the price in the economy. cities to control pollution as well as for improv-
ing the conditions of local government buses.
Urban Transport Metro rail projects as already present in
Delhi/NCR has been further sanctioned for
India is transiting from a developing to new cities as Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai as
developed country with high pace of economic (monorail) to decrease the travelling time and
development. Urbanization is too increasing at environmental effects of vehicular emissions.
high pace as mega cities, cities and towns are
providing better economic opportunities. Fast- Urban Transport Problems
growing cities have nurtured business and in- • Traffic injuries and fatalities pose a serious
dustry and have provided jobs and higher threat to the urban population. The causes
incomes to many migrants from rural areas. can be poor conditions of roads, burgeon-
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 ing fleet of motor vehicles, unsafe drinking • This will enhance the better implementa-
behaviour, overcrowding of buses, autos etc. tion of government schemes
• Environmental pollution as Noise, air both Ultimately till will help in better connectivity
are contributed by vehicles. BHARAT to nearby cities that will lead to rural develop-
STAGE EMISSION NORMS have been ment economically as well as socially
launched by government to decrease air

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pollution from vehicles. Switching public Public Private Partnership Model in Road
transport to CNG has reduced the pollu- Transport

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tion content drastically. Traditionally, the road projects were fully

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• Roadway congestion is probably the most financed and controlled/ supervised by the
visible, most pervasive, and most immedi- Government. The implementation of road

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ate transport problem plaguing India's cit- projects was purely dependent on the availabil-

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ies on a daily basis. It affects all modes of ity/allocation of funds out of the budget of the
transportation and all socioeconomic Government. It was assessed, at the time of the
groups. preparation of the Tenth Plan that for National
l• Vast improvements are needed in India's Highways alone, Rs. 1, 65,000 crore is required
I
public transport systems, but the necessary for removal of the deficiencies. . It was in this
funding is not available Most buses and context that the necessity for exploring the
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trains in small and medium size Indian innovative means of financing the highly capital
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cities are old and poorly designed, inad-
equately maintained, dangerously over-
intensive road projects was felt. Thus govern-
ment has to switch to PPP model of working so
that the burden of cost of labour and resources
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crowded, undependable, and slow.

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can be divided between government and pri-
Grameen Sadak Yojana: Enhancing Rural vate sector.
Development Highways are a critically important infra-
Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana structure for an emerging nation. And the
(PMGSY) was launched on 25th December 2000 design of appropriate contracts is the critical
by the Government of India as a 100% Centrally instrument for meeting the challenge of high-
Sponsored Scheme to provide road connectivity ways. What are these challenges? To put it in
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in rural areas of the country. The programme one sentence, the challenge is to maximize the
envisages connecting all habitations with a difference between:
population of 500 persons and above (250 (a) The additional welfare that our citizens get
persons and above in respect of hill States, the from having more and better roads and,
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tribal and the desert areas) through good all- (b) The present value of the cost of building
weather roads (henceforth, building should be taken to
mean building or renovating) those roads.
This will enhance the pace of rural develop-
ment as follows: The involvement of private sector will
• New business opportunities will emerge bring 3's to the system: Efficiency, Economy
due to better transport. and Effectiveness thus in present scenario
• Transportation cost of agricultural goods where fast pace economic development is tran-
will get reduce. siting from a developing world to emerging
• This will increase connectivity to schools world; slow pace of transport sector can act as
and hospitals. obstacle. So PPP model is need of the hour.
• This will provide employment to poor and While there are a number of forms of Public
unemployed people. Private Partnership, the common forms that are
• This will increase penetration of govern- popular in India and have been used for devel-
ment assistance in inaccessible areas too. opment of National Highways are -
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 • Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) Toll • NH 4 - Thane-Pune-Bangalore-Chennai.
basis: The concessionaire (private sector) is (Mumbai-Pune-1st 6 lane express highway)
required to meet the upfront cost and the • NH 5 - Baharagora - Cuttack -
expenditure on annual maintenance. The Bhuvaneshwar - Vishakhapatnam -
concessionaire recovers the entire upfront Chennai
cost along with the interest and a return on • NH 6 - Hazira - Surat - Dhule - Nagpur -
investment out of the future toll collection. Raipur - Baharagora - Kolkata
• Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) Annu- • NH 7 - Varanasi-Nagpur-Hyderabad-Ban-

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ity basis: In an BOT (Annuity) Model, the galore- Kanyakumari (Longest Highway)
Concessionaire (private sector) is required • NH 8 - Delhi-Jaipur-Ajmer-Udaipur-

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to meet the entire upfront/construction Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Surat-Mumbai
• NH 24 - Delhi - Moradabad - Bareilly -

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cost (no grant is paid by the client) and the
expenditure on annual maintenance Lucknow
• NH 47A-Kundannur-Willington Island in

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The Concessionaire recovers the entire Kochi (Shortest NH-6 km)

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investment and a pre-determined cost of return
out of the annuities payable by the client every
year. The selection is made based on the least
annuity quoted by the bidders (the concession
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period being fixed).The client (Government/
Golden Quadrilateral Project
The Golden Quadrilateral is a highway net-
work connecting India's four largest metropo-
lises: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata,
NHAI) retains the risk with respect to traffic
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thus forming a quadrilateral of sorts. Four other
(toll), since the client collects the toll.
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Central Road Fund
top ten metropolises: Bangalore, Pune,
Ahmadabad, and Surat, are also served by the
network. It is the first phase of the National
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The Central Government has created a dedi- Highways Development Project (NHDP), and
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cated fund, called Central Road Fund by collec- consists of building 5,846 km (3,633 mi) of four/
tion of cess from petrol & diesel. Presently, six lane express highways.
Rs. 2/- per litre is collected as cess on petrol and
The GQ project establishes better and faster
High Speed Diesel (HSD) Oil. The fund is
transport networks between many major cities
distributed for development and maintenance
and ports. It provides an impetus to smoother
of National Highways, State Roads, and Rural
movement of products and people within India.
Roads and for provision of road over bridges/
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It enables industrial and job development in

under bridges and other safety features at un-
smaller towns through access to markets. It
manned Railway Crossings as provided in Cen-
provides opportunities for farmers through bet-
tral Road Fund Act, 2000. Fifty percent of the
ter transportation of produce from the agricul-
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cess levy on diesel will be used to improve rural

tural hinterland to major cities and ports for
connectivity whereas remaining for the devel-
export, through lesser wastage and spoils. Fi-
opment of state roads and national highways
nally, it drives economic growth directly through
Major National Highways construction as well as through indirect de-
mand for cement, steel and other construction
• NH 1- Delhi - Ambala - Jalandhar - materials. It gives an impetus to Truck transport
Ludhiana - Amritsar - Wagah Border. throughout India
• NH 1A- Jalandhar - Jammu - Udhampur -
Banihal - Srinagar - Baramula - Uri Organisations Related to Road Transport
• NH 1D- Srinagar - Kargil - Leh
1. THE NATIONAL HIGHWAYS AUTHOR-
• NH 2 - Delhi-Agra-Allahabad-Kolkata
ITY OF INDIA
• NH 3 - Agra-Gwalior-Indore-Dhule-Nasik-
Mumbai The National Highways Authority of India
was constituted by an act of Parliament, the
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 National Highways Authority of India Act, The major environmental effect is air pollu-
1988. It is responsible for the development, tion. The burning of petrol and diesel releases
maintenance and management of National many harmful gases as sulphur, lead, carbon
Highways entrusted to it and for matters con- monoxide that causes respiratory diseases in
nected or incidental thereto. The Authority was human beings.
operationalised in February, 1995 with the ap- As the four lane highways and six lane

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pointment of full time Chairman and other highways are coming up for which the clear-
Members. ance of the roadside trees are required thus

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It aims at meeting the nation's need for the depleting the biodiversity at large.
provision and maintenance of National High- The construction of roads in hilly areas

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ways network to global standards and to meet- affects the topography, biodiversity of that area
ing user's expectations in the most time bound

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and leads to frequent landslides
and cost effective manner, within the strategic

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policy framework set by the Government of
India and thus promote economic well being as
quality of life of the people."
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2. CENTRAL PUBLIC WORKS DEPART-
MENT
Problems and Solutions
1. INADEQUACY OF ROAD NETWORK:
despite the large progress in road network
of the nation road length of 75.01km per
100 sq km of area is present whereas in
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The Central Public Works Department of other nations as Japan (294.6km), France
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India is a central government owned authority
that is in charge of public sector works in the
country. Central Public Works Department
(147.2km) etc. Lakhs of villages are still not
connected by surface roads.
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Government is implementing schemes for

(CPWD) under Ministry of Urban Development
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up gradation of roads but poor implemen-
is entrusted with construction and maintenance
tation effects the whole scenario.PPP model
of buildings for most of the Central Government
should also be used in village road con-
Departments, Public undertakings and Autono-
tracting.
mous bodies
3. BORDER ROAD ORGANISATION 2. LOW SURFACED ROADS: around 40%
of roads are unsurfaced. They can be only
The Border Roads Organization [BRO] plays used in fair weather and become muddy
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a very vital role in connecting the inaccessible and unfit for transportation in rainy sea-
border areas. BRO was raised on May 7, 1960 son. Government should concentrate on
with the mission of developing communication increasing area of surfaced roads as it is
in hither to forlorn areas of the north and implementing Grameen Sadak Yojana.
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North-East states of India and also fortification

of the turbulent borders. BRO, the brain child 3. POOR INFRASTRUCTURE: national
of first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru highway network will have to be improved
came into existence on May 7, 1960 as a pioneer to meet the growing traffic of men and
road construction agency. Border Roads Orga- materials. A large section has insufficient
nization, popularly known as BRO, is a civil road pavement thickness, weak and dis-
engineering institution responsible to provide tressed bridges, congested city sections and
civil (construction) engineering cover to the weak road safety measures.
Armed Forces of India, during war and peace. 4. POOR FINANCIAL STRUCTURE OF
STATE ROAD TRANSPORT UNDER-
Environmental Effects TAKINGS: these are facing financial con-
Road transport no doubt has increased the straints due to social commitment to oper-
accessibility of people to interiors of the nation ate at low cost and even on uneconomic
but the environmental effects are increasing day routes, absence of rationalized cost based
by day with the development of roads. fare structures and overstaffing. Private

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 parties should be allowed to enter in road (domestic) Airport. The two airports
transport sector to increase the efficiency were merged and renamed as
and effectiveness of road transport but Chhatrapati Shivaji International Air-
with regulations. port.
b) India's and South Asia's largest air
AIR TRANSPORT port.
c) Country's second busiest airport. It,
Air transport is the fastest and modern
along with Delhi's Indira Gandhi In-
means of transportation that has lead to shrink-
ternational Airport, handles more than

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ing of the world. Air transport plays a vital role
half of the air traffic in South Asia.
in times of emergencies and calamities as floods,

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famines, epidemics for transportation of men 3. NETAJI SUBHASH CHANDRA BOSE
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT,

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and materials.
KOLKATA
Air transport in India begins in 1911 when

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air mail operation commenced between Naini a) It is located at Dum-Dum near Kolkata,
West Bengal.
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and 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 in
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each other on 27 February 2011. As part of the
b) The airport was originally known as
Dum-Dum Airport.
c) The airport is the largest in eastern
India.
merger process, a new company called the 4. MEENAMBAKAM INTERNATIONAL
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National Aviation Company of India Limited AIRPORT, CHENNAI
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(now called Air India Limited) was established,
into which both Air India (along with Air India
a) It is located in Tirusulam, 7 km south
of Chennai.
Express) and Indian Airlines (along with Alli-
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b) This is the third-busiest airport in In-

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ance Air) had merged. There are many private dia (after Delhi and Mumbai).
players also as jet airways, kingfisher, spice jet, c) It is the second-largest cargo hub in
indigo etc. the country, after Mumbai.
International Airports 5. BENGALURU INTERNATIONAL AIR-
PORT, BENGALURU
International Airports are located at Mumbai, a) The airport is located 4 km south of
Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Jaipur,
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Devanahalli in Bengaluru covering

Panaji, Amritsar, Guwahati, Kochi, Hyderabad, 4,000 acres.
Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram and Goa. b) It replaced the old HAL Bangalore
1. INDIRA GANDHI INTERNATIONAL International Airport.
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AIRPORT, DELHI 6. RAJIV GANDHI INTERNATIONAL

a) It is the busiest airport in South Asia AIRPORT, HYDERABAD
handling the most traffic movements a) Earlier it was known as Begumpet
and passengers on the subcontinent. airport.
b) The airport was previously operated b) It is the second public-private partner-
by the Indian Air Force and was a part ship venture in the Indian airports, the
of the Palam Airport until its manage- first being the Cochin International
ment was transferred to the Airport Airport.
Authority of India.
7. SARDAR VALLABHBHAI PATEL INTER-
2. CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI INTERNA- NATIONAL AIRPORT, AHMEDABAD
TIONAL AIRPORT, MUMBAI
a) It is India's eighth busiest airport with
a) Formerly called SAHAR (international) an average of 150 aircraft movements
Airport and SANTA CRUZ a day.
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 8. NEDUMBASSERY AIRPORT INTERNA- either a traditional ambulance cannot reach the
TIONAL AIRPORT, KOCHI scene easily or quickly enough, or the patient
a) It is the fourth busiest airport in India needs to be transported over a distance or
in terms of international traffic & is terrain that makes air transportation the most
the busiest airport in Kerala in terms practical transport. These and related opera-
of domestic and international traffic. tions are referred to as Aero medical. Air am-

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b) The airport is the first international bulance crews are supplied with equipment
airport in India incorporated as a that enables them to provide medical treatment

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public limited company. to a critically injured or ill patient. Common
equipment for air ambulances includes ventila-

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9. RAJA SANSI INTERNATIONAL AIR- tors, medication, an ECG and stretchers
PORT, AMRITSAR
The air crash in Faridabad of air ambulance

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a) It is also known as Guru Ram Das has pointed on its safety provisions. Govern-

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International Airport.
b) It handles about 90 commercial flights a
week, both international and domestic.
10. TRIVANDRUM INTERNATIONAL AIR-
PORT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
ment has set up Accident Investigation Com-
mittee (AIC) to work under supervision of the
Civil Aviation Ministry. It would identify the
causes of accident in an independent manner
and assist the formal probe panels like courts or
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committees of inquiry. It would also coordinate
a) It is the first International airport in a
D non-metro city in India.
b) It is considered as an "all weather"
airport in the country and is ISO 9001-
and provide support for the probe panels and
follow up and monitor the compliance of the
recommendations made in the Accident and
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Serious Incident Investigation Reports.

2000 certified.
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c) It is the 8th busiest airport in the
Pawan hans Helicopters Limited (PHHL)
country in terms of international pas-
senger traffic and 10th busiest in terms Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. (PHHL) an
of overall passenger traffic. ISO 9001:2000 certified company, is one of
11. DABOLIM AIRPORT INTERNA- India's leading helicopter companies and is
TIONAL AIRPORT, GOA known for its reliable helicopter operations. The
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company was incorporated in 1985 with the

a) It is the only airport in the state and objective of providing helicopter services to the
operates as a civil enclave in a military petroleum sector, linking inaccessible areas of
airbase named INS Hansa. the country and operating charters for promo-
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12. LOKPRIYA GOPINATH BORDOLOI IN- tion of tourism.

TERNATIONAL AIRPORT, GUWAHATI Pawan Hans is a leader in providing off-
a) Known as Guwahati International Air- shore helicopter support in India. Its helicopters
port and formerly as Borjhar Airport. fly under a variety of conditions for carrying out
b) The airport is managed by Airports ONGC tasks at Bombay High. The Company
Authority of India and also serves as has a strong presence in the North-East having
Indian Air Force base. its helicopters deployed in the States of
c) It is named after Gopinath Bordoloi Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim and
who was a freedom fighter and also Tripura. Regular passenger services are being
the first CM of Assam after indepen- run under the aegis of these State Governments.
dence. Helicopter has also been provided to Ministry of
Home Affairs in the North-East for VIP trans-
Air Ambulance portation. PHHL runs the helicopter services
An air ambulance is an aircraft used for from Agustmuni and Phata to the Holy shrine
emergency medical assistance in situations where of Kedarnath in the months of May-June and

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 September-October every year. The Company will cover a vast geographical area from Africa
has also deployed two Bell 407 helicopters for to Australia and hence would facilitate expan-
operations at Katra (for Mata Vaishno Devi) sion of the service area of ''Gagan'' far beyond
from April 2008 onwards. Indian airspace. When implemented this would
The company has provided helicopters to replace most of the ground based navigational
Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep aids and it would be possible to provide preci-
Islands for inter-island helicopter services. It sion approach and landing guidance up to
also meets the requirements of Government of category I to aircraft hitherto not available due

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Punjab (VIP transportation) and PSUs such as to terrain conditions precluding the provision of
GAIL for pipelines surveillance.Pawan Hans is Instrument Landing System.

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the largest helicopter Company in India and it's Flight Management System based on

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operating and maintenance standards are of a GAGAN will then be poised to save operators
high order with in-house workshops and main- time and money by managing climb, descent

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tenance facilities. and engine performance profiles. The FMS will

Jal Hans
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It is a commercial seaplane facility to
Andaman and Nicobar Islands. "The launch of
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the sea plane service is a step towards faster
improve the efficiency and flexibility by increas-
ing the use of operator-preferred trajectories. It
will improve airport and airspace access in all
weather conditions, and the ability to meet the
environmental and obstacle clearance con-
straints. It will also enhance reliability and
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promotion of the tourism sector in the islands".
reduce delays by defining more precise terminal
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Besides developing tourism infrastructure, the
plane service will also help improve connectiv-
ity between different islands of the Union ter-
area procedures that feature parallel routes and
environmentally optimized airspace corridors.
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ritory. The sea plane service, a joint venture GAGAN will increase safety by using a
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between Pawan Hans Helicopter and Andaman three-dimensional approach operation with
and Nicobar administration will be used to course guidance to the runway, which will
connect Port Blair with Havelock Island and reduce the risk of controlled flight into terrain
subsequently others islands in the North and i.e., an accident whereby an airworthy aircraft,
Middle Andaman. The sea plane is a Cessna under pilot control, inadvertently flies into ter-
Caravan 208 Amphibian and has a seating rain, an obstacle, or water.
capacity of nine passengers and can land on
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GAGAN will also offer high position accu-

water. racies over a wide geographical area like the
Indian airspace. These positions accuracies will
Gagan Project: Enhancing Safety be simultaneously available to 80 civilian and
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GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation more than 200 non-civilian airports and air-
''Gagan'' is an augmentation system to enhance fields and will facilitate an increase in the
the accuracy and integrity of GPS signals to number of airports to 500 as planned. These
meet precision approach requirements in Civil position accuracies can be further enhanced
Aviation and is being implemented jointly by with ground based augmentation system
AAI and ISRO. The goal is to provide naviga-
tion system for all phases of flight over the Problems and Solutions
Indian airspace and in the adjoining area. It is AIR TRANSPORT industry of India is facing
applicable to safety-to-life operations, and meets a number of problems. AIR INDIA is facing stiff
the performance requirements of international competition from the private players in terms of
civil aviation regulatory bodies. facilities and fare charges. These airlines suffer
GSAT IV being fabricated by ISRO will carry from mismanagement as frequent pilot strikes,
GAGAN payload. The footprint of this satellite political interference occurs.
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 The primary step would be to enlarge and Farakka - Munger - Patna - Varanasi - Allahabad
upgrade airports and allied infrastructural fa- is navigable by mechanized boats up to Patna
cilities to meet the growing traffic. For these and by ordinary boats up to Haridwar.
private players should be welcomed as in The NW-1 stretches to more than 1620 Kms
Greenfield airport of Hyderabad. of potentially navigable waterways. Night navi-
The recent fraud pilots' cases have mini- gational facilities are in the process of imple-

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mized the credibility of airlines. Government mentation.
should take strict action against the culprits and
National Waterway No 2 (NW-II) - The

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proper regulations should be made to curb this Brahmaputra (North-East India)
practice in future.

