Chapter – 6

Planning and Sustainable Development in Indian Context

In this post we have given the detailed notes of class 12 Geography Book 2 Chapter 6 (Planning and Sustainable Development in Indian Context) in English. These notes are useful for the students who are going to appear in class 12 board exams.

Chapter 6: Planning and Sustainable Development in Indian Context

Introduction

• Planning is a part of everyday life, involving thinking, formulating schemes, and implementing actions to achieve goals.  
• In the context of this chapter, planning refers to the process of economic development.  
• There are two approaches to planning: sectoral planning (development of specific sectors like agriculture, industry, etc.) and regional planning (addressing spatial imbalances in development).  

Target Area Planning

• Focuses on economically backward areas, which may or may not be resource-rich.  
• Economic development requires technology, investment, and resources.  
• To address regional and social disparities, the Planning Commission introduced target area and target group approaches.  
• Examples of target area programs include Command Area Development Programme, Drought Prone Area Development Programme, Desert Development Programme, and Hill Area Development Programme.  
• Target group programs include the Small Farmers Development Agency (SFDA) and Marginal Farmers Development Agency (MFDA).  

Hill Area Development Programme

• Started during the Fifth Five Year Plan, covering 15 districts in Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu.  
• In 1981, the National Committee on the Development of Backward Areas recommended that all hill areas above 600 meters not covered under tribal sub-plans be treated as backward.  
• Plans for hill areas consider their unique topographical, ecological, social, and economic conditions.  
• Focus on harnessing indigenous resources through horticulture, plantation, agriculture, animal husbandry, poultry, forestry, and small-scale village industry.  

Drought Prone Area Programme

• Initiated during the Fourth Five Year Plan to provide employment and create productive assets in drought-prone areas.  
• Initially focused on labor-intensive civil works, later shifted emphasis to irrigation, land development, afforestation, grassland development, and basic rural infrastructure.  
• Aims to restore ecological balance and create alternative employment opportunities due to population pressure and ecological degradation.  
• Integrated watershed development approach is adopted at the micro-level.  
• The basic consideration is the restoration of ecological balance between water, soil, plants, human, and animal populations.  
• In 1967, the Planning Commission identified 67 drought-prone districts.  
• The 1972 Irrigation Commission used the criterion of 30% irrigated area to demarcate drought-prone areas.  
• Drought-prone areas are mainly in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Western Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.  

Case Study: Integrated Tribal Development Project in Bharmaur Region

• Comprises Bharmaur and Holi tehsils of Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh, inhabited by the Gaddi tribal community.  
• Harsh climate, low resource base, and fragile environment have influenced the region’s society and economy.  
• The population is 39,113 (2011 census), with a low density of 21 persons per square kilometer.  
• The economy is based on agriculture and allied activities like sheep and goat rearing.  
• Development efforts began in the 1970s when Gaddis were included among Scheduled Tribes.  
• The tribal sub-plan was introduced in 1974, and Bharmaur became one of the five Integrated Tribal Development Projects (ITDP) in Himachal Pradesh.  
• The plan prioritized transport, communication, agriculture, allied activities, and social and community services.  
• Significant contributions of ITDP include infrastructural development (schools, healthcare, water, roads, communication, electricity) and social benefits (increased literacy rate, improved sex ratio, decline in child marriage).  
• Remote villages in Tundah and Kugti areas still lack sufficient infrastructure.  
• The traditional agricultural-cum-pastoral economy is shifting towards cash crops, but cultivation technology remains traditional.  
• Pastoralism is declining, with only one-tenth of households practicing transhumance.  
• Gaddis remain mobile, migrating to Kangra and other areas for wage labor during winter.  

Sustainable Development

• Development describes the state of societies and their processes of change.  
• Human-environment interaction depends on technology and institutions.  
• Development is a multi-dimensional concept, signifying positive transformation of the economy, society, and environment.  
• The concept of development has evolved over time.  
• In the post-WWII era, development was synonymous with economic growth (GNP and per capita income).  
• In the 1970s, the focus shifted to redistribution with growth and growth with equity.  
• By the 1980s, development encompassed social and material well-being.  
• The notion of sustainable development emerged in the late 1960s due to environmental concerns.  
• The Brundtland Report (1987) defines sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”  
• Sustainable development considers ecological, social, and economic aspects and advocates for resource conservation.  

Case Study: Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area

• One of India’s largest canal systems, previously known as the Rajasthan Canal.  
• Originates at Harike barrage in Punjab and runs parallel to the Pakistan border in the Thar Desert.  
• Total planned length is 9,060 km, irrigating 19.63 lakh hectares.  
• 70% of the command area is irrigated by flow systems, the rest by lift systems.  
• Construction occurred in two stages: Stage-I in Ganganagar, Hanumangarh, and Bikaner; Stage-II in Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jodhpur, Nagaur, and Churu.  
• Canal irrigation has transformed the region’s ecology, economy, and society, with both positive and negative environmental impacts.  
• Positive impacts include increased soil moisture, afforestation, reduced wind erosion, and siltation.  
• Negative impacts include waterlogging and soil salinity.  
• Agricultural transformation includes increased cultivated area, cropping intensity, and a shift towards water-intensive crops like wheat, cotton, groundnut, and rice.  
• Intensive irrigation has led to increased agricultural and livestock productivity but also waterlogging and soil salinity, threatening agricultural sustainability.  

Measures for Promotion of Sustainable Development

• The ecological sustainability of the Indira Gandhi Canal Project has been questioned.  
• To achieve sustainable development, measures are needed to restore ecological balance.  
• Proposed measures include strict implementation of water management policy, avoiding water-intensive crops, promoting plantation crops, effective implementation of CAD programs, reclamation of waterlogged and saline areas, eco-development through afforestation and pasture development, and providing financial and institutional support to land allottees.  
• Economic sustainability requires diversification of the economic base and functional linkages between villages, service centers, and market centers.  

Important Dates

• 1 January 2015: NITI Aayog was formed, replacing the Planning Commission.  
• Fifth Five Year Plan: Hill Area Development Programmes were initiated.  
• 1974: Tribal sub-plan was introduced, and Bharmaur was designated as an ITDP.  
• Fourth Five Year Plan: Drought Prone Area Development Programme was initiated.  
• 1967: The Planning Commission identified 67 drought-prone districts.  
• 1972: The Irrigation Commission introduced the criterion of 30% irrigated area for demarcating drought-prone areas.  
• 1987: The Brundtland Report, “Our Common Future,” defined sustainable development.  

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