Base Line Survey of Integrated Watershed Development (HILLS) Project(WORLD BANK) 1992, by B.K. Sikka, Ranveer Singh, C.S. Vaidya & D.V. Singh
Abstract: The watershed always comprises a combination of arable land, non-arable land and drainage lines but the proportion of each varies considerably. The non-arable land is generally forest, grass or waste land either naturally occurring or as consequence of mistreatment. Ownership of these various categories is either State, communal or private and the only consistent ownership category is for the arable land which is mostly private although the actual operation of it is under a range of tenurial systems. Despite, heterogeneity in land use categories and ownership watersheds are considered appropriate units for conceptualizing strategies and planning investments. The relevance of watershed concept extends beyond projects that are in some way entitled or classed as watershed development projects. Essentially all agricultural or land use project that are concerned with the hydrological cycle need to be composed on the basis of watershed concept.
A watershed is made up of the natural resources in a basin or a catchement area, especially the water, soil and vegetative factors. The comprehensive development of watershed so as to make productive use of all its natural resources and also protect them is termed as “watershed Management”. This includes land improvements, rehabilitation and other technical works as well as the human considerations. For every type of land development the programmes water is considered as the INTEGRATER. Higher economic development invariably brings about more use of water. Hence the proper use and conservation of water resource is an essential component of development. Water is the best index of Watershed Management that is, an area is properly managed for water, and then it is also likely to affect the efficiency of other resources. Therefore, water is an important element in Integrated Watershed development Projects. The fundamental problem which a large part of the world faces today is the rapidly increasing pressure of population on natural resources. Both human and livestock population are increasing at a rapid rate and thus creating immense pressure on natural resources. The economic activities of man disturb the ecosystem which causes great implication. Population pressure and present agricultural practices are resulting into deforestation over extensive mountain tracts and expansion of cultivable area by bringing marginal land (i.e. less suitable and mostly steeper slopes) under cultivation. Thus this leads to low agricultural productivity. Moreover, the depletion of vegetative cover gives rise to increasing siltation rate which not only adversely affects the hill topography but also causes many problems in the plain areas of the country. The loss of soil nutrients due to soil erosion is enormously more than the gains by way of increased cultivable area. It is very important to mention that the traditional farming and grazing practices intensified by population explosion in hill areas are not only damaging the hill economy but also the agriculture of Indo-Gengetic plains with alternating floods and droughts and thus affecting the whole economy.