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The river Brahmaputra connecting Dhubri-
WATER TRANSPORT Pandu (Guwahati)-Tezpur-Neamati-Dibrugarh-

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Sadiya stretching to about 891 Kms was de-
Water transport is the cheapest means of

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clared a National Waterway in 1988. Provisions
transport and is therefore suitable for carrying for 2-meter depth channels, night navigational
heavy and bulky materials. It is a fuel-efficient facilities are under consideration.
and eco-friendly mode of transport. According
An inland Water Transport transit and trade
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to one estimate the construction of each kilome-
ter of railway and road needs an investment of protocol exists between India and Bangladesh.
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around 1 crores whereas only 0.10 crores is The NW-2 connects the North East region with

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required to develop same length of waterways.
The salient features of India's shipping policy
are the promotion of national shipping to in-
Calcutta and Haldia ports through Bangladesh
and Sunderbans waterways.

National Waterway No 3 (NW-III) - The
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crease self-reliance in the carriage of the country's West Coast Canal (South West India)
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overseas trade and protection of stakeholders' The West Coast Canal located in Gods Own
interest in EXIM trade. National shipping makes Country - Kerala runs from Kollam to
significant contribution to the foreign exchange Kottapuram and was declared a National
earnings of the country. Their development is Waterway in 1993.The NW-3 is one of the most
faster and maintenance cost is much lower. navigable and tourism potential area in India
Water transport in India has been divided into: and has much to offer to the potential tourist.
1. Inland Waterways
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National Waterway 4 (NW 4)

2. Seaways.
The Kakinada-Puducherry stretch of Canals
Inland Waterways and the Kaluvelly Tank, Bhadrachalam -
Rajahmundry stretch of River Godavari and
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Inland waterways refer to using inland water Wazirabad - Vijayawada stretch of River Krishna
bodies like rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks etc. has been declared as national waterways No. 4.
for transporting goods and people from one
National Waterway 5 (NW 5)
place to another. Inland Waterways Authority
of India was set up in 1986 for the development, The Talcher-Dhamra stretch of river
maintenance and regulation of national water- Brahmani, Geonkhali - Charbatia stretch of East
ways in the country. In other to increase the Coast Canal, Charbatia- Dhamra stretch of
significance of inland waterways and to im- Matai River and Mangalgadi-Paradip stretch of
prove their efficiency, the government has iden- Mahanadi delta rivers has been declared as
tified important waterways and designated them national waterway No. 5.
as national waterways of India. Factors affecting Inland waterways:

National Waterway No 1 (NW-1) - The 1. Diversion of river water for irrigation ca-
Ganga (North India) nals has reduced the flow of water and
The Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly River Sys- declined the navigation capacity of the
tem connecting Haldia-Kolkata (Calcutta) - rivers.
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 2. The presence of waterfalls, cataracts and 98% of India's overseas trade in terms of volume
sharp bends hinders the development of is moved by sea. Coal and petroleum products
waterways. constitute the bulk of the cargo.
3. Silting of river bed reduces the depth of India has a vast coastline of about 7,516 km
water and creates problem for navigation. and over two million square kilometers of Ex-
4. Lack of funds. clusive Economic Zone. The entire coastline is
The government is promoting Inland Water studded with 12 major and 185 minor ports.
transport in the form of interest subsidies and India has the largest merchant shipping fleet

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inducing private investment. For promoting the among the developing countries and ranks 20th
use of this mode by private operators, they are amongst the countries with the largest cargo

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encouraged to use Central Inland Water Trans- carrying fleet with 8.83 million GT.
port Corporation vessels free of hire charges.

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Major Sea Ports in India
Inland water transport has a good potential

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to be exploited and efforts should be made in The coastline of India is dotted with 12

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this direction. Passenger transport should be
encouraged. Intermodal connections with ship-
ping, railways and roadways can improve the
performance of Inland Water transport.
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For overall development of IWT sector in the
Major Ports and about 200 Non-major Ports.
The Major Ports are under the purview of the
central government while the Non-major Ports
come under the jurisdiction of the respective
State Governments. On the western coast the
country it is necessary that national waterways major ports are: Mumbai, Marmagao, Kandla,
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as well as other waterways are developed side
D New Mangalore, Nhava Sheva (Jawaharlal
by side. A large number of smaller rivers from Nehru Port) and Kochin. Whereas on the east-
tributaries of National Waterways Rivers if ern coast are Madras, Kolkata- Haldia,
developed with IWT infrastructure, many of Vishakhapatnam, Tuticorin, Paradeep and
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these smaller rivers can become suitable for Ennore.
navigation by smaller/medium size inland ves- 1. Kandla - It is a tidal port located at the
sels and can act as feeder routes to the main eastern end of Gulf of Kuchchh about 48
waterways. While the development and regula- km away from Bhuj. It has been developed
tion of National Waterways is the responsibility after independence to relieve congestion on
of Central Govt./IWAI, the respective State Mumbai port and to compensate for the
Governments should develop other waterways. loss of Karachi port to Pakistan after par-
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However, due to fund constraint, it has not been tition. It is a port with natural sheltered
possible for the States to provide adequate funds harbour in Kandla creek. Leather, petro-
for IWT development. Therefore, to encourage leum products, chemicals, salt, cement,
the States for IWT development, there was a cotton and silk textile, edible oils are main
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Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for IWT items of export. Crude oil, good quality
sector. Under the CSS, 100 per cent grant is coffee, potash, and machines are main
provided for the projects of North-Eastern States items of import.
including Sikkim and 90 per cent grant to other
2. Mumbai - It is situated on SALSETTE
States. The Planning Commission has discontin-
ISLAND on the western coast. It is a
ued the scheme for areas other than North East
natural harbour and the largest port of
Region from the year 2007-08. The scheme has
India handling about 1/5th of India's for-
been continued for the North-Eastern regional
eign trade. Oilseeds, groundnut, raw leather
and classified as a Central Sector Scheme
and leather-wears, tobacco, cotton textile
and engineering goods are the main items
SEAWAYS
of exports. High quality cotton, chemicals
Shipping plays an important role in the and chemical fertilizer, petroleum, machin-
transport sector of India's economy. Almost eries and paper are main import items.
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 It handles foreign trade with Western and near to that country. Spices, tea, salt, sugar,
East African countries and Gulf countries. copra, cotton textile, leather and banana
Opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 brought are main export items whereas coal, fertil-
it much closer to the European countries izer and machines are main import items.
3. Jawaharlal Nehru port - It has been built 8. Chennai - It is the oldest artificial port on
at Nhava Sheva Island across the Elephanta the eastern coast of India. At a time 16

E
caves, about 10 km from Mumbai. Main ships can stay in this artificial harbor.
objective is to relieve the pressure on the Tamil Nadu, eastern Karnataka and south-

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Mumbai Port. It is equipped with most ern Andhra Pradesh fall under its hinter-
modern facilities having mechanized con- land. Cotton and silks textile, coffee, fertil-

L
tainer berth for handling dry bulk cargo izer, rubber, tobacco, oilseeds, rice, leather
and service berth etc. It is the largest man- and fishes are main export items. Coal,

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made and most modernized port of India. petroleum, paper, sugar, vehicles, medi-

4.
IC
It handles 55-60% of the country's contain-
erized cargo.
Marmagao - It is a natural port located at
the entrance of Zuvari estuary in Goa. It
handles the export of iron-ore from Goa.
9.
cines, machines and chemicals are main
import items. Due to lesser depth near
coast, it is ill-suited for large ships.
Ennore: Recently developed to reduce pres-
sure of traffic on Chennai port. It is located
AC N
Iron ore, manganese, coconut, coffee, cot- slightly north of Chennai on T.N. coast. It

D
ton, etc. are the main items of export.
Petroleum, fertilizer, chemicals, machines
and food-grains are the main import items.
is country's first corporate port. The major
items of traffic are coal, iron ore, petro-
leum, chemicals, etc.
S RO

10. Vishakhapatnam - It is the deepest land-

A
5. New Mangalore - Located at the southern
tip of Karnataka coast north of Gurpur locked and protected port at the coast of
River. Iron ore, tea, rice, cashew nut, gran- Andhra Pradesh. Manganese, spices, wood,
ite, coffee, rubber, fruits and fishes are the coal and iron ore are main export items.
main export items. Fertilizer, edible oils, Steel, oil, coal, machines and luxury items
petroleum and machines are import items. are the main imports. An outer harbour
It has facilities for export of iron-ore from has been developed to handle the export of
IA H

Kudremukh mines. It is well connected iron-ore. Iron-ore from Bailadila mines is

through broad gauge rail lines and NH-17 exported to Japan from this port. It also has
with Mumbai & Kanyakumari. The ship ship-building and ship-repairing industry.
beyond 6000 tones cannot stay here. 11. Paradeep - It is a deep-water & all weather
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6. Kochi - A natural harbour on the western port on Orissa coast in Mahanadi delta
coast of Kerala (in Vembanad Lake), 320 region. This port has been developed with
kilometers north of Kanyakumari. It is lo- a view to export raw materials mainly iron
cated close to Suez-Colombo sea route. The ore to Japan. Iron- ore, chromites, fishes,
port has sheltered backwater bay. This port manganese are main items of export where
handles 5% of the total trade. Tea, Coffee, as chemical, fertilizer potash and food
Copper, Rubber, Rice, Sea products and grains are main import items. It is being
Spices are main export items whereas coal, developed as a free port where iron-steel
iron and steel, zinc, petrol, fertilizers cot- industry in proposed to be established.
ton, wheat, rice and bauxite are main 12. Kolkata-Haldia - It is a river rine port
import items. located on the west bank of the Hooghly
7. Tuticorin - It is an artificial deep sea harbour River. Tea, sugar, jute, iron and steel goods,
in Tamil Nadu, north of Adam Bridge and coal, textiles, oilseeds, leather, mica and
east of Sri Lanka. Its main purpose is to manganese are main items of export. Pa-
carry on trade with Sri Lanka as it is very per, petrol, fertilizers, chemical goods, rub-

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 ber, machines medicine are main import has been thrown open to private sector partici-
items. It handles goods coming from South- pation. The Major Port Trust Act, 1963 permits
East Asian Countries, Australia and New private sector participation in major ports in-
Zealand. It is called "Gateway to Eastern vites Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to
India". Haldia port has recently been devel- 100% under the automatic route is permitted for
oped on the confluence of rivers Hooghly construction and maintenance of ports and
& Haldi, about 105 km downstream from harbours. Private sector participation has been
Kolkata. Its main purpose is to release allowed in a variety of ports services which
congestion at Kolkata. includes construction and operation of termi-

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nals, warehousing/storage facility, dry docking

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Passenger Ferry service between India and and ship repair facilities.
Sri Lanka

L
Ferry service has been resumed between Sri PIPELINE
Lanka and India after being halted for more

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Pipelines are the most convenient mode of
than 25 years because of the island's civil war. transporting liquids and gases over long dis-

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The ferry will carry the passengers from both
the countries in economical and efficient. This
will enhance the relations between two coun-
I
tries both economically and culturally as tourist
tances. Even solids can also be transported by
pipelines after converting them into slurry. The
country had a network of about 5,035 km long
pipelines in 1980 which has increased to over
flow will increase. The ferry service will connect 7,000 km now.
AC N
Tuticorin port in India and Colombo in Sri
D India is not self sufficient in crude oil and
Lanka. petroleum based products. Hence every year it
has to import around 70% of these products
Problems and Solutions
from abroad. While giant tanker ships import it
S RO

The Indian water transport system is con- from foreign country but to transport the crude
A
fronted with problems as inadequacy of ton- to refineries and petroleum products from refin-
nage capacity, shortage of container fleet, over ery to consumer markets needs widespread
raged vessels resulting into high operational branches of pipelines. India has developed an
costs, stiff competition from foreign shipping indigenous network of pipeline for easy and
companies, congestion at the major ports and economical transfer of oil from one place to
inadequate infrastructural support like ship another.
repair facility, dry docking, cargo handling and
IA H

Advantages of Pipeline:
lack of proper coordination in entire logistics
a) They are ideally suited to transport the
chain.
liquid and gases.
In the eighth plan the basic thrusts were b) They can be laid over difficult terrain as
C

towards the replacement of aged and uneco- well as under water.

nomic ships, diversification of fleet through the c) It involves very low energy consumption.
acquisition of container ships and specialized d) Their operation and maintenance cost is
containers, achievement of self sufficiency in low.
tankers and improvement of infrastructural e) They are safe, accident-free and environ-
facilities at the port. mental friendly.
Requirement is to make the ports more Disadvantages of Pipeline:
autonomous and reduce existing legal formali-
ties. Autonomous ports can raise resources from a) It is not flexible i.e. it can be used only for
the primary market by way of equity. a few fixed points.
b) Its capacity cannot be increased once it is
In order to improve efficiency productivity
laid.
and quality of services as well as to bring in
c) It is difficult to make security arrangements
competitiveness in port services, the port sector
for pipelines.
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 d) Underground pipelines cannot be easily to availability of supplies, safety in transporta-
repaired and detection of leakage is also tion and wider distribution.
difficult.
Issue of Pipeline Safety
Major Pipelines of India
Aging infrastructure, lack of safety stan-
dards, and weak oversight and enforcement are
1. NAHORKATIYA-NOONMATI-

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the key elements leading to pipeline accidents.
BARAUNI PIPELINE The following are the recommendations for

Y
This is the first pipeline of the country improved pipeline safety and accountability.
constructed by OIL for transporting crude oil

L
from Nahorkatiya oilfield in Assam to Barauni 1. Prevent Pipeline Disasters

EM
in Bihar via Noonmati. It is now extended to
Require Better Monitoring
Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh

C
a) Require regular integrity testing of
2. BOMBAY HIGH-MUMBAIANKLE- pipelines.
SHWAR-KOYALI PIPELINE b) Require better training and oversight
of staff.
I
This line connects the oil fields of Mumbai c) Require pipeline companies to provide
high and Gujarat with oil refinery at Koyali. It pipeline mapping data with the pos-
AC N
provides facilities for transporting crude oil and sible exception of gathering lines.
D
natural gas.

3. SALAYA-KOYALI-MATHURA PIPELINE

Require Safer Pipelines
a) Require double-walled pipelines espe-
S RO

cially in high consequence areas.

A
This has been laid down from Salaya to b) Require state of the art leak detection
Koyali and Mathura via Viramgram to supply system and automatic shut off valves.
crude oil to the extended Koyali and Mathura c) Dig up and inspect pipelines more
refinery. It has an offshore terminal for im- than 20 years old.
ported crude oil. Now it has been further d) Require setbacks of at least 1,000 feet
extended to Panipat and Jalandhar. for high-risk areas for pipelines larger
than 8 inches.
IA H

4. HAJIRA-BIJAPUR-JAGDISHPUR GAS
PIPELINE 2. Hold Pipeline Companies Responsible for
This has been constructed by Gas Authority Accidents
of India to transport gas. It connects Hajira in a) Establish mandatory fines.
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Maharashtra to Bijapur in M.P and Jagdishpur b) Require strict and thorough reporting.
in U.P. It carries 18 million cubic metres of gas
everyday to three power houses of Gujarat, As India is entering in agreement with
Rajasthan and U.P. and to six fertilizer plants. Tajikistan and Iran for the supply of natural gas
This is the world's largest underground pipeline so agenda of pipeline safety comes at forefront.
and brought economic boost to economy of
Effect on Economy
Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar
Pradesh. Pipelines play a major role in economic
development of the country as
5. JAMNAGAR-LONI LPG PIPELINE
(i) It provides easy transportation of petro-
This has been constructed by Gas Authority leum products from refineries to con-
of India connecting Jamnagar in Gujarat to Loni sumer market maintaining a balance
near Delhi. This is the longest pipeline of the between demand and supply. Thus keep-
world. This is the first time that cross country ing the cost of petroleum products at
pipeline has been used to transport LPG adding desired point.
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 (ii) It helps in transfer of petroleum prod- latter translated into both higher purchasing
ucts to fertilizer plants thus effects the power for personal transportation modes and
agricultural production of the country. higher effective demand for better public trans-
(iii) LPG is now transferred by pipelines thus port. Liberalization has also spawned its own
decreasing the transportation cost and huge inequities. A fresh policy has to factor in
making it easily available to the masses. the harsh reality that the overwhelming major-
(iv) Refineries can be set up at far distance ity, in the region of 800 million Indians, live in
from the raw material source thus helps
poverty. This calls for a more active state role
in reducing regional disparity.

E
as a provider of subsidized transport and as an
effective regulator, particularly since the trend

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TRANSPORT PLANNING COMMITTEE
is to move towards a system that facilitates

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The above description of the transport sector private players.
of India reveals that there is a lack of proper The terms of reference of the Rakesh Mohan

EM
coordination between different modes of trans- committee are wide: they range from "assessing

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port and despite ongoing developments it is not
able to meet the growing demands of the nation.
There exists neck to neck competition between
road and railway transport that diminishes the
I
ultimate goal of whole transport industry. Dif-
the transport requirements for the next two
decades" to "assessing the investment require-
ments" of the sector. Although there are several
issues that jostle for attention, there is an urgent
need to develop a comprehensive policy for
ferent transport sectors should coordinate to
AC N
road transport as this mode carries 87 per cent
complement each other in different regions.
D
India that aspires to be an economic super-
power is visibly in need of a transport policy
of India's passengers, moves 60 per cent of its
freight, and is in serious disarray. Efficient inter-
State, intra-city, and rural transport systems
S RO

that is in tune with the times. The constitution will reduce losses, improve connectivity, and
A
of a high level Transport Policy Development open up more economic opportunities. The
Committee, headed by the former deputy gov- most shocking lapse of state policy is the decline
ernor of the Reserve Bank of India, Rakesh of public transport. As a Parliamentary Stand-
Mohan, reflects this. The last time a comprehen- ing Committee rightly pointed out, the decline
sive view of transport was taken at the national of buses in the total fleet of vehicles from 11 per
level was in 1980 when the B.D. Pande commit- cent in 1951 to a paltry 1.1 per cent in 2004 has
tee submitted its report. Much has happened meant an increase in personalized transport.
IA H

since then. India's economic transformation from This leads to avoidable economic losses due to
a near-closed economy to a fast liberalizer led higher fuel expenditure, apart from widening
to a significant stepping up of economic activity, inequalities. The retrogressive trend needs ur-
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particularly by the private sector, and resulted gent reversal. A policy that accords primacy of
in higher individual spending capacity. While space to an affordable, efficient, and integrated
the former meant increased flow of goods and public transport system will be a key to fixing
services, calling for better freight facilities, the India's transport troubles.

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 9 POPULATION

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Y
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Population is the basic element of the state. POPULATION GROWTH SINCE 1901

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With 1,210,000,000 (1.21 billion) people, India

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The demographic history of India during the
is currently the world's second largest country
twentieth century can be charted and classified
in terms of population representing a full 17.5%
into following four distinct phases.
of the earth's population. India's 2011 census
1. Period of Stagnant Population (1901-1921)
I
showed that the country's population had grown
by 181 million people in the prior decade. 2. Period of Steady Growth (1921-1951)
3. Period of Rapid High Growth (1951-1981)
AC N
When India gained independence from the 4. Period of High Growth with Definite Signs
D
United Kingdom sixty years ago, the country's
population was a mere 350 million. Since 1947,
the population of India has more than tripled.
of Slowing Down (1981-2001)

1. Period of Stagnant Population (1901-1921)

S RO
A
1ndia's high population growth results in During most of the 19th century India wit-
increasingly impoverished and sub-standard nessed sporadic, irregular and slow growth of
conditions for growing segments of the Indian population which drifted into twentieth centuary
population. Population plays an important role until 1921. Thus the population growth during
in economic development of the country. The this period can be termed more or less stagnant
human resource of the country if skilled and when compared to the growth rates observed
trained contribute to the growth whereas on the during the consequent periods. The high birth
IA H

other hand illiterate and unskilled population rate was counter balanced by high death rate.
full of ethnic and linguistic diversities acts as The progressive growth rate in 1921 over 1901
havoc for the nation. It may pose serious threat was only 5.42 per cent. In fact, the census year
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to the survival of mankind. 1921 registered a negatigve growth rate of -0.31

per cent which happened only once throughout
Some of the reasons for this population
the demographic history of India. It is because
explosion are poverty, better medical facilities,
of this decline in place of rise in populaion that
and immigration from the neighboring coun-
the year 1921 is called as the 'demographic
tries of Bangladesh and Nepal. Several solutions
divide' in the demographic history of India. The
to decrease the rate of population increase have
high mortality during this period was the prod-
been tried by the government, some successful,
uct of large scale abnormal deaths due to
some unsuccessful. Although the rate of in-
epidemics of influenza, plague, small pox, chol-
crease has decreased, the rate has not reached
era, etc. Influenzia alone claimed 12 million
the satisfactory level yet. The population in
lives in1918. Food shortages caused by severe
India continues to increase at an alarming rate.
droughts in 1911, 1913, 1915, 1918 and 1920
The effects of this population increase are evi-
claimed their own toll. In addition, thousands
dent in the increasing poverty, unemployment,
of Indian solidiers lost their liives during the
air and water pollution, and shortage of food,
World War-I (1914-18).
health resources.
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 2. Period of Steady Growth (1921-51) accelerated developmental activities and fur-
ther improvement in health facilities. The living
During 1921-51, the population of Indian
conditions of the people improved enormously.
increased from 251 million to 361 million. This
Death rates declined much faster than the birth
duration of 30 years has thus registered a
rates. This situation resulted in high natural
growth of 47.3 per cent. Therefore, this period
increase. Thus, it was fertility induced growth.
is called the period of steady growth rate.The
mortality rate started showing downward trend 4. Period of High Growth Rate with Definite
as a result of improvement in general health and Signs of Slowing Down (1981-2001)

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sanitation conditions after 1921. These develop-
ments helped in controlling epidemics like The last phase of 20th century, i.e., the

Y
plague, cholera and malaria. The crude death period between census years 1981 and 2001 is
known as the period of high growth with

L
rate which stood at a high of 47 per thousand
in 1921 declined to 27 per thousand in 1951 .On definite signs of slowing down. Although the

EM
the contray, the crude birth rate continued to rate of growth was still very high, it started
stay at an abnormally high level and decline declining after 1981. The highest growth rate

C
only to 40 per thousand in 1951 as against 48
per thousand in 1921. Decline in death rate was
also achieved partly though the improvement in
I
the distribution system as a result of improved
of 2.22 per cent was recorded in 1971 which
continued in 1981 also. It declined to 2.14 per
cent in 1991 and further to 1.95 per cent in
2001.This declining trend marks the beginning
transportation so that timely supplies of food of the new era in the country's demographic
AC N
could be made available to drought and famine
D history. During this period, birth rate declined
stricken areas. The combined effect of these rapidly, from 34 per thousand in 1981 to 26 per
factors was that the population started increas- thousand in 2001.Declining trend of death rate
ing steadily. Since crude death rate declined continued but at a slower rate. The difference
S RO

considerly and crude birth rate remained very between birth and death rates narrowed to 17.
A
high. The population growth during this period This declining trend is a positive indicatior of
is called mortality induced growth. the official efforts of birth control and people's
own inclination to opt for smaller families. It
3. Period of Rapid High Growth (1951-81) seems that the country has now reached a take-
After 1951, there was a steep fall in the off stage in its demographic evolution.
mortality rate but the fertility remained stubornly
The Demographic Transition
IA H

high. Therefore, this period experienced very

high rate of population growth and is often The demographic transition is the process of
referred to as the period of population explo- change in population of a society. It consists of
sion. As a matter of fact, the birth rate increased the following four stages:
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from 40 per thousand in 1951 to 42 per thou-

(a) Stage 1. High death and birth rates, low
sand in 1961 and stayed at 34 per thousand
growth rate.
in1981. However, it fell to 36 per thousand in
(b) Stage 2. Rapid decline in death rate, con-
2001. In contrast, death rate fell rapidly from 27
tinued high birth rate, very high growth
per thousand in 1951 to 9 per thousand in 2001.
rate.
Consequently the natural rate of growth, which
(c) Stage 3. Rapid decline in birth rate, contin-
fell slightly from 14.0 per thousand in 1941 to
ued decline in death rate, growth rate
13 per thousand in 1951 rose steeply to 22 per
begins to decline.
thousand in 1971 and remained at the same
(d) Stage 4. Low death and birth rates, low
level in 1981 also. The total population of the
growth rate.
country increased from 361.09 million in 1951
to 683.3 million in 1981 recording an increase The story of population growth in India is
of 89.36 per cent in a short span of thirty years. fairly in tune with the classical theory of demo-
This unprecedented growth rate was due to the graphic transition. During most of the nine-
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 teenth century India witnessed a fluctuating but that not all of them would be able to survive.
ultimately more or less a stagnant growth of The end result is a mounting increase in the
population, which drifted into the twentieth population size of India. Due to the increase in
century until 1921. Thereafter, country passed population, the problems of scarce resources,
through successively all the phases of demo- jobs, and poverty increases. Thus the cycle
graphic transition and is now widely believed continues leading to an ever increasing popula-
to have entered the final phase which is nor-

E
tion. This cycle in fact might be considered as
mally characterised by rapidly declining fertil- a positive feedback, in that the increase in one

Y
ity. However, it is yet to be seen as to how long result in the increase of the other factor. As the
will this phase extend and when India will poverty and the population both increase, the

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achieve a stable population. development of the country and the society
The National Population Policy (NPP) seems even more far-fetched.

EM
adopted by the Government of India in 2000

IC
states that 'the long-term objective is to achieve
a stable population by 2045;that changed to
2070 at a level consistent with the requirement
of sustainable economic growth, social develop-
ment and environment protection.
b) Religious beliefs, Traditions and Cultural
Norms
India's culture runs very deep and far back
in history. Due to the increased population, the
educational facilities are very scarce. As a result,
AC N
most people still strictly follow ancient beliefs.
D REASONS FOR INCREASE IN
POPULATION
In addition, a lot of families prefer having a son
rather than a daughter. As a result, a lot of
families have more children than they actually
S RO

I. BIRTH RATE
A
want or can afford, resulting in increased pov-
a) Poverty erty, lack of resources, and most importantly, an
increased population.
According to ABC News, India currently
faces approximately "… 33 births a minute, Another one of India's cultural norms is for
2,000 an hour, 48,000 a day, which calculates a girl to get married at an early age. In most of
to nearly 12 million a year". Unfortunately, the the rural areas and in some urban areas as well,
IA H

resources do not increase as the population families prefer to get their girls married at the
increases. Instead the resources keep decreas- age of 14 or 15. Although child marriage is
ing, leading to making survival for a human illegal in India, the culture and the society
being more and more competitive even for the surrounding the girls in India does not allow
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basic necessities of life like food, clothing and them to oppose such decisions taken by their
shelter. family. For many, giving a girl child in marriage
India currently faces a vicious cycle of popu- is done not by choice, but rather out of compul-
lation explosion and poverty. One of the most sion. The poor economic status of tribal villagers
important reasons for this population increase is attributed as one of the primary factors
in India is poverty. According to Geography.com, responsible for the prevalence of child mar-
"More than 300 million Indians earn less than riages in India. Due to the young age of these
US $1 everyday and about 130 million people girls, they have more potential of bearing chil-
are jobless." The people, who have to struggle dren, and that is, since they start bearing chil-
to make two ends meet, produce more children dren at a very early age, they can have more
because more children mean more earning children throughout their lifetime. This results
hands. Also, due to poverty, the infant mortality in the increase of the global fertility rate. Since
rate among such families is higher due to the these girls get married at a very early age, they
lack of facilities like food and medical resources. do not have the opportunity to get educated.
Thus, they produce more children assuming Therefore, they remain uneducated and teach
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 the same norms to their own children, and the Nepal, migrate to India; at the same time Indi-
tradition goes on from one generation to the ans migrate to other countries like the U.S.,
other. Australia, and the U.K. During the 1971 war
between India and Pakistan over Bangladesh,
II. DEATH RATE: the immigration rate increased tremendously.
However, currently the migration in India is -
Although poverty has increased and the
0.08 migrants per 1000 population and is de-
development of the country continues to be
creasing further. This is definitely good for
hampered, the improvements in medical facili-

E
India. This way, the population might eventu-
ties have been tremendous. This improvement
ally come close to being under control and more
might be considered positive, but as far as

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people may get better job opportunities and
population increase is considered, it has only
further education. For example, the students in

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been positive in terms of increasing the popu-
my university from India, like myself, have
lation further. The crude death rate in India in
better chances for job opportunities and better

EM
1981 was approximately 12.5, and that de-
education outside India than we would have

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creased to approximately 8.7 in 1999. Also, the
infant mortality rate in India decreased from
129 in 1981 to approximately 72 in 1999 .These
numbers are clear indications of the improve-
I
ments in the medical field. This development is
had in India.

POPULATION DISTRIBUTION IN INDIA

(FACTORS AFFECTING)
good for the economy and society of India, but One of the most important aspects of India's
AC N
strictly in terms of population, this advance-
D population is its uneven distribution. The fac-
ment has further enhanced the increase in tors that affect the distribution of population
population. includes geographical, social,demographic, po-
litical and historic angles.Some are discussed
S RO

The average life expectancy of people in

A
India has increased from 52.9 in 1975-80 to 62.4 below:
in 1995-00. Although our near and dear ones a) Terrain: Terrain of land is a potent factor
would live longer, due to the increase in the which influences the concentration and
population, the resources available per person growth of population. Normally plain
would be much less, leading to a decrease in the areas encourage higher density as it offers
curvature of the slope of development instead great opportunities for the growth of agri-
of a higher gradient. In addition, abortion is not culture, transport and industries. Whereas
IA H

allowed by several religions that are followed in due to technological developments the
India. In fact, in Islam, one of the leading human interference is increasing in all the
religions of India, children are considered to be areas even of difficult terrain as deserts,
gifts of God, and so the more children a woman
mountains, snow areas, etc.
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has, the more she is respected in her family and

society. As a result, although the measures to b) Climate: Of all the climatic factors,twin
control birth are either not available or known elements of rainfall and temperature play
to the public, the facilities to increase birth an important role in determining popula-
through medical facilities are available. tion density.It is generally said that "the
population map of india follows its rainfall
III. MIGRATION: map".As we move from GANGA
BRAHMAPUTRA DELTA in the east to-
In countries like the United States (U.S.),
wards the THAR DESERT in the west,the
immigration plays an important role in the
population increase. However, in countries like density of population decreases conse-
India, immigration plays a very small role in the quently.But sometimes the adverse factors
population change. Although people from neigh- as steep slope, infertile land, frequent floods
boring countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and counterbalance the positive effects of rain-

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 fall. But alarming increment in population Sex ratio at birth has emerged as an indica-
forces people to live at vulnerable places. tor of certain kinds of sex discrimination in some
c) Soil and water availaibility: Soil plays an countries. For instance, low female to male
ratios at birth in these states can be attributed
important role in determining the popula-
to sex-selective abortion and infanticide due to
tion distribution in agricultural country like
a strong preference for sons. This will affect
INDIA. Fertile soil supports high popula-
future marriage patterns and fertility patterns.

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tion as it provides food security and
employement whereas dry zone area with In India there is a great variation in sex ratio

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poor soil quality requires high input data of different states. Kerala has highest sex
ratio whereas Haryana and Punjab has the

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whereas in turn yeild lower gains. Water
acts as a basic need for human survival. lowest. The northern India and the southern
India shows a regional divide, one showcasing

EM
The areas with easy availability of water
resources attract more population. It plays the developed countries data whereas other

d) C
a significant role in irrigation, industries
and transportation too.
Mineral resources: minerals act as a great
I
source of attraction as it provides easy
establishments of industries around it which
showcasing a traditional feudal society. Unfor-
tunately, women in this country are mostly
unaware of their rights because of illiteracy and
the oppressive tradition.
AC N
LITERACY
further improves the living conditions of
Dthe masses. The industries provide living
support and employment and leads to
overall development of the region reducing
Literacy is an index of human development
and quality of human life. Literacy in India is
key for socio-economic progress and the Indian
S RO
A
disparity. literacy rate grew to 74.04% in 2011 from 12%
at the end of British rule in 1947.Although this
e) Transport: The northern plain of India has
is greater than six fold improvement, the level
a dense network of transport route and is
is well below the world average literacy rate of
densely populated whereas the Himalayan
84% and India currently has the largest illiterate
region lacks transport facilities and is population of any nation on earth.
scarcely populated.
There is a wide gender disparity in the
IA H

All the above factors defined, plays an

literacy rate in India: effective literacy rates (age
important role in determination of popula-
7 and above) in 2011 were 82.14% for men and
tion density of the region with all working
65.46% for women. The low female literacy rate
simultaneously at a point. has had a dramatically negative impact on
C

family planning and population stabilization

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS efforts in India. Studies have indicated that
female literacy is a strong predictor of the use
SEX RATIO of contraception among married Indian couples,
even when women do not otherwise have
Sex ratio is defined as the number of females
economic independence. The census provided a
per thousand males. The primary sex ratio is the
positive indication that growth in female lit-
ratio at the time of conception, secondary sex
eracy rates (11.8%) was substantially faster
ratio is the ratio at time of birth, and tertiary sex
than in male literacy rates (6.9%) in the 2001-
ratio is the ratio of mature organisms.
2011 decadal period, which means the gender
Sex ratio is an important parameter that gap appears to be narrowing.
reflects the status of woman in a society. Census
There is wide variation in the spatial pattern
2011 shows the sex ratio at 940females / 1000 of literacy in the country. Kerala has the highest
males that are high from 2001 census but when literacy rate followed by Mizoram. More than
compared to different countries it is still low. 94% of the rural population has access to
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 primary school within 1 km, while 98% of India has one of the largest proportions of
population benefits one school within a distance population in the younger age groups in the
of 2 km. An upper primary school within a world. 35.3% of the population of the country
distance of 3 km is available for more than 96% has been in the age group 0-14 years at the
of the people, whose 98% benefit the facility for Census 2001. 41% of the population account for
secondary education within 8 km. The access less than 18 years of age.
for rural students to higher educational institu-
The Indian age pyramid is upright having
tions in cities is facilitated by widely subsidized
large base but it will transits to contracting
transport fares.

E
pyramid as of developed ones; having low birth
Bihar has the lowest literacy rate of 63.8% rate and lower death rate.The inverted pyramid

Y
but it has showed a significant increment in last creates a problem of shortage of labour and

L
decade as it was just 47% in 2001. The Govern- increases the burden of care of large old aged
ment of Bihar has launched several programs to people. Government has to redesign its policies

EM
boost literacy, and its Department of Adult according to needs.
Education even won a UNESCO award in 1981.
C
Extensive impoverishment, entrenched hierar-
chical social divisions and the lack of correlation
between educational attainment and job oppor-
I
tunities are often cited in studies of the hurdles
Countries with a favorable age structure as
those with a large proportion of working-age
adults and relatively few dependents are gen-
erally more peaceful and democratic, allowing
governments to better meet the needs of their
literacy programs face in Bihar. Children from people. An adverse age structure is more chal-
AC N
"lower castes" are frequently denied school
D lenging to governments, particularly when na-
attendance and harassed when they do attend. tional resources are insufficient to improve eco-
In areas where there is no discrimination, poor nomic and social welfare.
funding and impoverished families means that
S RO

children often cannot afford textbooks and ETHNIC COMPOSITION

A
stationery. To incentivize students to attend, the Our present day population is a conglom-
government announced a Rupee 1 per school eration of people belonging to different racial
day grant to poor children who show-up to groups with different ethnic backgrounds. These
school. people entered India from different parts of the
Literacy rates also differ due to religious, world at different points of time adopting dif-
social, and traditional aspects. ferent land and water routes. In fact India has
IA H

been a melting pot of various races and tribes

AGE STRUCTURE/PYRAMID from times immemorial. Almost all the major
races of the world are visible in India as a result
It is a graphical illustration that shows the of which the country is said to have a varied
C

distribution of various age groups in a human and diverse ethnic composition. The present by
population (typically that of a country or region population of the country has been derived
of the world), which ideally forms the shape of mainly from the following racial groups:
a pyramid when the region is healthy.
Population pyramids can be used to find 1. The Negritos
the number of economic dependents being sup- According to Hutton, the earliest occupants
ported in a particular population. Economic of India were the people of Negrito race.S.K.
dependents are defined as those under 15 (chil- Chatterjee and S.M. Katre have expressed the
dren who are in full time education and there- view that Negroid people migrated to India
fore unable to work) and those over 65 (those from Africa and established their language on
who have the option of being retired). It also the soil of India. A.C. Haddon opines that
helps us in understanding about the longetivity Negrito features are met with particularly
and aged population. amongst the Andaman islanders and most prob-
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 ably the Uralis Nilgiri hills, Kadors of Kochi, Mongoloid, and any non-Mongoloid streams of
Pullayans of Palni hills, etc. Besides some tribes migration that may reached India through
like the Angami Nagas in the north-east and the Myammar have absorbed a vast quantity of
Badgis in the Rajmahal hills in Jharkhand etc. Mongolian blood. There is also some evidence of
possessing some physical traits reminiscent of a Mongloid Melansian intrusion from Oceania
the Negrito are seen. The Negrito race is to Tamil Nadu and Kerala and probably that
characterised by short stature, dark chocolate accounts for the occasional Mongoloid element

E
brown skin, wooly hair, bulbous forehead, noticed among the people of these states.

Y
broad flat nose and slightly protruding jaws. Presently, they occupy large areas in Ladakh,
Sikkim, Arunchal Pradeshand some other parts

L
2. The Proto-Australoids of east India. Some of the basic physical char-
acteristics of the Mongloid race include a round
Hutton is of the opinion that the Proto-

EM
and broad head, face with very high cheek
Australoids came to India from the East Medi-

C
bones and a long flat nose, with little or no hair
terranean are (Palestine). They came soon after
on the face and the body. The tribes of Garo,
the Negritos. Today they constitute the bulk of
Khasi, Jaintia, Lipchas, Chakmas, Murnis, Naga
population in many isolated and semi-isolated
and Daffla belong to the Mongloid race.
I
parts of central land southern India. The
Veddahs, Malavedahs, Irulas and Sholagas are The Mongoloid racial stock of India can be
AC N
the true representatives of Proto-Australoids. divided into two sub-groups as follows:

D
The Bhils, Kols, Badagas, Korwas, Kharwars,
Mundas, Bhumjis and Malpaharis of the high-
lands of Central India and the Chenchus,
(i) Palaeo-Mongloids
(ii) Tibeto-Mongloids.
(i) Palaeo-Mongloids are further divided
S RO

Kurumbas, Malayans and Yeruvas of South

A
India may all be treated as Proto- Australoids. into broad headed and long headed sub-types.
Some anthropologists believe that the Proto- They settled mainly along the fringes of the
Australoids pushed, pressed, displaced and Himalayas in Assam and the Myammar border.
supplanted the negritos and forced them to shift (ii) Tibeto-Mongloids have come from Tibet
to more inaccessible, remote and less hospitable as their name suggests. They are mostly living
areas, where they are found even today. In the in Bhutan and Sikkim, as well as in the north-
process, there was some admixture of the two western Himalayas and Trans Himalayan re-
IA H

races, perhaps more so in the south than in the gions.

north. In physical appearance the Proto-
Australoids more or less resemble the Negritors 4. The Mediterrraneans
with the main exception that they do not have
C

The Mediterranean racial stock came to

wooly hair like the Negritos. Their other Physi-
India from eastern Mediterranean region or
cal characterstics are bulbous forehead, broad
South West Asia. They are believed to have
flat nose and slightly protruding jaws.
migrated during the third and the second mil-
3. The Mongoloid lennium B.C. This race has contributed much to
the physical composition of peoples of India and
According to Risley, "On its northern and also to it culture. They brought earlier forms of
eastern frontier. India marches with the great Austro-Asiatic languages and are believed to be
Mongoloid region of the earth".Most of the the bearers of the earliest form of Hindustan
anthropolists believe China to be the homeland into India. Palaeo-Medierrraneans are consid-
of the Monogoloid race from where they were ered to be the first and the most ancient of all
pushed southward into the Mallaya penisula the Mediterranean races to enter India. Their
and Indonesia. They entered India through the physical chracterstics include medium stature,
passess in the northern or eastern mountains. dark skin and long head. In all probability, They
Huttopn is of the Opinion that the bulk of firsts settled in north-west India and started
Burma (Myammar) in any case is primarily practising agriculture there. However, they were
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 pushed into central and southern India by Before the introduction of the caste system
subsequent immigrants. Today the Paleo- Medi- during the Brahminic Age, people were divided
terranean stock forms the bulk of population of into various tribes. A tribe was a homogenoeous
south India and a considerable proportion of and self contained unit without any hierachical
population in northern India. The discrimination.
Mediterraneans were the chief architects of the The study of tribal population suffers from
Indus Valley Civilization as is evident from the serious anomalies as there is no clear cut and
excavations of Mohanjo Daro and Harappa. scientific criteria for this purpose. For example,

E
the Gonds are a Scheduled Tribe in Madhya
5. Brachyephals
Pradesh, but a Scheduled Caste in Uttar Pradesh.

Y
Brachycephal groups of races of India are This problem of anomalies is further aggravated
characterised by broad heads. Coorgis and Parsis in the case of transhumance groups like the

L
are representatives of the Brachycephals in Gujjars of north-western India. A Gujjar
India. These are sub-divided into three major

EM
Bakarwal Kafila when pasturing in Himachal
groups. Pradesh during summer belongs to the sched-
(i)
C
Alpinoids. Alpinoids came to India along
the route passing through Baluchistan, Sind,
Kathiawar,
I Gujarat,
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Maharashtra,
uled category and the same group loses this
status in its winter pastures on the Jammu
plains.
The growth of Scheduled Tribes population
(i) Dinarics. Dinarics followed the Ganga are due to following two reasons:
AC N
vallely and its delta as their route to enter
D (i) There has been a rapid natural growth
India. of tribal population and
(ii) Armenoids. Chitral, Gilgit, Kashmir and (ii) Additions have been made to the list
Nepal formed the third route for the Scheduled Tribes time and again
S RO

Amenoids of the Brachycephal group of

A
races to enter India. An appraisal of the distribution pattern of
the tribal communities shows that their spatial
6. The Nordics distribution is characterised by a striking ten-
dency of clustering and concentrating in
The Nordics constitute the last wave of pockets,which have suffered from isolation are
migration into India. They spoke Aryan lan- are situated in areas where environmental set-
guage and migrated to India some time during ting is, by and large, not suitable for settled
IA H

the second millennium B.C. The main concen- agriculture. Thus, most of the tribal communi-
tration of these people is in the north-western ties live in hilly and forested tracts and other
part of the country. They are a predominat type remote areas of the country. Constrained by
in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. They are rigors of environment, which fostered physical
C

mostly represented among the upper castes of and social isolation for ages, the tribal commu-
North India particularly in Punjab. The main nities have developed their own traditional
characterstics of this race are long head, fair mode of living. However, the interaction be-
complexion, well developed nose and a well tween tribal and non-tribal people after Inde-
built, strong body. pendence has changed the scenario to some
extent.
TRIBAL POPULATION
Further, it is intersting to note that while no
The tribes are the autochthonous people of caste has been scheduled in Nagaland,
the land who are believed to be the earliest Andaman and Nicobar Islands and
settlers in the Indian Peninsula. They are gen- Ladehhadeep, no tribe has been scheduled in
erally called adivasis, implying original inhab- the states of Haryana and Punjab and the
itants. The ancient and medieval literature men- Union Territories of Chandigarh, Delhi and
tion a large number of tribes living in India. Pondicherry.

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 Components of the Tribal Action Plan: tion in India whereas other types are urban to
urban, rural to rural, urban to rural.
Tribal Action Plans may include but not be
limited to the following elements:
OPTIMUM POPULATION CONCEPT
• Profile population needs
• Mobilize/build capacity to address needs Optimum population denotes the maximum
• Develop Comprehensive Strategic Plan population a country can sustain if it uses its

E
• Implement infrastructure development and resources at its fullest. Optimum population
may be defined as the type of population which

Y
evidence based prevention and/or treat-
ment programs when combined with the available resources

L
• Monitor, evaluate, sustain, and improve and the given level of existing technology secure
processes a maximum return per head. Optimum popu-

EM
lation is neither too small nor too large. In other
1987, the Tribal Cooperative Marketing De- words, optimum population stands in between

C
velopment Federation of India Limited was set
up with an aim to serve the interest of the tribal
community and work for their socio economic
development by conducting its affairs in a
I
professional, democratic and autonomous man-
ner for undertaking marketing of tribal prod-
the two other extremes of over population and
under population. It is the best type of popula-
tion and it differs from country to country and
from time to time. Optimum population is
dynamic; hence it changes according to the
AC N
changing quantity and quality of a country's
ucts.
D
Further to achieve the aim of accelerating
the economic development of tribal people by
available resources.

Implications:
S RO

providing wider exposure to their art and crafts,

1. At a given level of technology, it balances
A
TRIBES INDIA, the exclusive shops of tribal
population with available resources.
artifacts were set up all over India by TRIFED.
2. The management or control of economy
They showcase and market the art and craft
that has optimum population is very easy.
items produced by the tribal people and thus
3. An optimum population ensures or secures
demonstrate the magical mystique of tribal In-
a maximum return per head.
dia espousing tribal cause.
4. An optimum population is the population
IA H

that produces full employment.

MIGRATION
5. Optimum population is a dynamic popula-
The term migration refers to the movement tion that changes with the changing quan-
of population from one place to another. It may tity and quality of a country's available
C

be temporary or permanent. Migration has resources.

three fold impacts 6. Optimum population also ensures the high-
a) On the area experiencing immigration est standard of living in a country.
b) On the area experiencing out migration This concept is not as futile for developing
c) On the migrants themselves country India as for other developed countries.
The purpose of migration may be employ- India is said to be overpopulated but if concept
ment, business, education, family movement, of optimum population is applied might be
marriage, calamity etc. Indian resources can support more population,
if used properly with new and innovative tech-
In India the rural areas suffering from pov-
nologies.
erty, unemployment produce push effects from
where rural youths in large number, migrate to Thus optimum population is a dynamic and
mega cities and industrial towns which have theoretical concept.
pulling effects due to better job prospects and As in India if yield of wheat in one hectare
better living conditions. This type of migration is 25 tonnes (superficial) whereas if better seeds,
forms the largest share of percentage of migra- new technologies, organic fertilizers etc are be
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 used it might reach 50 tonnes. Now it can also causes smog which may result in head-
support more people thus optimum population aches, dizziness, breathing difficulties, or even
differs with the proper utilization of technolo- mass illness due to carbon monoxide. This slow
gies done. It is based on economic concept. murder goes unnoticed because people die of
diseases like cancer, asthma, and heart prob-
EFFECTS OF POPULATION EXPLOSION lems after long exposures to deadly air pollut-
ants.
The current rate of population growth in
India is 1.58% and the total fertility rate is 2.62. Besides the untimely deaths of several thou-

E
Although the total fertility rate has decreased, sands of people every year due to air pollution,
due to the increase in the total number of the pollutants also have a deadly impact on our

Y
women between the ages of 15 and 44 (repro- national heritage - the historical monuments

L
ductive ages), the total number of births has that have made India proud for centuries. A
increased. This has lead to the current enor- classic example of the air pollution effect is the

EM
mous population size of approximately 1 billion. TAJ MAHAL in India. The sulfur dioxide in the
This has greatly hampered the development of air because of the pollution caused by the
C
the Indian economy. The amount of resources
that could have been available to one person a
few years ago now need to be shared between
I
two people, which are not sufficient for either
neighboring industries mixes with atmospheric
moisture and settles as sulfuric acid on the
surface of the tomb, making the smooth white
marble yellow and flaky, and forming a subtle
of them. The population increase has lead to air fungus that experts have named "marble can-
AC N
and water pollution, unemployment, poverty,
D cer". Trying to save the monument might mean
lack of educational resources, and even mal- closing down several industries in the neighbor-
nourished women and children. hood. However, this means that several thou-
sands of people would lose their jobs, resulting
S RO

I. Air pollution:
in eventual poverty. This again brings us to the
A
The technological development of India has same problem that is the root of all the problems
lead not only to medical advancements, but also - population increase.
to an increase in the number of factories. That One of the major issues that have lately been
has lead to air and water pollution. More energy bothering environmentalists all over the world
needs to be produced to power these factories. is global warming. Like glass in a greenhouse,
When fossil fuels - the world's major source of gases like carbon monoxide admit the sun's light
IA H

energy - are burnt, gases are added to the but tend to reflect back downward the heat that
atmosphere. Many cities in India have crossed is radiated from the ground below, trapping
the limits of suspended particulate matter, sul- heat in the earth's atmosphere. This is called the
fur dioxide, and other pollutants due to vehicu- greenhouse effect. However, due to the increase
C

lar and industrial emissions in pollution, especially due to carbon dioxide

As the population grows, more and more and chlorofluorocarbons, the ozone layer is
forests are cleared. The two most common getting depleted. This layer plays the major role
reasons for deforestation are to make houses for in controlling the temperature of earth, saving
increased number of people to live in, and to use it from the harmful effect of the ultraviolet
wood as a fuel in the industries. As a result, the radiation of the sun. However, with the deple-
trees that help us in reducing the air pollution tion of the ozone layer on the rise, the tempera-
through the process of photosynthesis are not ture of the earth is increasing. This is global
able to do so any more.Some of the diseases warming. As we know that India is mainly an
caused by air pollution are "respiratory diseases, agrarian country, temperature and climate plays
asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, an important role in the economy of the coun-
cardiovascular disease and cancer of the lung". try. Global warming affects the main crops in
Due to the tropical climate of India, air pollution India in following ways:
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 1. Researchers have estimated that only a kinds of pollution, including water pollution.
2° C increase in mean air temperatures will Also, India being an agrarian country, the
be enough to decrease the rice yield by 0.75 water pollution also comes from pesticides used
ton/hectare in high-yield areas like Punjab, for agriculture. Some of the major types of
Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. pollutants are:
2. It is also estimated that a drastic increase 1. Petroleum products required for automo-
in greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide

E
biles, cooking, and other such human ac-
may cause wheat production to fall as tivities.

Y
much as 68%. 2. Pesticides and herbicides used for agricul-
3. Additionally, the changing climatic condi- ture by the Indian farmers.

L
tions have the potential to significantly 3. Heavy metals from industries, automobiles'
increase tropical disturbances like cyclones exhausts and mines.

EM
and storms in coastal regions. 4. Hazardous wastes.

C
The effect on crops greatly hampers the
economy of the country, especially for those
farmers who solely depend on agriculture for
I
their survival. For them, the loss of one crop
would lead to a plunge into absolute poverty,
5.

6.

7.
Excessive organic matter like fertilizers and
other organic matter used by farmers.
Sediments caused by soil erosion produced
by strip mines, agriculture and roads.
Thermal pollution caused by deforestation.
AC N
and thus, the vicious cycle of poverty and One of the classic examples of water pollu-

D
population explosion continues. The effect of air
pollution on the climatic conditions reveals that
air pollution not only affects our environment,
tion in India is the RIVER GANGA. This river
is considered sacred and incorruptible. People
bathe in it for spiritual renewal and drink water
S RO

but it also greatly endangers the lives of every- from it. But people do not realize that along
A
body. This means that if the number of people with washing off their sins in the river, they are
increases the carrying capacity, the mere sur- also washing off their body wastes, leading to
vival of human beings poses a threat to the lives polluting the holy water of the river. Also,
of all human beings. cremated and partially cremated bodies are
dumped into the river. Although, dumping
II. Water Pollution:
these bodies is a religious act in India among the
Air pollution is not the only environmental Hindus, but at what cost? Thus, with the
IA H

damage being done by the increasing popula- increasing population, the number of people
tion. Nowadays water pollution is also one of dying is also increasing, and so is the pollution
the increasing problems due to the population in the river Ganga. In addition, the nearby
explosion. Water is considered the essence of factories and human colonies dump sewage
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life. There is no life without water. One might directly into the river. Recent studies show that
think that 70% of the earth is covered with there are more than 25,000 small-scale indus-
water, so, why worry about the water problem? tries in just one of the states sharing the river
In fact, 3 sides of the Indian subcontinent are and dispose off their waste in the river.
surrounded by water. And there are several As we can observe, the increased population
rivers, lakes, and other sources of water within size is leading to increased pollution, which in
the country as well. However the fact is that less turn is leading to a more hostile environment for
than 3 percent of that water we see can be used human beings themselves.
for human consumption and industrial uses.
Nearly 10 percent of the world's population III. Unemployment and Illiteracy:
faces chronic freshwater shortage. This figure
may rise if the population growth is uncon- With the increasing number of people, we
trolled. As in the case of air pollution, the have to share our resources with even more
increasing population calls for increasing num- people. Resources of all types are limited, even
bers of factories. These factories lead to various employment, especially in India. India, being a

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 developing country, has a limited number of IV. Food Resources
jobs available. Due to the increasing number of
Resources are always limited. And in a
people, the competition for the most menial jobs
developing and highly populous country like
is also tremendous. Several highly educated
India, resources are even scarcer. Population
people with Bachelor's and Master's degrees in
explosion results in the shortage of even the
India sit at home, because they cannot find jobs.
most basic resources like food. According to an
Such unemployment and underemployment article by World Bank Group, "…more than half
leads to corruption and exploitation of people of all children under the age of four are mal-

E
by the richer classes of the society. This lack of nourished, 30 percent of newborns are signifi-
resources further leads to lack of educational cantly underweight, and 60 percent of women

Y
resources. Due to the unavailability of resources, are anemic." Resources are limited everywhere.

L
parents cannot afford to educate their children India spends approximately $10 billion each
to higher levels. Some parents simply cannot year on malnutrition and even then the govern-

EM
afford to teach their children further, and in ment of India cannot provide the everyday
nutritional requirements to everybody in India.

C
some families, children need to work along with
their parents in order to bring food to the table.
According to the World Bank Group, "about 32
million primary school-age children, mostly girls
I
or those from the poorest households and dis-
URBANISATION IN INDIA
Urbanization is a socio-economic process by
which an increasing proportion of the popula-
advantaged groups are not in school; more than tion of an area becomes concentrated into towns
AC N
half of rural students drop out before complet- and cities. It includes two things - an increase
D
ing the primary cycle, and only one-third of
females make it to the secondary level." In
in the number of people living in urban settle-
ments and an increase in the percentage of the
population engaged in non agricultural activi-
S RO

addition, "nearly half the population over 15

A
years old and about 60 percent of all women ties.
over 15 years old is illiterate." Also, basic edu-
Problem of Urbanisation in India
cation has become a commodity that acts on the
basis of supply and demand. Basic education Although India is one of the less urbanized
has become too expensive in India for a com- country of the world with only 27.78 per cent
moner to afford for his/her children. Lack of of her population living in urban agglomera-
education further leads to even more unemploy- tions/towns, this country is facing a serious
IA H

ment. Due to these reasons, a major part of the crisis of urban growth at the present time.
population is either illiterate or has the most Whereas urbanisation has been an instrument
minimum education leading them to accept of economic, social and political progress, it has
minimal work in which they cannot even sup- led to serious socio-economic problems. The
C

sheer magnitude of the urban population, hap-

port themselves.
hazard and unplanned growth of urban areas,
Unemployment, or underemployment, fur- and a desperate lack of infrastructure are the
ther leads to poverty. This again starts the main causes of such a situation. The rapid
vicious cycle of poverty and population explo- growth of urban areas, and a desperate lack of
sion discussed above. Poverty leads to an in- infrastructure are the main causes of such a
crease in the population, because poverty leads situation. The rapid growth of urban popula-
people to produce more children to increase the tion both natural and through migration, has
earning members of the family. This increases put heavy pressure on public utilities like hous-
the population size of India, which further ing, sanitation, transport, water, electricity,
increases the unemployment rate and lack of health, education and so on. Poverty, unem-
educational facilities leading to poverty that ployment and under employment among the
started this whole cycle. rural immigrants, beggary, thefts, dacoities, bur-

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 glaries and other social evils are on rampage, cities of India are overcrowded both in 'absolute'
Urban sprawl is rapidly encroaching the pre- and 'relative' terms. Absolute in the sense that
cious agricultural land. The urban population of these cities have a real high density of popula-
Indian had already crossed the 285 million tion; relative in the sense that even if the
mark by 2001. By 2030, more than 50 per cent densities are not very high the problem of
of India's population is expected to live in urban providing services and other facilities to the city
areas. Following problems need to be high- dwellers makes it so. Delhi has a population

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lighted: density of 9,340 persons per sq km (Census

Y
2001) which is the highest in India. This is the
1. Urban Sprawl overall population density for the Union terri-

L
tory of Delhi. Population demsity in central part
Urban sprawl or real expansion of the cities,
of Delhi could be much higher. This leads to

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both in population and geographical area, of
tremendous perssure on infrastructural facilities
rapidly growning cities is the root cause of

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urban problems. In most cities the economic
base is incapable of dealing with the problems
created by their excessive size. Massive immi-
I
gration from rural areas as well as from small
towns into big cities has taken place almost
like housing, electricity, water, transport, em-
ployment, etc. Efforts to decongest Delhi by
deveoping ring towns has not met with the
required success.

3. Housing
AC N
consistently; thereby adding to the size of

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cities.Such hyperubanissation leads to projected
cities sizes of which defies imagination. Delhi,
Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Banglore, etc. are
Overcrowding leads to a chronic problem of
shortage of houses in urban areas. This problem
is specifically more acute in those urban areas
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examples of urban sprawl due to large scale where there is large influx of unemployed or
A
migraion of people from the surrounding areas. underemployed immigrants who have no place
In several big cities wealthy people are con- to live in when they enter cities/towns from the
stantly moving from the crowded centres of the sourrounding areas. Moreover, the current rate
cities to the more pleasant suburbs where they of housing construction is very slow which
can build larger houses and enjoy the space and makes the problem further complicated. Indian
privacy of a garden around the house. In some cities require annually about 2.5 million new
dwellings but less than 15 per cent of the
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cities, the outskirts are also added to by squat-

ters who build makeshift shacks of unused land requirement is being constructed.
although they have no legal right to the land. Several factors are responsible for the sad
The difficulty of restricting town growth in state of affairs with respect to housing problems
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either case is immense and most towns and faced by the urban people. The major factors are
cities are surrounded by wide rings of suburbs. shortage of building materials and financial
resources, inadequate expansion of public utili-
2. Overcrowding ties into sub-urban areas, poverty and unem-
Overcrowding is a situation in which too ployment of urban immigrants, strong caste and
many people live in too little space. Overcrowd- family ties and lack of adequate transporation
ing is a logical consequence of over-population to sub-urban areas where most of the vacant
in urban areas. It is naturally expected that land for new construction is located.
cities having a large size of population squeezed
4. Unemployment
in a small space must suffer from overcrowding.
This is well exhibited by almost all the big cities The problem of unemployment is no less
of India. For example, Mumbai has one-sixth of serious than the problem of housing mentioned
an acre open space per thousand population above. Urban unemployment in India is esti-
though four acre is suggested standard by the mated at 15 to 25 per cent of the labour force.
Master Plan of Greater Mumbai. Metropolitan This percentage is even higher among the edu-

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 cated people. It is estimated that about half of facilities and unhygienic conditions will be
all educated urban unemployed are concen- termed as slums.
trated in four metropolitan cities (Delhi, Mumbai,
Slums are known by different names in
Kolkata, Chennai). Furthermore, although ur-
different cities. They are called bustees in Kolkata,
ban incomes are higher than the rural incomes,
jhuggijhoparies in Delhi, Jhorparpattis or Chawl
they are appallingly low in view of high cost of
living in urban areas. in Mumbai and Cheri in Chennai.

One of the major causes of urban unemploy- 6. Transport

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ment is the large scale migration of people from
rural to urban areas. Rural-urban migration has With traffic bottleneck and traffic conges-

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been continuing for a pretty long time but it has tion, almost all cities and towns of India are
suffering from acute form of trasport problem.

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not always been as great a problem as it is
today. The general poverty among the rural Transport problems increase and become more
complex as the town grows in size. With its

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people pushes them out to urban areas to
growth, the town performs varied and complex

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migrate in search of livelihood and in the hope
ofa better living. But the growth of economic
opportunities fail to keep pace with the quan-
tum of immigraration. The limited capacity of
I
urban areas could not create enough employ-
functions and more people travel to work or
shop. As the town becomes larger, even people
living within the built-up area have to travel by
car or bus to cross the town and outsiders
ment opportunities and absorb the rapid growth naturally bring their cars or travel by public
AC N
of urban labour force.
D transport. Wherever, trade is important, com-
mercial vehicle such as vans and trucks will
5. Slums and Squatter Settlements make problem of traffic more complicated.
Since most of the commercial activities of the
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The natural sequel of unchecked, unplanned

A
towns are concenttated in the Central Business
and haphazard growth of urban areas is the
growth and spread of slums and squatter settle- District (C.B.D.). the centres are areas of great-
ments which present a striking feature in the est congesion. However, other parts of the town
ecological structure of Indian cities, especially of are not free from traffic congestion. Such areas
metropolitian centres. include the roads leading to factories, offices,
schools, etc., which will be thronged with people
The rapid urbanisation in conjuction with in morning and evening; minor shopping cen-
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industrialisation has resulted in the growth of tres which grow up in the suburbs; sporting
slums. The proliferation of slums occurs due to arenas, entertainment districts which will be
many factors; the shortage of developed land busy at night, roads leading to residential and
for housing, the high prices of land beyond the dormitory towns which will be busy when
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reach of urban poor, a large influx of rural commuters flock to the cities in the morning to
migrants to the cities in search of jobs etc. In work and return home in the evenings. Such
spite of several efforts by the Central and State congestion becomes greater when the centre is
Government to contain the number of slum built up in tall skyscraper blocks whose offices
dwellers, their growth has been increasing sometimes employ thousands of workers, be-
sharply exerting tremendous pressure on the cause at the end of the office hours everyone
existing civic amenities and social infrastruc- leaves the building within a short space of time
ture. to make their way home. This puts tremendous
New Definition of Slums: Any compact pressure on public transport and causes jour-
housing cluster or settlement of at least 20 neys to take much longer period than they
households with a collection of poorly built normally would.In most cities the rush hour or
tenements which are, mostly temporary in na- peak traffic hour lasts for about two hours and
ture with inadequate sanitary, drinking water during that period buses and trains are crammed
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 to capacity, roads are overcrowded with ments from Tajiwala in Haryana. Water is also
vehichles and the movement of traffic becomes drawn from Ramganga as far as 180 km.
very slow.
8. Sewarage Problems
7. Water
Urban areas in India are almost invariably
What is one of the most esssential of nature plagued with insufficient and inefficient sewage

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to sustain life and right from the beginning of facilities. Not a single city in India is fully
urban civilisation, sites for settlements have al-

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sewered. Resources crunch faced by the munici-
ways been chosen keeping in view the availabil-
palities and unauthorised growth of the cities

L
ity of water to the inhabitants of the settlements.
are two major causes of this pathetic state opf
However, supply of water started falling short of
affairs. Most of the cities have old sewerage lines

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demand as the cities grew in size and number.
which are not looked after properly. Often

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Today we have reached a stage where practically
no city in India gets sufficient water to meet the sewerage lines break down or they are over-
needs of city dwellers. In many cities people get flowing. Most cities do not have proper arrange-
water from the municipal sources for less than ments for treating the sewerage waste and it is
I
half an hour every alternate day. In dry summer drained into a nearby river (as in Delhi) or in
season, taps remain dry for days together and sea (as in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai),
AC N
people are denied water supply at a time when thereby polluting the water bodies.
D
they need it the most. The individual towns
require water in larger quantities, Many small
In most cities, water pipes run in close
proximity to sewer lines. Any leakage leads to
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towns have no main water suppply at all and

contamination of water which results in the
A
depend on such sources as individual tubewells,
spread of several water borne diseases.
household open wells or even rivers. Acclerated
Urban Water Supply Programme (AUWSP) was 9. Trash Disposal
launched to provide water to towns with popu-
lation of less than 20,000. Keeping in view the As Indian cities grow in number and size the
increased demarks for water by the urban popu- problem of trash disposal is assuming alarming
lation, Central Public Health and Environmental proportions. Huge quantities of garbage pro-
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Engineering Organisation (CPGEEI) fixed 125- duced by our cities pose a serious health prob-
200 litres oif water per head per day for cities lem. Most cities do not have proper arrange-
with a population of more than 50,000, 100-125 ments for garbage disposal and the existing
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litres for population between 10,000 and 50,000 landfills are full to the brim. These landfills are
and 70-100 litres for towns with a popultion hotbeds of disease and innumerable poisons
below 10,000 cities and towns. To meet the leaking into their surroundings. Wastes putrefy
growing demand for water, many cities are in the open inviting disease carrying files and
trying to tap external sources of water supply. rats and a filthy, poisonous liquid, called leachate,
Mumbai draws water from neighbouring areas
which leaks out from below and contaninates
and from sources located as far as 125 km in the
ground water. People who live near the rotting
Western Ghats. Chennai uses water express
garbage and raw sewage fall easy victims to
trains to meets its growing demand for water.
several diseases like dysentery, malaria plague,
Bangalore is located on the plateau and draws
water from Cauvery river at a distance of 100 jaundice, diarrhoea, typhoid, etc.
km. Water for Bangalore has to be lifted about
10. Problem of Urban Pollution
700 metres with help of lifting pumps. Hyderabad
depends on Nagarjuna Sagar located 137 km With rapid pace of urbanisation, industries
away. Delhi meets large part of its water require- and transport systems grow rather out of pro-
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 portions. These developments are primarly RURAL-URBAN FRINGE
responsibe for pollution of environment, par- The rural-urban fringe is the zone of
ticularly the urban environment. transition in land use, social and demographic
characteristics, lying between (a) the con-
SATELLITE TOWN tinuously built- up urban and suburban areas
A satellite town or satellite city is a concept of the central city, and (b) the rural
in urban planning that refers essentially to hinterland, characterized by the almost
smaller metropolitan areas which are located complete absence of non farm dwellings,

E
somewhat near to, but are mostly independent occupations and land use, and of semi-urban
and rural social orientation; an incomplete

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of, larger metropolitan areas.
range and penetration of urban utility services;
Satellite cities are small or medium-sized

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uncoordinated zoning or planning regula-
cities near a large metropolis, that: tions; a real extension beyond although

EM
a) predate that metropolis' suburban expan- contiguous with the political boundary of the

b)

c)
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sion.
are at least partially independent from that
metropolis economically and socially.
are physically separated from the metropo-
I
lis by rural territory or by a major geo-
central city; and an actual and potential
increase in population density, with the
current density above that of surrounding
rural districts but lower than the central city.
These lands are basically used for housing,
graphic barrier such as a large river; satel- instituitional settings, hyper markets and super
AC N
lite cities should have their own indepen- store etc. These are also used for growing

d)
D
dent urbanized area, or equivalent.
have a traditional downtown surrounded
perishable items as vegetables for easy transpor-
tation to city centres.now a days rural urban
by traditional "inner city" neighborhoods. fringe is facing problems of land degradation,
S RO
A
e) May or may not be counted as part of the air pollution, traffic congestion, illegal land
large metropolis' Combined Statistical Area. acquisition etc.



IA H
C

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 10 REGIONAL PLANNING

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Y
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Planning is a method of achieving economic Components of the Programme

EM
prosperity by the optimum utilization of the

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resources of a region or country. Also it is an • On-Farm Development (OFD) works i.e.
effort towards attaining self sufficiency and Development of field channels and field
narrowing the inter and intra regional dispari- drains within the command of each Outlet;
ties and preparing ideal conditions for develop- Land levelling on an outlet command basis;
ment.
I Reclamation of waterlogged areas; Enforce-
ment of a proper system of "WARABANDI"
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SOME AREA SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT and fair distribution of water to individual
D PROGRAMMES fields; Realignment of field boundaries,
wherever necessary (where possible, con-
solidation of holding should also to be
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1. Command area Development Programme

A
combined); Supply of all inputs and ser-
During the post independence period high vices - including credit; Strengthening of
priority was accorded to increase agricultural extension services; and, Encouraging farm-
production and productivity for providing food ers for Participatory Irrigation Manage-
security to the people thus a number of irriga- ment (PIM).
tion projects were constructed. The surface
• Selection and introduction of suitable crop-
irrigation potential, which stood at 22.6 m.ha
ping pattern.
IA H

till 1950-51, had increased to 33.6 m.ha. by mid-

sixties. In the later years, it was realized that the • Development of ground water to supple-
irrigation potential created was not being fully ment surface irrigation (conjunctive use
utilized and substantial gap existed due to under Minor Irrigation sector).
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which the purpose of irrigation projects was not • Development and maintenance of the main
fully met. The gap between irrigation potential and intermediate drainage system (irriga-
created and irrigation potential utilized tion sector).
prompted the Irrigation Commission in 1972 to
• Modernization, maintenance and efficient
make specific recommendations for systematic
operation of the irrigation system up to the
and integrated development of commands of
outlet of one-cusec capacity (irrigation sec-
irrigation projects.
tor)
Thus centrally sponsored Command Area
Implementation of this programme has
Development (CAD) Programme was launched
helped in bringing the land under irrigation
in 1974-75 with the main objectives of improv-
rapidly, increase in water use efficiency, agri-
ing the utilization of created irrigation potential
cultural production and productivity, changes
and optimizing agriculture production and
in the cropping pattern of the area.
productivity from irrigated agriculture through
a multi-disciplinary team under an Area Devel- But it has posed the environmental problems
opment Authority. as water logging and soil salinity due to lack of

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 proper drainage and overuse of irrigation and industrial projects would need con-
facility. stant review to avoid unfavourable conse-
quences like landslides and erosion.
2. Hill Area Development Programme • Forestry: Forestry is essential not only for
The hill area of a country due to their eco-preservation but also for fuel, human
difficult terrain, variable agro-climatic condi- and animal nutrition, limber and raw-
tions and distinct socio-cultural features, face material for industry. It also provides wind
problems inhibiting their process of develop- barrier to agriculture and shade for plan-

E
ment. Thus, it was realized that adequate steps tations of coffee, tea, spices, etc. Preventing
are needed for proper and efficient utilization further deforestation and promoting exten-

Y
of the resources of the hilly areas. Hence Hill sive planting of these are both necessary.
Area Development Programme was introduced Afforestation of catchment areas is of very

L
in the fifth year plan to initiate the socio- high priority for preventing soil erosion as

EM
economic development of the hilly areas of the well as regulating water supply. Suitable
country. agro-forestry techniques would be fostered

C
The objectives of the program include eco-
preservation and eco-restoration with the focus
on sustainable use biodiversity, ensuring com-
I
munity participation in the design and imple-
•
in such areas.
Animal Husbandry: In spite of the oppor-
tunities offered by favourable climate, the
economic potential offered for dairying,
mentation of the strategies for the biodiversity sheep and other animal husbandry in the
AC N
and sustainable livelihood.
D hill areas has not been fully tapped. In
many hill regions the problem, is of over-
Areas of Concern
grazing due to uncontrolled animal popu-
• Land Use Pattern: The current land-use lation and poor management. The scientific
S RO
A
pattern either in the form of jhuming in the management of these lands can increase
eastern Himalayan region or in the form of the yield of fodder and support effectively
indiscriminate deforestation for a variety of a large animal population. The animal
purposes in the Western region is leading husbandry programme will need a strong
to eco-catastrophes of various kinds. It is preventive and curative animal health
widely accepted that in the hills and in programme, together with processing and
undulating terrain, it would be wise to marketing of the produce.
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grow perennial plants and to promote sci- • Conservation and Environment: The hill
entific animal husbandry. Horticulture, areas, particularly, the Himalayan region is
particularly apple cultivation, has received rich in genetic material of medicinal and
widespread interest not only in Jammu and food plants, fruits, including citrus and a
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Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and wide range of other economic plants, or-
Uttarakhand but also in Arunachal Pradesh chids and other flowers. Some rare wild life
and parts of eastern Himalayan region. still occurs in these areas. It would be
Proper land use patterns should be laid for important to have an integrated strategy
conservation of biodiversity. for the preservation of the valuable flora
• Soil Erosion: The damage that soil erosion and fauna through a chain of biosphere
causes to the hill areas, including its impact reserves, national parks and gene-sanctu-
on irrigation projects is well known. In this aries.
context, it is necessary to evolve; in inte- For the scientific planning of the hill areas
grated strategy in the hill areas of mini- in the country, vital information on resources
watershed management. Besides the tech-
e.g., occurrence of minerals, soil characteristics,
nology as applied to these areas in fields
vegetation types and characteristics, estimation
like road construction, power, irrigation
of the volume of surface and sub-surface flow
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 in watersheds, etc., is required. Such informa- by adopting either a cluster of villages or an
tion also needs to be constantly updated. Re- Index Catchment as the unit of planning.
mote-sensing techniques and air-photo inter- • Direct participation of the local people in
pretation combined with ground truth studies planning and development of watershed
hold great possibilities for this purpose. A per- project areas as well as in the maintenance
spective plan spelling out the long-term and of assets after the project is completed.

E
short-term developments in the area need to be
• The Panchayati Raj Institutions were re-
drawn up. Plans also need to be drawn up for
sponsible for monitoring and reviewing the

Y
the regional, sub-regional, taluka (block) and
programme at district, block and village
settlement levels.

L
levels up to 2002-03. Under new HARYALI
While the use of legal and executive powers Guidelines the Panchayati Raj Institutions

EM
to provide necessary protection to the environ- would function as Project Implementation

C
ment should be made effective, far more reli- Agencies(PIA) for the Watershed Develop-
ance should be placed on people's action to ment Projects
achieve the desired results. The need for increas- • Keeping in view the problem of sand dune
ing public awareness about the environmental stabilization in 10 districts of Rajasthan,
I
issues and public participation is required. special projects would be taken up for three
AC N
activities namely sand dune stabilization,
3. Desert Area Development Programme
shelter belt plantation and afforestation.
D
The desert development programme aimed
at checking further desertification of the desert
4. Drought Prone Area Programmes (DPAP)
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areas and raising productivity of the local re- This programme was initiated in 1974. The
A
sources to raise the income and employment intent was to change DPAP from a relief and
levels of local inhabitants. employment oriented programme into one aimed
The programme had been implemented both at 'drought proofing' through adoption of an
in the hot and cold desert. The programme put inegrated area development approach which
emphasis on arresting desertification through sought to mitigate the impact of future droughts
activities which restore ecological balance, sta- by stabilizing both production and employ-
IA H

bilize sand dunes and facilitate soil and water ment. The programme was conceived as a long
conservation. Plantation of shelter belts, adap- term measure for resoration of ecological bal-
tation of water harvesting techniques and de- ance by conserving, developing and harvesting
velopment of pastures to sustain the livestock land, water, livestock and human resources.
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economy were some of the strategies followed The objectives of the programme are:
under the scheme. (i) To minimise the adverse effects of
drought on production of crops and
The major elements of the new strategy are: livestock and productivity of land, water
and human resources through
• Area development under the programme intergrated development of the natural
to be taken up on watershed basis only and resource base of the area and adoption
a watershed development project of about of approproate technologies.
500 hectares would be the field unit (ii) To conserve, develop and harness land,
for implementation over a period of four to water and other natural resources in-
five years. A watershed development project cluding rainfall for restoration of eco-
should cover a village, as far as possible. logical balance in the long run.
• However, in some sandy areas where it is DPAP is under implementation in 629 blocks
not physically feasible to demarcate a of 96 districts in 13 states. The total area covered
watershed, programme is to be implemented under this programme is about 5.54 lakh sq km.
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 5. Integrated Watershed Management overall development of the region around it. But
Intetrated watershed management as a pre- this policy of government failed to provide
venting measure plays a key role in moderating fruits of development to the nearby villages and
drought conditions. This approach ensures plan- regions.
ning on the basis of the total available water This unequal development of region widens
resources, conjunctive use of surface and the gap between have and haves and have not
groundwater, allocating priority for rational use thus leaded to regional disparity. An in Orissa
of water and also the preparation of a coordi- the area near the coastal plains are more devel-

E
nated plan. Thus, watershed management hold oped than the interiors. Similarly in Uttar
the promise conservation of land and water Pradesh west U.P. is more advanced economi-

Y
resources and their optimal utilization in reality. cally than the bundelkhand region irrespective
Under the National Watershed Programme for

L
of vast mineral resources. Thus regional dispar-
Rainfed Areas, a large number of watersheds ity can be natural (in terms of resources avail-

EM
have been established in different rainfed re- able) or can be manmade (unequal economic
gions of the country.

C REGIONAL DISPARITY
Regional disparity signifies the different
I
phases of development occurring in different
growth).
Government has proposed many incentives
and schemes for the development of backward
region but poor implementation mechanism
has further broadened the regional disparity.
parts of the country. After independence due to
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shortage of resources government implemented
D LPG era has further worsened the situation
trickle down theory for development in the because more developed regions has been able
country. This theory proposed that develop- to attract multinationals and FDI and underde-
ment at one place will automatically leads to veloped regions are left behind, widening the
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development of nearby regions i.e. if an industry gap and acting as obstacle in the field of
A
has been established in an area it will lead to inclusive growth. 
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C

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 11 NATURAL HAZARDS

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Y
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A disaster is a natural or man-made hazard Conservative plate margins are those where

EM
that causes significant physical damage or de- two plates slip past each other without any

C
struction, loss of life, or drastic change to the
environment. A disaster can be ostensively de-
fined as any tragic event with great loss stem-
ming from events such as earthquakes, floods,
I
catastrophic accidents, fires, or explosions.
collision. This process results neither in the
creation nor in the destruction of crust. Major
tectonic events associated with these plate
margins are rupture and faults along the con-
structive plate margins.
AC N
Some are discussed below: Indian Scenario
D EARTHQUAKE
Depending upon the frequency and inten-
sity of the earthquakes, the whole country can
S RO

be divided into three broad seismiligical zones.

A
Earthquakes are the main seismic hazards.
They affect at least 35 countries and kill directly 1. Himalayan Zone: The areas most prone to
more people per year, on average, than any earthquakes in India are the fold mountain
other hazard. All the phenomena related to the ranges of the Himalayan zone. The states
emergence and manifestations of earthquakes of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,
are called seismic. Uttaranchal, Bihar, the Bihar-Nepal border
and the north eastern states, especially
The term earthquake covers any vibration of Assam fall in this zone. The earthquake in
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the earth's surface brought about by natural this zone are primarily due to plate
causes. From the standpoint of tectonic, events tectonics. The Indian plate is pushing in the
creation and destruction of geo materials and north and north-east direction at an an-
movements of plate margins cause earthquake.
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nual rate of 5 cm subducting the Eurasian

There are three types of plate margins involved plate along the Himalayas. The Himalayas
in earthquake. have not yet attained isostatic equilibrium
Constructive plate margins are character- and are rising. The region along the
ized by continuous addition of geo materials as Himalayas where two plates meet is highly
there is constant upwelling of molten materials earthquakt-prone. This is known as the
from below along the mid-oceanic ridges. This zone of maximum intensity. The absence of
Nepal from the list of earthquakes shows
is also known as divergent plate's margin. Di-
that the whole of Himalayas are not dan-
vergent plates move in opposite direction.
gerous. The Himalayas between Mount
Destructive plate margins are those where Everest and Badrinath are almost peaceful.
two convergent plates collide against each other This patch of tremendously huge land-
and the heavier plate margin is subducted mass, having great heights and width rested
below the relatively lighter plate margin. This with perfect calm and peace. The patches
results in constant loss of crustal materials and towards and beyond this patch are, how-
cause earthquake of high magnitude. ever, very violent because of their hurried
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 movement. Areas north-eash of the arc and Raigad districts of Maharashtra and some
joining Mussoorie, Shimla, Kangra, parts of Gujarat. The areas that come under the
Dalhousie, Gulmarg and areas of Bihar, high seismic coefficient zone are situated in
Assam, south of south-east Nepal, Sikkim, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh ,
Bhutan, Arunchal Pradesh and western Uttranchal, northern parts of Bihar, north-
part of Nagaland, Manipur are susceptible eastern states, Kachchh region of Gujarat and
to high magnitude earthquakes. Andaman and Nicobar Islands. These regions
2. The Indo-Gangetic Zone: To the south of are highly susceptible to earthquakes.

E
the Himalayan zone and running parallel
Hazardous Effects of Earthquakes
it is the Indo-Gangetic zone. Most of the

Y
earthquakes striking this zone are of mod- It may be stated that the intensity of earth-
erate intensity of 6 to 6.5 on Richter scale. quakes and their hazardous violent contact are

L
Therefore, this zone is called the zone of set not on the basis of the magnitude of seismic
comparative intensity. The earthquakes

EM
intensity but defined on the basis of quantum of
along the foothill are of medium to high damages done by a specific earthquake to hu-

3.
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intensity. However, the earthquakes of this
zone are more harmful due to high density
of population in this area.
I
The Peninsular Zone: The Peninsular In-
man lives and property. An earthquake be-
comes jeopardy or disaster only when it knocks
the populated area. Occasionally the soft-shell
earthquakes on Richter scale administer ample
dia has presumably remained a stable land- damages by stimulating and multiplying other
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mass and only a few earthquakes have
D natural physical processes such as landslides,
been experienced in this region. This region floods and fire.
is, therefore, called the zone of minimum
Following are the main hazardous effects of
intensity. But severe earthquakes of Koyna
earthquake:
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(1967), Latur (1993) and Jabalpur (1907),

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have raised doubts about the seismic 1. Slope Instability and Landslides: The
stability of this landmass. While the Koyna impact created by earthquakes, especially
earthquake was caused due to excessive those in hilly and mountainous areas, which
loading of water in the Shivaji Sagar are designed of feeble lithologies cause
reservoir formed by damming the Koyna slope failure and in conclusion cause land-
River, the earthquake that hit Latur is slides and debris falls which damage settle-
supposed to be the result of plate tectonics. ments.
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The northward drift of the Indian Plate The occurrences of earthquakes during wet
had put pressure on the Tibetan Plate season in the hilly and mountainous regions
which caused pressure to mount at the
cause landslides even if the earthquakes are of
centre of the Indian platel, leading to earth-
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very moderate intensity. This is the reason that

quake. The earthquake of Jabalpur also
people notice earth tremors through landslides
occurred under similar conditions.
during wet season.
The country as a whole has been divided
The Peruvian earthquake of 1970 tells the
into zones by horizontal seismic coefficient iso-
story of disastrous tragedy caused by slope
lines. This coefficient varies from 0.01 to 0.08.
failure. The shocks triggered off the collapse of
The low horizontal seismic coefficient zone
ice cap seated on the Peak of High Mountain
(0.01-0.02) constitues the areas that are quite
secure from earthquakes. This zone is mainly called Huascaran in Peru. This enormous debris
spread over extensive parts of peninsular India fall buried many buildings and human struc-
Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan Areas having tures and killed about 25,000 people.
medium horizontal seismaic coefficient (0.04- 2. Damage to Human Structures: The prin-
0.05) are spread over the Satluj-Ganga plain, cipal damage emanating from earthquake
Godavari basin of Andhra Pradesh, Ratnagiri disaster are construction failure. Earth-
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 quakes inflict great damage to human struc- inches high. The tsunami wave may come
tures such as buildings, roads, rails, facto- gently ashore or may increase in height to
ries, dams, and bridges and thus cause become a fast moving wall of turbulent water
heavy loss of human property. several meters high.
3. Damages to the Towns and Cities: Earth-
Formation of Tsunamis
quakes have their worst effects on towns

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and cities because they have greatest den- (i) Undersea earthquakes
sity of buildings and large agglomerations

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of human population. Although tsunami may be caused by land-
slides, volcanic eruptions or even by the impact

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4. Loss of Human Lives and Property: The of a large meteorite falling on the ocean, most
destructiveness of an earthquake is deter- destructive tsunamis are generated by massive

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mined on the basis of human causalities in undersea earhquakes, occurring at depth less

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terms of deaths. It is not the magnitude than 50 km with the epicentre or fault line near
(intensity) of earthquake alone which mat- or on the ocean floor. A strong undersea earth-
ters as regards the human causalities but quake with magnitude greater than 7.5 on the
the density of human population and houses Richter Scale tilts and deforms large areas of the
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also matter in terms of human deaths and sea floor ranging from a few kilometeres to 1000
loss of property.
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kilimetres and even more. As the sea floor is
5.
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Severe Floods: A possible disaster is flash
flood. Severe floods are also caused because
of blocking of water flow of rivers due to
tilted or deformed by the tectonic earthquake
(earthqjake associated with the earth's crustal
deformation), the sea water above is displaced
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rock blocks produced by severe tremors on from its equilibrium position. Waves are formed
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the hill slopes facing the river valleys. Some- as the displaced water attempts to regain its
times the blockade of rivers is so immense equilibrium under the influence of gravity. It is
that even the course of the river is changed. this vertical movement of the entire water
coulumn that generates destructive tsunami
6. Tsunamis: The seismic waves caused by
waves.
the earthquakes travelling through sea
water, generates high sea waves and cause The displacement of sea floor, and occur-
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great loss of life and property along the rence of an earthquake and formation of tsuna-
coastline. The Kutch earthquake of 1819 mis can best be explained on the basis of plate
generated strong tsunamis which caused tectonics. When two converging ligthospheric
very high sea waves, which submerged the plates come closer together heavier plate is
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coastal area and inflicted great damage to thrust under the lighter plate and displacement
ships and country made boats of the fish- of the crust takes place at the subduction zone.
ermen. The land area measuring 24 km in A fault is created and an earthquake occurs,
length was raised upward because of tec- giving rise to tsunamis.
tonic movement. Tsunami havoc occurred According to Law of Conservation of En-
on December 26, 2004 in Indian Ocean is ergy, energy cannot be created or destroyed but
the fourth largest in the world since 1900. can be transferred from one form to another.
It caused thousands of death and devasta- Thus the potential energy that results from
tion in south east Asia. pushing water above the mean sea level is
transferred to kinetic energy that initiates the
TSUNAMIS horizontal propagation of the tsunami waves.
A tsunami is a series of ocean waves gener- It must be noted that a tsunami is usually not
ated by sudden displacements in the sea floor, generated if the sea floor movement is horizon-
landslides, or volcanic activity. In the deep tal. Besides,not all undersea earthquakes create
ocean, the tsunami wave may only be a few tsunami, as it depends upon the nature and
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 degreee of displacement of seawater column. It (iv) Meteorites and Asteroid
is only the vertical displacement of the seawater There is a potential danger of tsunami being
due to abrupt, jerky movements of fault blocks formed by the fall of meteorites and asteroids in
on seabed that gives birth to tsunamis. Once the ocean. Researchers in California have devel-
formed, the monstrous waves soon begin their oped a computer simulation depicting the ocean
journey towards coastlinel ringing the bells of impact of asteroid 1950 DA, a gigantic space
doom the nearest.

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rock that would be very close to the earth in
(ii) Landslides 2880. Although the possibility of such an impact

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is very remote, the computer model definitely
Tsunami waves are also generated by dis-
gives the researcher an insight into the destruc-

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placement of seawater resulting from landslides
tive power of tsunami caused by near-Earth
as well as rock falls,icefalls etc. Construction object. Some of the meteorites have been un-

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work of an airport runway along the coast of comfortably close to the earth and could wreck

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Southern France in the 1980s caused an under-
water landslide. This triggered the destructive
tsunami waves in the harbour of Thebes. Un-
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derwater landslides may also occur when a
strong earthquake shakes the sea floor, thus
havoc in different forms including tsunamis.

Propagation of the Tsunamis

Tsunamis consist of series of very long waves
which travel outwards on the surface of the
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froming tsunamis. These waves rapidly travel ocean in all directions away from their place of

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away from the source due to dissipation of
energy, and create havoc in the nearby coast-
lines.
origin. 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 high
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speed (say 500-800 km per hour), almost as

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(iii) Volcanic Eruptions
much as much as the speed of a jet aircraft.
Whenever a violent volcanic eruption takes Their wavelength is very long which often
place under the sea, it causes sudden displace- exceeds 500-700 km. However, the amplitude of
ment of a large volume of seawater and tsunami tsunamis in deep sea is very low and rarely
waves are formed. Similarly, when the roof of exceeds 1 metre. Physically they propagate as
a volcano collapes that has a large empty long waves with speed given by
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magma chamber owing to continuous flow of (Water depth × gravitation acceleration)1/2

lava, a crater sometimes as large as one kilometre
Since the tsunamis have very long wave-
in diameter is formed. As the seawater gushes length and very low amplitude, in deep ocean,
into this crater, the water columb of the sea is they cannot be seen or detected from the air.
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distrubed which gives rise to tsunami waves. Therefore, passengers on boats cannot feel or
One of the largest and the most destructive see the tsunami waves as the killer waves pass
tsunami ever recorded was generated on Au- by underneath at high speeds. It may only
gust 26, 1883 after the explosion and collapse appear as a gentle rise and fall of the sea. Thus
tsunamis are always deceptive and are able to
of the volcano of Krakatoa in Indonesia. This
conceal their killing capacity in the deep water
explosion generated waves with a towering
of open area. For example, the Great Sanriku
height of about 40 m, that wrecked havoc on the tsunami, which struck Honshu in Japanon June
coastal areas along the Sunda Strait in both the 15, 1896 was completely undetected by fisher-
islands of Java and Sumatra killing more than men as its deep water height was only about 40
36,000 people. It is believed that the destruction cm. A monster in disguise, this tsunami trans-
of the Minoan civilisation in Greece in 1490 B.C. formed into huge waves when it arrived on the
was caused by tsunamis which were formed by shore and ravaged 275 km of coastline killing
the explosion of the volcano of Santorin in the 28,000 people. So from the sky tsunami waves
Aegean Sea. cannot be distinguished from ordinary ocean

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 waves. But beneath, a tremendous amount of energy is dissipated back to open ocean. This
energy lurks. Since the rate at which the wave generates particular type of waves called 'edge
loses its energy is inversely related to its wave waves' that travel back-and forth parallel to the
length, tsunamis not only propagate at high shore. Sometimes tsunami causes the water to
speeds, they can also travel great transoceanic recede, exposing the ocean floor.
distances with limited energy losses.
Tsunamis undergo a lot refraction on the
As the tsunamis leave the deep water of the shore. Refraction of tsunamis depends upon
open ocean and travel towards the shallow water depth and configuration of the sea floor

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water, they are transformed in two ways. Firstly near the shore. The process of refraction con-
their speed is reduced considerably and sec-

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verges a part of energy of the tsunami waves to
ondly they attain emormous height often particular area on the shore. So on reaching the

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exceeding 10 metres and occasionally may reach shore, the presence of coral reefs (fringing or
30 metres. barrier reefs), bays slope of the beach and other

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Since the speed of the tsunami is related to undersea features may modify the tsunamis.

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the water depth it diminishes in shallow water.
Fricitional force of lthe sea bed also plays its part
in reducing the speed of lthe tsunami. Thus the
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initial speed of 50-60 km per hour near the
Effect of Tsunamis
Tsunami pose serious danger to the inhab-
itants of the coastal areas. They attack the sea
coast. When the tsunami finally reaches the shore as gigantic waves moving with great
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shore it may appear as a series of breaking
D force, appearing without a warning and hitting
waves. The successive waves stack up onto each the coastline like a water bomb. Loaded with
other forming a pile of waves due to which the enormous energy, the killer waves wreck havoc
tsunami waves get compressed near the coast. by flooding hundreds of metres inland, past the
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typical high water level. They flatten houses

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Consequently, the wavelength of the tsunami
waves is shortened and the wave energy is and wipe out villages, uproot electric poles,
directed upwards. This makes the wave grow throw cars into swirling water and toss boats
in height. Since the total energy of the waves ashore all in mad fury, and finally drag thou-
remains constant (Law of Conservation of En- sands of hapless victims out to sea as they
ergy), the height of these waves increases dan- recede. Large rocks weighing several hundred
gerously. This is also known as 'shoaling' effect tonnes and other debris can be moved hundreds
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because it transforms a seemingly harmless of metres inland by a tsunami. Tsunamis can

wave that was almost imperceptible in deep even travel up rivers and streams that lead to
water into and incredibly dangerous wall of the ocean.
water on the shore. So if the amplitude of the
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FLOODS
'tsunami' wave have been just one metre or even
less in the deep water, it grows into a mammoth Flood directly means submerging of exten-
30-35 m wave when it sweeps over the shore. sive land area with water for several days in
That is why tsunami waves smash into the continuation. Infact, flood is characteristic of
shore with devastating impact of a water bomb. physical environment and thus is a component
The maximum height reached by a tsunami of hydrological cycle of a drainage basin.
on the shore is called the run up. This is the Floods are very much associated with allu-
vertical distance between the means sea level vial rivers draining extensive flood plains. About
surface and the maximum height reached by 3.5 per cent of the total geographical areas of
the tsunami waves on the shore. Generally the the world are covered by floodplains that give
tsunami run-up over a metre is considered habitation to more than 16 per cent of the world
dangerous. After run up, a part of tsunami population.
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 Causes of Floods the sediment load of the rivers. Increased
sediment load causes siltation of riverbeds
Floods have become highly complex since
and filling of the valleys. This process re-
the floods are the responses of both natural and
sults into gradual rise in the riverbeds and
anthropogenic factors. Their relative nature
decrease in the cross sectional areas of the
varies from place to place. Among the impor-
tant factors are: river and hence reduction in the water
accomodating capacity of the river.

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1. Prolonged high intensity rainfall: Heavy
rainfall for long period in continuation is 4. Blocking of free flow of the rivers be-

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the root cause of river floods. Heavy rain- cause of enormous debris: Blocking of
natural flow of the rivers by landslides or

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fall in the upper catchment areas of the
concerned river causes sudden increase in other natural factors or anthropogenic fac-

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the volume of water downstream. This tors causes sudden severe flash floods in
the downstream section of the rivers.

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causes overtopping of river bank by enor-
mous volume of water and consequent 5. Anthropogenic activities: Such as building
inundation and flooding of flood plain activities, urbanization, channel manipula-
areas. Heavy spell of rainfall in arid and tion through diversion of the river's course,
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semi-arid areas where the rainfall is scant, construction of bridges, barrages and res-
low and infrequent causes flash floods ervoirs, agricultural practices, land use
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because such areas have poor natural drain-
changes etc. are also responsible for the
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age systems and existing rivers and streams
are unable to accommodate enormous vol-
ume of water caused due to huge volume
flood.
As urbanization is increasing, extention in
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of runoff resulting from high intensity rain- the pucca ground cover through the construc-
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fall during occasional rainstorms. tion of building, courtyards, roads, pavements
2. Meandering courses of the river: Highly etc. are the natural out come. It increases the
meandering courses of the rivers impede surface runoff and therefore dimension and
the usual discharge of water and thus the magnitudes of floods also widens because ex-
velocity is reduced that lag the passage of tension in the pucca ground reduces infiltration
water resulting into stagnation of water of rainwater significantly and increases surface
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which causes flood in the meandering runoff considerably.

valley.
The rainwater resulting from torrential rain-
3. Deforestation: Large-scale deforestation in fall is quickly disposed off through the city
the upper catchments is perhaps the most
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storm drains to nearby streams and thus the

important anthropogenic factor of the river volume of river water is increased, causing
floods. Large-scale deforestation decreases floods. Besides obstruction of river flow due to
infiltration capacity of the land and conse- bridges across the rivers, silting of river beds due
quently increases surface runoff. Dense
to pouring of wastes and garbages from the
vegetation allows maximum infiltration of
nearby urban centres, gradual encroachment of
rainwater into the ground because rain-
human settlements towards the channels and
drops are intercepted by forest canopy and
lowlying areas, filling of 'nallas' (natural urban
thus reach the ground slowly through the
leaves, branches and stems of trees. In the drains), constuction of new roads and bridges
absence of forests and other vegetarian etc, are also significant factors, related to urban-
covers, rain drops strike the ground surface ization, causing floods.
directly and in case of heavy downpour the 6. Others: Apart from the above mentioned
rainfall exceeds the limit of infiltration. factors few causes are cyclone, topographi-
Increased surface runoff also accelerates cal factor of the regions, tides, level of the
the rate of soil erosion and thus increases ground water, etc.
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 Flood Prone Areas In Uttar Pradesh flood is frequent in the
eastern districts, mainly due to spilling of Rapti,
The Rashtriya Barh Ayog (RBA) or National
the Sharda, the Ghaghra and the Gandak. The
Commission on Floods, set up the Government
problem of drainage congestion exists in the
of Indian in 1976, provided statistical evidence
western parts of Uttar Pradesh, particularly in
of flood problem in the country. The commis-
Agra. Mathura and Meerut districts. The ero-
sion took the maximum area affected by floods sion is experienced in some places on the left

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ina state in any one year, as its flood prone are bank of the Ganga and on the right banks of the
ans added up the flood prone areas of all the

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Ghaghra and the Gandak. In 1998, floods
state to get the flood prone area of the country. occurred in many parts of the country including

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This proved to be erroneous method andit Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi and West
underestimates the severity of the problem. This Bengal. However, Uttar Pradesh received most

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is due to the fact that there is no guarantee that serve blow and the Gorakhpur divisions was the

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floods in any year will affect only those areas worst hit area.
which were never flooded before. Yet the com-
mission found that the country's flood prone In Bihar the floods are largely confined to
area increased from 25 mha in 1960s to 34 mha the northern part of the state where occurrence
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in 1978. At present 40 mha or one eights of the of floods is almost an annual feature. The rivers
such as the Burhi Gandak, the Bahagmati and
total land area of the country is assessed to be
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flood-prone. This shows that there has been a the Kamula and other smaller rivers of the

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rapid increase in he flood-prone area of the
country. A glance at Figure will show how the
flood prone areas are distributed. It is estimated
Adhwara Group, th Kosi in the lower reaches
and the Mahananda spill over their banks
causing considerable damage to crops and dis-
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location of traffic.
that over three-fourth of the total damage done
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to crops and property is in the plains of North- Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are the worst flood
ern India comprising Punjab, Haryana Uttar affected states and account for over one-third of
Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam. The the flood prone area of the country.
geographical distribution of floods prone areas In West Bengal the southern and the central
in India is as under. parts are flooded by the Mahananda. The
Bhagirathi, the Ajoy, the Damodar etc. due to
The Ganga River Region
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an inadequate capacity of river channels and

In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the mighty tidal effect. There are occasional floods caused
Ganga receives a large number of tributaries by the Damodar river even after the construc-
such as the Gomati, the Ghaghra, the Gandak tion of four dams and a barage under the
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and the Kosi from the left as well as the Damodar Valley Project. In 1956, about 25,000
Yamuna and the Son from the right. This brings sq km of area was flooded in Southern districts
huge quantities of water to these areas both fo West Bengal by this river. The Ganga delta
from the Himalayan region and from the Pen- is oftern flooded. There is also the problem of
insular India resulting the devastating floods. erosion of banks of some of the rivers and on left
River Kosi oftern shifts its course flooding new and right banks of the Ganga upstream and
areas and converting once fertile areas into downstream respectively of the Farakka
Barrage.
wasterland. The Kosi which means kosna
(curse), brings flood fury to vast area every year The Bhramaputra River Region
and is living upto its name. The Yamuna is an
important right bank tributary of the Ganga In the Brahmaputra basin, floods are almost
and floods large areas in Uttar Pradesh and an annual feature. The main cause of floods
Haryana. The Chambal and the Betwa meet the here is heavy rainfall amounting over 250 cm
Yamuna and add to the flooding capacity of the during the rainy season. Large amount of slit is
Yamuna. deposited here by the Brahmaputra and its

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 tributaties which makes the river channed shal- Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Tezpur etc. ate frequently
low and its capacity to carry large amount of flooded. It has been estimated that an area of
water is reduced. This results in flooding of the 30 lakh hectares out of 78 lakh hectares i.e.,
vast areas in and around the valley. Earth- about 45 per cent of Assam's total area is flood
quakes, which occur at frequant intervals, causes prone.
change in the level of river course and the flow
of water in the river is obstructed. This leads to The North West Rivers Region
erosion of large areas in this region. Landslides
The flood problem in this region is less

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are very common here. Huge rock material
serious as compared to the one prevailing in the
falling as a result of landslides acts as a tempo-
Ganga and the Brahmaputra river regions. The

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rary dam across the river and vast area is
major problem is that of inadequate surface
submerged under water. Later it gives way

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drainage which causes inundation and water-
under the pressure of water and floods lartge
logging over vast areas. In the Punjab-Haryana
area downstream. The Assam Valley is consid-

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Plain rain water in the waterlogged and poorly
ered to be one of the worst flood-affected areas
drained areas inundate large parts. Major and
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of India. The main causes of floods in th
Brahmaputra river system can be summed up
as under:
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(i) There are 34 major tributary rivers of the
minor rivers like the Satluj, the Beas, the Ghaggar
and the Markanda are in spate during the rainy
season and bring flood havoc to vast areas.
In Punjab floods are an annual feature
Brahmaputra. These bring huge quanti-
though intense floods are experienced at an
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ties of water and silt which cause floods.
interval of 4-5 years. The main reason of floods
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(ii) Very heavy rainfall exceeding 250 cm
per annum.
in Punjab is obstruction of poor natural drain-
age by man made features. Some of the major
(iii) Narrowness of the Brahmaputra valley canals (the Bhakra System) do not follow the
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with a maximum width of about 81 km natural flow and create obstacles. Secondly,
surrounded by hills. National Highway No.1 and the main railway
(iv) Heavy deposit of silt has raised the river line run almost perpendicular to the natural
bed considerably which has reduced the flow. Cultivationof area near river banks and
water accommodating capacity of the construction activities in low lying areas, espe-
cially in cities like Ludhiana, Patiala, etc. have
river.
together created obstacles in the natural flow of
(v) Occasional earthquakes, such as earth-
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water. In th recent years Punjab was hit by a

quakes of 1897, 1930, 1950 and 1984 severe flood in 1993. This flood affected 13 (out
have brought about changes in the course of 14) districts, 5,017 villages, 44 cities, 1,47,608
of the river. dwellings and a populaiton of 34.85 lakh.
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(vi) Very high population pressure, prima- Moreover, 76,000 tubewells were damaged and
rily due to migration form Bangladesh rail/traffic was badly affected.
and some other Indian states has forced Sometimes, floods are caused by the Ghaggar
people ot live in the flood prone area. river also. This river used to disappear in the
According to the reports of the Assam gov- sands of Rajasthan after flowing through Punjab
ernment, all the districts of the Brahmaputra and Haryana. In recent years, besides flooding
valley are inundated almost every year. Punjab and Haryana areas, it has become active
in Rajasthan terriotory also, occasionally sub-
Though most of the flood affected areas in
merging large areas.
Assam are rural in character, yet some urban
areas are also affected by floods each year. The In the north-western river basin covering
worst flood affected area of the Brahmaputra Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh,
valley is the world's largest river island, Majuli. the Satluj, the Beas, the Ravi and the Chenab
The urban areas of Assam, namely Dhubri, often flood large areas. Floods occur periodi-
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 cally in Jhelum and its trubutaries in the Kash- mingle and when in spate simultaneously, cause
mir Valley causing a rise in level of the Wullar considerable havoc. The problem is accentuated
Lake thereby submerging marginal areas of the when the flood synchronises with high tides.
lakes and sometimes threatening Srinagar and The slit deposited by these rivers in their delta
other areas along the river banks. Similarly the region raises the river bed and the rivers often
Chenab and its tributaries like Tawi are often in overflow their banks or break through new
spate endangering several densely populated channels causing heavy damage. Even the con-

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areas in Jammu and Akhnoor. In the year 2004, struction of Hirakud dam across the Mahanadi

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large parts of Himachal Pradesh was threat- has not made the lower area absolutely free
ened by a very severe flood in the Satluj river from flood. The flood of August-September

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due to large quantity of water released from the 1960 is an eye opener. The lower reaches along
Rakas Lake in Tibet. the Subarnrekha are affected by floods and

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drainage congestion.

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The Central India and the Deccan Region
There is uniform addition in the cycle, inten-
The southern states of Andhra Pradesh, sity, dimensions and magnitude of damages of
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Jharkhand, floods in India every year. There are numbers
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Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, the state of Gujarat
and parts of Madhya Pradesh are included in
of factor responsible for increasing flood in
India, like:
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this region. The floods do not pose a serious 1. Rapid rate of deforestation in the source

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problem in this region because most of the rivers
have well defined and stable courses. However,
the deltas of the Godavari, the Krishna and the
catchments of major rivers and their tribu-
taries and consequent acclerated rate of
runoff of rainwater and soil erosion.
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Cauvery suffer from occasional floods owing to

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2. Increase in sediment load of rivers.
the large scale silting and the consequent change
in the river courses. Indiscriminate felling of 3. Siltation and rise of river beds and marked
trees in the catchment areas of major rivers has reduction in the water accomodating ca-
complicated the flood problem. High tide at the pacity of the river valleys.
time of flood aggravates the flood situation. 4. Increasing urbanization.
Lower courses of the Narmada and the Tapi in 5. Germination of settlements in the flood-
Gujarat are also prone to floods.
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plains.
In Andhra Pradesh, the flood problem is 6. Construction of bridges, embankments and
confined to spilling by smaller rivers and the dikes etc.
submergence of marginal seas along the Kolleru
The nature and intesity of the flood prob-
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Lake. The Godavari and the Krishna rivers have

lems varies from one river system to another.
acute drainage problem and face floods particu-
The problem is the most acute, as also complex,
larly in the wake of cyclonic storms. The
in the Brahmaputra and the Ganga basin states
Godavari basin is particularly notorious for like Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West
recurring floods. Significant floods have been Bengal. The menace is also quite formidable in
reported in August, 1886, October 1900, Au- river systems of Orissa and the Central India.
gust-September 1907 and August 1953. In 1986, River systems in the Deccan, such as Mahanadi,
Godavari delta starts. Many big and small Godavari delta area and Krishna, also face
developmental schemes were affected. In East recurring flood menace.
Godavari, 16,69,000 people were affected. About
81 people and 1,000 cattle per shed, nearly In the North-West river systems, the prob-
1,43,000 hectare standing crop was destroyed. lem is relatively less severe though floods have
not been entirely eliminated. States like Punjab,
In Orissa, floods are caused by the Mahandi, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and even
the Brahmani and the Baitarni which have a Rajasthan have suffered due to floods in the
common delta where the flood waters inter- recent past despite the fact that these states
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 remained more or less free from major floods for runoff resulting from the high intensity
many decades. rainfall to the rivers. This can be achieved
The irony of the situation is that the flood by large-scale reforestation and afforesta-
damage is on the rise notwithstanding increas- tion in the hilly source catchment areas of
ing investment on measures for the prevention, those rivers. It will encourage more infiltra-
control and warning on floods. The reasons for tion of rainwater, reduction of the soil
this are not far to seek. Denudation of the erosion and hence reduce the sediment
catchment areas of rivers due to unabated load of the river.

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deforestation is the biggest single factor respon- B. The volume of water during flood stage of
sible for increased intensity as well as frequency a river may be reduced through a series of

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of floods. engineering devices such as construction of
flood-control storage reservoirs. Such stor-

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Flood Damage age reservoirs impound enormous volume
of water during flood period and thus these

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Lack of adequate maintenance of existing help in two ways e.g. firstly, these storage

C
water management structures due to paucity of
non-plan allocation is another significant factor
contributing to rising flood damage. At times,
even the loss to crops and property caused by
I
water-logging due to inadequate provision of C.
reservoirs reduce the volume of water of
the rivers and secondly, these provide water
for irrigation purpose.
Flood-diversion systems, which imply di-
drainage for rainwater is also reported as flood version of floodwater in lowlying areas,
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damage. Besides, a tendency has been noticed
D depression or artificially constructed chan-
of late, among the state governments to overes- nels bordered by artifical dykes so that the
timate the loss in a bid to get higher relief flood crests can be, reduced and the flood
assistance from the Centre. magnitude may be decreased.
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A
D. Embankments, dykes and floodwalls are
According to long-term data, the value of
used to confine the floodwater within the
the average annual damage inflicted by floods
valley or say within a narrow channel.
on crops, houses and public utilities in the
These engineering works include the build-
country is estimated at a whopping Rs. 980
ing of aritificial levees of earthern materi-
crore. On an average, about 7.75 million hect-
als, stones or even concrete walls.
ares get inundated by gushing flood water every
year, resulting in loss of 500 human lives and New Approach
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1,00,000 heads of cattle.

In the past, the flood menance was sought
Flood Control Measures to be tackled by strategies based on experience
and intuition with an overwhelming emphasis
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It may be pointed out that the floods are

natural phenomena and one cannot entirely get on physical measures. The objective was to
rid off them but their impacts can be minimised prevent gushing waters from reaching potential
by man's technological skills, better warning damage centres. This approach essentially helped
systems and positive human response to flood to tame and modify floods rather than really
warnings and various control measures adopted controlling them effectively. It relied chiefly on
by the governments. undertaking protective works like embarkments,
detention reservoirs, anti-erosion and bank
A. The inaugural step to control floods is to
stabilistion works. Multi-purpose river valley
look into their fundamental reason, which
projects were viewed as means of preventing
is the high intensity rainfall and resultant
floods besides producing power and utilising
surface runoff. Man cannot stop high in-
water for irrigation and other gainful purposes.
tensity rainfall and there is no need at all
to interfere with natural processes. What To tide over the problem of funds scarcity,
man can do is to delay the return of surface the Union government institutions try to secure
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 external assistance for some selected flood con- drinking water supplies and post-flood re-
trol projects. The Water Resources Ministry is liefs. In the last three years, the Planning
identifying the project, which will be placed Commission approved 22 flood manage-
before these institutions. Only major projects ment schemes, costing around Rs. 80 crore
will be selected for seeking external assistance. for implementation
1. Flood Plain Zoning: Flood plain zoning 3. Forewarning: Forewarning of flood can

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essentially involves regulation of economic indeed go a long way in preventing much
activity in flood plains. Experts view it as of the potential damage due to floods. A

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an effective way to deal with this problem country-wide flood forecasting and warn-
as flood plain zoning cuts across district ing system has successfully been estab-

L
and state boundaries. It is indeed capable lished by the Central Water Commission
of reversing the floods. The model flood (CWC) to cover most of the flood prone

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plain zoning bill was prepared and circu- inter-state rivers. The CWC is presently

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lated to the states by the centre way back
in 1975. Manipur lost little time in actually
enacting the legislation on flood plain zon-
ing and started implementing it in Decem-
I
ber 1985. No other state, however, did so.
issuing river stage forecasts in respect of
132 stations covering 62 river basins and
sub-basins. Besides, inflow forecasts are
being issued for 25 sites for operation of
certain major reservoirs, raising the num-
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The governments of Bihar and West Bengal ber of the total forecasting stations in the

D
are reported to be contemplating to bring
legislation for this purpose. Andhra
Paradesh has also accepted it in principle.
country to 157. Of these 109 stations are on
the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghana system
alone. There are 15 stations for west flow-
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In Madhya Pradesh some work is said to ing rivers, eight for river Krishna, three for
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have been done on demarcating flood zones river Mahanadi, nine for eastern rivers and
for several important towns and villages 13 for Godavari. Nearly 60 per cent of the
threatened by this calamity. The Centre is catchment areas of seven river systems,
still trying to persuade other states to fol- which cause extensive floods in U.P., Bihar
low suit. and West Bengal every year, lie in the
2. Non-Structural Measures: Encouraged by upper reaches in Nepal. These rivers in-
the success of nonstructural measures in clude Ghaghra (along with Sharda and
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minimising the loss of livestock and human Rapti), Gandak, Bagmati, Kamla, Adhwara
lives, besides other damage, the govern- groups of rivers, Kosi and Mahananda.
ment now seems inclined to use them in the Reliable flood forecasts for this region are
chronic flood-prone belt in the North not possible without data from their
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East.Of the total geographical area of 2.55 catchments in Nepal. An understanding

lakh sq. kms., comprising seven North- has been reached between the two coun-
Eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, tries to establish 45 hydrometeorological
Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, sites in Nepalese territory and to improve
Mizoram and Tripura, about 43.41 lakh 18 sites on the Indian side to make the
hectares have been identified as chronically forecasting network in this area efficient
flood-prone. The problem of course, is the for the benefit of both the countries.
most acute in Assam, which alone ac- A wireless communication network has been
counts for 38.2 lakh hectares. The created for collection of hydrological and hy-
Brahmaputra and Barak valleys are af- drometeorological data from about 550 hy-
fected by flood practically every year. drometeorological stations located in different
Apart from better upkeep and mainte- river systems throughout the country. The fore-
nance of existing works, the new approach casts, based on the analysis of this data, are
accords priority to flood proofing through communicated to the concerned administrative
raised platforms, assured communication, and engineering authorities over telephone or
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 through special messenger or other means de- on the crop yeields. It is the agricultural drought
pending on the gravity of the situation and that affects socio-economically the most and
vulnerability of the area. causes serious disruption to the nation's food
There is, however, still ample scope for supply.
futher improvements in the flood-warning net- Droughts may occur at any place and time,
work as also in the quality of forecasts. Indeed, causing from mild annoyance to deaths through
CWC seems to have been aware of it & has been famine. The severity depends on the intensity of
reviewing techniques of observation of hydro- the rainfall deficiency, duration of dry spell, size

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logical data & its transmission to the forecasting of the affected area and the extent of available
divisions. A few modernisation schemes have water resouces such as irrigation facilities. To

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also been taken up. describe the severity an index called "Palmer

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Drought Severity Index" is used. The index
DROUGHT ranges between +6 (very much wetter than

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Drought in simple terms is the dryness due normal) to -6 (extremely severe drought). The

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to deficient rainfall or shortage of water for an
extended period, a season, a year or several
years over a particular region. It can be defined
according to meteorological, hydrological and
I
agricultural criteria. Any substantial, prolonged
index measures the relative dryness of local
weather within successive time intervals. It
accounts for the differences between the actual
precipitation and the amount normally expected
to sustain evapo-transpiration, run-off and
deficit of rainfall qualifies as meteorological moisture storage in a given climate and location.
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drought. In India, the South-West monsoon
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describes the meteorological drought. The mon-
soon rainfall avove 19 per cent of the normal
Factors Promoting Droughts
India is the seventh largest country in the
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value is termed as excess rain. When the rainfall world covering an area of 3, 287, 782 sq. km.
A
departure is within 19 per cent it is known as With a huge population of about 100 crores, the
normal rain, below 19 per cent it is deficient rain entire population (about 28 percent urban and
and scanty if the rainfall is below 59 per cent. 72 percent rural ) is distributed over the four
There is no consensus over the threshold of the
well-defined regions viz. the Himalayan moun-
defcit or the minimum duration of the lack or
tain zone in the North, the Gangetic plains in
precipitation that makes a dry spell an official
the Cenre, a desert in the West and a peninsular
drought. The term drought hinges on the soci-
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plateau in the South. The rural population is

etal expectations and public perception that
scattered over 5,55,137 villages out of which
availabe water is too meagre to sustain normal
about 2,31,000 are defined as problem villages
activities.Thus, the meteorological drought is
only a representation of the rainfall distribution where surface water is not available within a
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pattern and statistics. radius of 1.6 km or if available locally, is unfit

for consumption. About 68 percent of the sown
The hydrological drought is the manifesta- area is still dependent on rainfall. There is gross
tion of critically low ground water tables and variation in the rainfall distribution over the 35
noticeably reduced river and stream flow. It meteorological subdivisions in the country.The
involves the water availability and the offtake variation is such that there is about 118.70 cm
rates in normal reaquirement i.e. domestic, of rain in Cherrapunji (Meghalaya) and about
agricultural and industrial usages. The agricul-
10 mm or less rain in the desert part of West
tural drought refers to extended dry peiods in
Rajasthan. In all, about 16 percent of the coun-
which the lack of rainfall or the watersource
try is drought prone. The drought areas are the
results in insufficient moisture in root zone of
arid, semi arid and dry subhumid areas of West
the soil causing adverse effects on cultivated
Rajasthan, Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutch,
vegetation. The agricultural drought is the im-
Marathwada, Telengana, Rayalseema, Bihar and
pact of meteorological and hydrological droughts
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 some parts of Orissa (Koraput distircts). whole process gradually spreads usually ellip-
The major factors responsible for the droughts tically, bringing more and more land under
in India are deficient rainfall, demographic desert conditions. Thus, the impacts of the
pattern, poor water management strategy, in- drought cannot be assessed on the basis of the
discriminate exploitation of the ground water economic loss alone. The social and the ecologi-
by the industries and the agricultural sectors cal/environmental damges are irreversible, so
their impacts remain for years together (like the

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and large scale deforestation for various pur-
poses. The meteorological causes of drought great Bengal Famine).

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vary according to the climate of the affected
region. In the monsoon blessed areas like our Droutht Prone Areas

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country, most of the annual rainfall (about 70- A drought prone area is defined as one in
80 percent) is received in a single rainy season.

EM
which the probability of a drought year is
The rainy conditions failing to make an incur-

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greater than 20 per cent. A chronic drought
sion into the interior of the continent is
prone area is one in which the probability of a
responsible for diminished accumulation of sea-
drought year is grater than 40 per cent. A
sonal precipitation.
Drought year occurs when less than 75 per cent
I
Impact of Drought of the normal rainfall is received.
AC N
In India, the hard core of recurring drought
Drought devastates crops and ushers in

D
difficult times leading to famines, malnutrition,
epidemics, forced migration, economic destabi-
lization, loss of lives and social conflicts. The
affects 16 per cent of the total area and 12 per
cent of the population, although the total aver-
age drought prone area may be as muchas 10
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primary effects of drought mainly stem from lakh sq km or about one third of the total land
A
lack of water. However, the secondary effects area of the country. The areas regularly haunted
follow resulting from the primary effects.The by droughts are those receiving low (generally
primary effects are loss of water for drinking below 75 cm annually) and highly unreliable
and hygienic use, loss of crops, livestocks and (varibility over 40 per cent) rainfall and with
other animals. Also there is a loss of employ- inadequate irrigation facilities. In all 77 districts
ment in agricultural and farm sectors. The receiving less than 75 cm of rainfall per annum
secondary effects start with the migration of are drought prone. This accounts for 34 per cent
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people in search of better grazing lands for their of net sopwn area. In addition, there are 22
heards or to the cities to seek alternate source districts in Maharasthra, Gujarat, Madhya
of income. If water, food and fodder are not Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar
supplied in time the condition further deterio- Pradesh accountinhg for 9 per cent of the
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rates to famine causing large-scale deaths.This cultivated area of the country which receives 75
further accelerates migration and spreading of to 85 cm of rainfall per annum. This rainfall is
epidemics. Long-term drought results in perma- of doubtful efficacy and as such these districts
nent changes in settlement patterns and the should also be considered vulnerable to drought.
social and living styles. However, the severest droughts have ocurred in
The drought disrupts the productive base of comparatively wet areas such as West Bengal,
the affected economy through damaging or Bihar and Orissa where rainfall is normally
destroying parts of its capital stocks. The failure plentiful enough to allow high density of popu-
of crops prompts large-scale migration that lation and where failure of rainfall can afffect
causes pressure on urban centres creating new milions of people.
demands and infrastructure. Among major
There some well defined tracts of drought
ecological effects are decreased scrub growth,
increase in erosion of soils and increased deser- which are briefly described as under.
tification. Among the ecological changes the (a) The desert and semidesert region covering
desertification cycle is of utmost concern. The tracts of drought formed by lines from
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 Ahemdabad to Kanpur on one side and romanticists and neo-Luddites. It is believed
from Kanpur to Jalandhar on the other. that traditional practices appear anachronistic
(b) The dry region lying in the leeside of the and seem to have outlived their utility. The food
Western Ghats upto a width of 300 km and irrigation requirements have increased
stretching eastwards up to 100 km from the manifold and these can in no way be met by
East Coast and reaching right upto the following age-old water harvesting practices.
southern tip of the peninsula. It covers an The arguments in defence of modern scien-
area of about 3.7 lakh sq km. tific development are quite potent. But as per

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(c) Outside the above mentioned two major the other side of the debate pressures of only
regions, there are isolated pockets which local population have seldom destroyed micro-

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experience frequent droughts and are subsistence systems. Unplanned development

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termed as drought prone areas. They are (i) practices have led to many afflictions. Dam
Coimbatore and Nellai Kottabomman dis- induced floods are very common. Dams have

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tricts in Tamil Nadu; (ii) Sourashtra and cost several times the budget, acres and acres of
land and devoured millions of people. These
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Kachchh regions; (iii) Jhansi, Lalitpur,
Banda, Mirzapur, Philibhit, Kheri and
Bahraich districts of Uttar Pradesh; (iv)
Palamau plateau of Jharkhand; (v) Purulia
I
district of West Bengal and (vi) Kalahandi
have even been constructed in water retentive
soil areas. The Narmada valley project is con-
sidered by many as India's greatest planned
environmental disaster. It is maintained that
region of Orissa, (vii) Large parts of every small, local and quicker scheme has been
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Uttranchal, and (viii) Jammu and
D sacrificed at the altar of mega projects.
Uddampur in Jammu and Kashmir. These Ever since the dawn of civilization, the
scattered pockets account for about one people in Indian civilization, have followed
lakh sq km. certain water management practices that dis-
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A
played ingenuity and self sufficiency. Science
Coping with Droughts and Centre for Science and Environment have
Two major points emerge from the sub- done extensive research on our traditional but
ject: [1] drought is more of a man-made disaster dying waterharvesting techniques. Traditional
resulting from a total mismanagement of our water storing and harvesting practices have
water resourcs, and [2] the debate over the issue been bailed. There is no other substitute of the
revolves around two extreme positions. The first water harvesting.
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propagates that big dams and irrigation projects

are badly needed to solve the present water
LANDSLIDE
crisis and the second searches for answers in In recent decades it has become fashionable
our traditional rainwater harvesting techniques to begin discussions of landslide hazard with
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of domestic and agricultural purposes. dramatic descriptions of the devastation achieved

It is argued by the supporters of modern by catastrophic failures involving the collapse of
techniques of development that large develop- large volumes of rock, usually in mountainous
ment projects such as dams and hydropower areas. The three most quoted catastrophes are:
ventures are a precondition to growth. Big dams the Vaiont Dam disaster in the Italian Alps
have brought prosperity to many a parched (1963), when 250 × 106 m3 of rock slid into the
areas. These have been a source of power and impounded lake causing huge waves up to 100
water. Even the green revolution owes its suc- m high, to overtop the dam and drown 2600
cess to large development ventures. However, people in the valley below, the Huascaran rock
many traditionalists feel that the revolution has avalanche in the Peruvian Andes (1970), when
been instrumental in causing vulnerability to part of the ice-cap on the northern peak of
droughts. In fact, those who oppose the so- Nevadas Huascaran (6654 m) collapsed, caus-
called modern development are labelled eco- ing 20,000 to 25,000 people dead and the huge
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 Mayunmarca rockslide, also in the Peruvian slide which wholly ravaged the upper part of
Andes (1974), when 1000 × 106 m3 of moving the township of Nainital in 1980.
material killed 450 people. The existence of such If the rocks are porus and shattered, they
high-magnitude low-frequency events under- will naturally become saturated with water.
line the potential significance of the land slide Their shear strength will consequently be less,
threat to developmental issues and undoubtedly so that the driving force will overwhelm them
poses very severe problems in terms of hazard

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leading to perceptible sliding. Thus the degree
management. of fracturing or jointing has a strong influence

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As a consequence, the main problems to be upon the shear strength of rocks.
overcome with respect to minimising landsliding

L
Earthquake shocks, particularly those of
are: shorter duration, acceleration of ground mo-

EM
(a) the need to heighten the perception of tion, tilt of the slope, modify the system of forces
in a manner that driving forces get the upper

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development planners as to the nature,
scale, distribution and causes of land slid- hand. Thus the seismic shocks are the biggest
ing and the significance and spatial varia- triggering factor. Extensive landslides caused by
tion of landslide hazard; the 1950 earthquake in eastern Arunachal
I
(b) the need to increase awareness as to the
Pradesh, and by the 1934 North Bihar earth-
quake bear eloquent testimony to this fact.
range of adjustments (both structural and
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otherwise ) that can be adopted to amelio- The slope angle greatly influences the strength
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rate the problem;
(c) the need for landslide management to be
of the driving force-the steeper the slope the
greater are the chances of its failure. Erosion
and excavation make slopes steeper and thus
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incorporated as an element of development

A
create conditions conductive to slope failure. On
planning in those areas prone to slope the Hardwar-Badarinath highway, the 30 m
instability; and wide and chronically active Kaliasaur landslide
(d) the necessity of developing and refining is a result of combined action of rushing water
rapid and meaningful landslide hazard of the Alaknanda (toe erosion) and road cutting
evaluation practices for areas which lack entailing formation of steep and high wall of the
the benefit of comprehensive geological cut.
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and geomorphological base-line informa- The addition of weight on the slope like the
tion. dumping of debris or wastes and the construc-
tion of heavy structures (dams, reservoirs, etc.)
Causes of Mass-Movement increase the intensity of the driving force and
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The following causes of mass-movements reduces the slope stability. In the townships of
are recognised. Absence of surface drainage Shimla and Nainital, the deposition of debris
and existence of channels of openings for seep- produced from the excavation for building foun-
age from internal sources greatly promote slope dations and for roads, and construction of
failure. This explains the frequent occurrence of multistoried concrete structures have apprecia-
landslides during or after heavy or prolonged bly changed the balance in favour of the driving
spells of rainfall. However, rainfall duration force, leading to creep movements as evident on
and intensity alone are not a major factor. In the slopes of Lakkar Bazar (Shimla) and Sher-
Nepal the groundwater table comes within one ka-danda(Nainital).
metre of the surface, the consequent heavy rains
produce landslides. The reversal of this phe- Landslides in India
nomenon, such as withdrawal of water from In mountain regions such as the Himalaya
reservoirs, may also cause landslides, owing to and the Nilgiri, the problem of hillside instability
the change in the balance. An example of is very serious. The occurrence of landslides is
rainwater-induced mass-movement is the land- particularly common in geodynamically sensi-
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 tive belts, i.e., zones and areas repeatedly rocked vibrations generated by movements of heavy
by earthquakes and affected by other neotectonic vehicles, and human interference. As a result,
activities. The Darjeeling Himalaya, for example, these 5 to 20-km wide belts in the Kumaun
recorded more than 20,000 landslides in one Himalaya are marked by almost continuous
day in vulnerable belts. The principal factors fringes or aprons of gigantic fans and cones of
that initiate or trigger mass-movement are: (i) landslide debris, both ancient and recent. Most
heavy and prolonged rainfall, (ii) cutting and of the ancient landslide cones are comouflaged
deep excavations on slopes for buildings, roads, by thick vegetation. The situation is particularly
severe along the MBT, registering neotectonic

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canals and mining without appropriate dis-
posal of debris, and (iii) earthquake shocks and movements.

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tremors. All these factors operate in the Hima- Landslide Zones in the Western Ghat: In
layan region and in the Nilgiri belt overlooking western India landslides are common along the

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Karnataka and Kerala. In every slope, gravity- Western Ghat on the steep (600 m) slopes
induced shear stresses exist which increase with overlooking the Konkan coast. The Ghat scraps

EM
the slope height, slope inclination and unit expose a succession of vesicular basalts

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because of thermal expansion and contraction,
freezing and thawing, shrinkage and swelling
and by action of other agents of weathering.
When the shearing stresses build up to a level
I
that exceeds the shearing resistance of the slope
interbedded with volcanic ash, red boles and
agglomerates-the dense basalts forming the
scraps and the ashbeds with the gentler slopes.
The mass-movements are generally confined to
the plastic and semiplastic 20 m thick overbur-
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along the most vulnerable, critical or the weak-
D dened material that has accumulated on the
est surface, a landslide takes place inducing gently sloping (100 m) vesicular lava and
downward and outward movement. When volcaniclastics. The movement takes place due
supplemented by seismic activity, they could be to loss of shear strength at the interface of the
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very serious. volcaniclastics or bed boles with the lavas as

A
and when rainwater infiltrates. The rainfall is
Landslide Zones vey heavy (>300 cm/yr) in this belt. Steeply
inclined shear faults and vertical joints provide
Landslide Belts in Kumaun Himalaya: In easy access to the water, which triggers land-
the Himalayan region the zones of the Main slides. The landslide scraps are 60 to 180 m
Boundary Thrust (MBT) in the southern front along the Koyna dam, the frequency of earth-
and the Main Central Thrust (MCT) in the quake occurrence (M 2 to 5) has increased,
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interior are two exteremely vulnerable land- especially in the Ratnagiri district, thus creating
slide-prone zones. The MCT separating the favourable conditions for landsliding.
Great Himalayan ranges from the populated
Lesser Himalayan terrain had served as the South Indian Landslide Zones: In South
India landslides are common in the Nilgiri-
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plane along which the Lesser Himalayan

domain had slide under the Great Himalaya, Anamudi massif on the steep slopes of the horst
causing tremendous uplift of the latter and that was uplifted to its present height (>2600 m)
wholesale splitting, shattering and crushing of during pleistocene times. Demarcated by fault
the Lesser Himalayan rocks. Along the MBT, the scarps, the massif in its upper largely deforested
Indian plate along with its Siwalik front is part has been ravaged by large landslides. The
slipping under the Lesser Himalayan crustal plateau is characterized by a lateritic cap, and
plate. The shattered and highly deformed rocks so yields easily to the impacts of rain, which is
have been tightly folded and repeatedly split by very intensive.
thrust planes into multitudes of rock-slabs, some
of which are highly mylonitized or are in a Controlling Landslides
friable condition. In the MCT and MBT zones, As the principal cause of initiation or accel-
the weak rocks easily give way to onslaughts of eration of mass-movements is water, this agent
rains, shocks of explosions and earthquakes, has to be prevented from entering into the
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 affected area. It is not possible to prevent a To ensure further protection of the slope and
landslide from occurring but, it is certainly dislodgement of rootslips in the seed beds,
possible to minimize the hazard and damage asphalt emulsion (mulch) can be sprayed (at the
by taking timely preventive measures. By con- rate of 1/ liter/m2). The mulch eventually
structing an efficient drainage network and disintegrates into another fertilizers. The mulch-
making use of appropriate engineering prac- ing is done just before rainfall. In extreme cases,
tices of mass-movements, the damage can be plastic or latex stablilizer is sprayed after seed-

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minimized. Many landslides are preceded by ing. A much simpler and more pragmatic method

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creep movements over a long period of time. would be to mix the grass seed with a small
This natural warning system can be used to proporation of rapidly growing stemmy plants

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ensure that preventive and ameliorative mea- such as sorgum, which acts as a nurse crop.
sures are taken in time. Inoculation of seed with Rhizobium bacterial

EM
culture would ensure quick realization of the
Drainage Control and Dewatering Mea-

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desired results.
sures: The first step in a programme of slope
stabilization is to get rid of water- the agent of A number of grasses have been found useful
provocation-by dewatering the affected mass for protection of slopes, such as 'nara' (Arundo
I
and directing the water away from the land-
slide area. This is accomplished by constructing
donax), lemongrass, napier (Pennisteum
purpureum), kikiyu (Peninsetum clandestinum),
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an eaborate drainage network. All streams and 'gorda (Chrysopogon fulvus), C. Nepalensis,

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watercourses must be diverted around the crown
of the slide or the potentially hazardous area
through properly lined drains and ditches that
etc.-the choice depending on local conditions
including climate and soil composition. The
legume Pureraria hirsuta (P. Thunbergiana)
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have adequate gradient. The springs within the with deep roots has been found very promising.
A
area are entrapped and likewise diverted through It is planted in January and February.
pipes into the drains. The drains within the Slope Modification: The stability of the
affected area can be filled with gravel and slope can be increased by grading it -by con-
coarse sand. structing benches which not only reduce the
Construction of a drainage network is ac- slope but also serve as traps for falling, sliding
and creeping material so that downslope dam-
companied by levelling the ground surface to
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age is prevented. But the reshaping of a slope

eliminate all depressions where water can accu-
involves appropriate disposal of debris gener-
mulate and cause difficulties.
ated. Another method of stabilizing a slope is to
Vegetating Damaged Slopes: An effective reduce the load at the head of the landslide
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method of arresting erosion and protecting and/or strengthen the base by enlarging the toe.
damaged or exposed subsurface material is to
Retaining Walls and Buttresses: To pro-
cover it with a net of coir, jute or synthetic yarn
vide support at the base of threatened slope or
of about 1.5 cm to 2.5 cm opening, which will
solid mass and to prevent toe erosion, a variety
allow quick growth of vegetation, the area is of retaining walls can be constructed of concrete
fenced before the seed bed is prepared. The masonary or cribs. A buttress wall is a heavy,
netting prevents the soil from breaking due to low height structure at the base, providing
impacts of rain and wind, and allows unhin- safeguards against toe erosion. If free space is
dered vegetation growth. The soil is first seeded available, the wall is built a little away from the
with quick-growing local grass, the root slips toe and the intervening space filled with gravel
being dibbled 15-20 cm apart-root to root, row and other permeable material to allow drainage
taking care that no turfs or clumps are dibbled. of water. The free passage of water prevents
It is also admixed with an appropriate fertilizer buildup of water pressure inside the solid mass
or leguminous plant or organic manure to behind the wall. The retaining and buttress
promote quicker and richer vegetation growth. walls must be supplemented with weep holes
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 and drop channels, if these are to be effective exposed to nearly 10 per cent of the world•fs
and long lived. tropical cyclones. Of these, the majority have
their initial genesis over the Bay of Bengal and
Another very effective, fast and economical
method of preventing slope failure is the one strike the east coast of India. On an average, five
to six tropical cyclones form every year, of
adopted in deep cuts in the Tallahatti Channel
which two or three could be severe. More
of the Kalindi project, Karnataka. Prestressed
anchor pads are installed at the toe of the slope, cyclones occur in the Bay of Bengal than the
Arabian Sea and the ratio is approximately 4:1.
each anchor weighing one another by

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Cyclones occur frequently on both the coasts
crossbeams.
(The west coast - Arabian Sea; and the east

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CYCLONE coast - Bay of Bengal). An analysis of the
frequency of cyclones on the east and west

L
Cyclones are one of the natural hazards that coasts of India between 1891 and 1990 shows
affect India almost every year causing large loss that nearly 262 cyclones occurred (92 severe) in

EM
of lives and properties. A tropical cyclone can a 50 km wide strip on the east coast. Less severe

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be regarded as a large and tall rotating cylinder
of clouds containing enormous amount of water
and packing heavy winds. It is like a giant heat
engine held by the release of latent heat due to
I cyclonic activity has been noticed on the west
coast, with 33 cyclones occurringin the same
period, out of which 19 of these were severe.
Tropical cyclones occur in the months of
condensation of huge quantity of water vapour May-June and October-November. The cyclones
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drawn from the warm sea surface waters. The
D of severe intensity and frequency in the north
released latent heat warms up the air, the air Indian Ocean are bi-modal in character, with
lighter in that column rises up creating a drop their primary peak in November and secondary
in pressure near the sea surface. This gives rise peak in May. The disaster potential is particu-
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to rapid inflow of air making more warm and larly high at the time of landfall in the north
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moist air to rise and consequently more release Indian Ocean (Bay of Bengal and the Arabian
of latent heat over the place. Thus air rushes in Sea) due to the accompanying destructive wind,
from all sides and rises vertically up creating a storm surges and torrential rainfall. Of these,
rotating vortex. If the process continues for a storm surges are the greatest killers of a cyclone,
longer time, the pressure fall in that place could by which sea water inundates low lying areas
be very much below normal resulting in further of coastal regions and causes heavy floods,
growth of the tropical cyclone and strengthen- erodes beaches and embankments, destroys
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ing the winds. vegetation and reduces soil fertility.

The necessary conditions for the formation of Cyclones vary in diameter from 50 to 320 km
cyclones are: but their effects dominate thousands of square
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kilometers of ocean surface and the lower atmo-

(i) sufficiently large areas of ocean with sphere. The perimeter may measure 1,000 km
sell-surface temperature around26-27 de- but the powerhouse is located within the 100-
gree Celsius; km radius. Nearer the eye, winds may hit 320
(ii) depth of warm water, atleast 50 to 60 kmph. Thus tropical cyclones, characterized by
metres so that sufficient supply of warm destructive winds, torrential rainfall and storm
and moist air is ensured; and surges disrupt normal life with accompanying
the phenomena of floods due to the exceptional
(iii) initial rotation trigger should be pro- level of rainfall and storm surge inundation into
vided by some favourable meteorological inland areas. Cyclones are characterized by
condition. their devastating potential to damage struc-
The Indian subcontinent is one of the worst tures, viz. houses; lifeline infrastructure-power
affected regions in the world. The subcontinent and communication towers; hospitals; food stor-
with a long coastline of 8041 kilometre is age facilities; roads, bridges and culverts; crops
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 etc. The most fatalities come from storm surges storm surges, modern, and computer based
and the torrential rain flooding the lowland techniques are used in addition to conventional
areas of the coastal territories. Storm surges methods. Intensity forecasts are made by using
(tidal waves) are defined as the rise in sea level satellite techniques.
above the normally predicted astronomical tide.
IMD introduced a 4-Stage warning system
Cyclone warning and forecasting system in to issue cyclone warnings to the disaster man-

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India agers. They are as follows:

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Cyclone forecasts are provided through six- (1) Pre-Cyclone Watch
cyclone warning centers located at Kolkata,

L
Issued when a depression forms over the
Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam, Chennai,
Mumbai and Ahmedabad. These centers have Bay of Bengal irrespective of its distance from

EM
their distinct area wise responsibilities covering the coast and is likely to affect Indian coast in

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both the east and west coasts of India and the future. The pre-cyclone watch is issued by the
oceanic areas of the Bay of Bengal and the name of Director General of Meteorology and is
Arabian Sea, including Andaman & Nicobar issued at least 72 hours in advance of the
commencement of adverse weather. It is issued
I
and Lakshadweep.
at least once a day.
Cyclone warnings are issued to the All India
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Radio (AIR) and the Doordarshan for broad- (2) Cyclone Alert

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cast/telecast in different languages. Cyclone
warnings are also given to control room and
Crisis Management Group in the Ministry of
Issued atleast 48 hours before the com-
mencement of the bad weather when the cy-
clone is located beyond 500 Km from the coast.
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Agriculture, Government of India, who are It is issued every three hours.

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finally responsible for coordinating various ac- (3) Cyclone Warning
tivities of Centre and State Governments and
other agencies in respect of cyclone warnings. Issued at least 24 hours before the com-
Forecasts and warnings are simultaneously mencement of the bad weather when the cy-
communicated to the States and the Districts clone is located within 500 Km from the coast.
likely to be attached. Ports, airports and other Information about time /place of landfall are
indicated in the bulletin. Confidence in estima-
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user agencies also receive the forecasts and

warnings at the same time. tion increases as the cyclone comes closer to the
coast.
Cyclones are tracked with the help of INSAT,
powerful cyclone detection radars and conven- (4) Post landfall outlook
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tional meteorological observations including It is issued 12 hours before the cyclone

weather reports from ships. At present cyclone landfall, when the cyclone is located within 200
detection radars are installed at (i) Kolkata, (ii) Km from the coast. More accurate & specific
Paradeep, (iii) Visakhapatnam, (iv) information about time /place of landfall and
Machilipatnam, (v) Chennai, (vi) Karaikal on associated bad weather indicated in the bulle-
the east coast; and (vii) Goa, (viii) Cochin, (ix) tin. In addition, the interior distraction is likely
Mumbai and (x) Bhuj along the west coast. to be affected due to the cyclone are warned in
Present cyclone surveillance system in India is this bulletin.
such that no cyclone in the region will go
undetected at any time of its life cycle. Cyclone Warning Dissemination System
The important components of cyclone warn-
ings are the forecast of future path and intensity a) It is Designed by ISRO and implemented by
of a eye tone and the associated hazardous IMD in the mid-eighties, the CWDS is used
weather. For the preparation of future position all these years to disseminate cyclone warn-
(path) of tropical cyclones and for estimation of ings effectively.

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 b) Selective addressing (Separate messages for suitable infrastructure to mitigate the effects of
each district) is done by transmitting a cyclones in the coastal states of India in a
digital code followed by the actual warning sustainable way. The project was transferred to
message. National Disaster Management Authority
c) Cyclone warnings are generated in English (NDMA) in September 2006. The project has
and other local languages (Tamil, Telugu, identified 13 cyclone prone States and Union
Oriya, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati etc) Territories (UTs), with varying levels of vulner-
ability.
d) Though Radio/TV broadcast are for one

E
and all, the messages through CWDS can These States/UTs have further been classi-
be accessed only at centres equipped with fied into two categories; based on the frequency

Y
a receiver and addressed specifically for of occurrence of cyclones, size of population
and the existing institutional mechanism for

L
receiving the message
disaster management. These categories are:
e) CWDS is one-way communication system

EM
and will be complimentary to other systems • Category I: Higher vulnerability States i.e.

f)
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of cyclone warning dissemination. Facility
of acknowledgment is available in the
upgraded (Digital) version of CWDS
The present CWDS network covers 252
I
stations spread over coastal areas of mari-
•
Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Orissa, Tamil
Nadu and West Bengal.
Category II: Lower vulnerability States i.e.
Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala,
Daman & Diu,Pondicherry, Lakshadweep
and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
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time districts along the east and e west
coast
g)
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Through World Bank assistance Govt. of
Andhra Pradesh had installed 100 Digital
The key objectives of the project are:
• Reduction in vulnerability of coastal states
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CWDS receivers along Andhra Coast. For through creation of appropriate infrastruc-
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this purpose a digital up-linking station ture which can help mitigate the adverse
also functions at Chennai. impacts of cyclones, while preserving the
ecological balance of a coastal region.
National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project • Strengthening of cyclone warning systems
The National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project enabling quick and effective dissemination
(NCRMP) is a pioneer project drawn up by of warning and advisories from source/
district/sub-district level to the relevant
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Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government

of India (GoI) with the purpose of creating communities.



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