Chapter 6 Planning And Sustainable Development In Indian Context

Introduction To Planning

Planning is a process that involves thinking, formulating a scheme or programme, and implementing a set of actions to achieve specific goals. In the context of economic development, it moves beyond spontaneous or unplanned approaches.

Approaches To Planning

Planning for economic development can be approached in different ways:

• Sectoral Planning: Focuses on the development of specific sectors or branches of the economy. This involves creating and implementing schemes or programmes tailored to individual sectors such as agriculture, irrigation, manufacturing, power, transport, communication, education, health, etc. The aim is to improve performance and growth within these distinct areas.
• Regional Planning: Recognizes that economic development is rarely uniform across a country; some areas are more developed, while others lag behind. Regional planning adopts a spatial perspective, specifically targeting less developed or backward areas to reduce regional disparities and promote balanced development across different geographical regions.

India has adopted planning as a strategy for its economic development. Initially, after gaining Independence, the country implemented a system of centralized planning, with the Planning Commission at the national level responsible for formulating plans that guided development across the Centre, States, and districts.

However, India has since transitioned towards a more decentralized, multi-level planning framework, aiming for greater involvement of states and local bodies in the planning process. The Planning Commission was replaced by the NITI Aayog on January 1, 2015. NITI Aayog serves as a policy think tank, providing strategic and technical advice to both the Central and State governments, with the objective of fostering greater state participation in national economic policy-making.

Target Area Planning

Recognizing that relying solely on general sectoral development can accentuate existing regional inequalities, the planning process in India has incorporated approaches specifically focused on backward areas. This is known as Target Area Planning.

While resource availability is crucial for development, some resource-rich regions may still remain backward due to lack of technology or investment. Target area planning aims to address these specific regional imbalances.

Alongside target area planning, the Planning Commission also introduced the concept of target group planning, focusing on developing specific disadvantaged social or economic groups, such as small farmers or marginal farmers. Examples include the Small Farmers Development Agency (SFDA) and Marginal Farmers Development Agency (MFDA).

Some examples of programs implementing the target area approach include the Command Area Development Programme (for areas served by irrigation projects), Drought Prone Area Development Programme, Desert Development Programme, and Hill Area Development Programme. Special Area Programmes have also been designed to boost infrastructure in specific regions like hill areas, North-eastern states, tribal areas, and other backward regions.

Drought Prone Area Programme

The Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP) was launched during the Fourth Five Year Plan. Its initial objectives were dual: providing employment opportunities to people living in regions frequently affected by drought and creating productive assets within these areas.

Over time, the program's focus evolved. Initially emphasizing labor-intensive civil construction works, it shifted towards promoting irrigation projects, programs for land development, afforestation, grassland development, and the creation of essential rural infrastructure (electricity, roads, markets, credit facilities, services).

Reviews of DPAP's performance have indicated that its impact has largely been concentrated on developing agriculture and related sectors, with a significant focus on restoring ecological balance in drought-prone areas. Given that increasing population pressure often forces the use of marginal lands for agriculture, leading to ecological degradation, there is a recognized need to create alternative employment sources outside of agriculture in these vulnerable regions. Strategies also emphasize adopting an integrated watershed development approach at the local (micro) level to restore the ecological balance among water resources, soil, vegetation, and human/animal populations.

The Irrigation Commission in 1972 helped demarcate drought-prone areas based on criteria such as having less than 30% of cultivated area under irrigation. Broadly, these areas include the semi-arid and arid tracts of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Western Madhya Pradesh, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, the Rayalseema and Telangana plateaus of Andhra Pradesh, the Karnataka plateau, and the highlands and interior parts of Tamil Nadu. Areas like Punjab, Haryana, and northern Rajasthan, although prone to drought, have been significantly protected by the expansion of irrigation.

Hill Area Development Programme

The Hill Area Development Programmes (HADP) were initiated during the Fifth Five Year Plan. These programs covered specific districts identified as hilly, including all hilly districts of the then Uttar Pradesh (now Uttarakhand), Mikir Hill and North Cachar hills of Assam, Darjeeling district of West Bengal, and Nilgiri district of Tamil Nadu.

A later recommendation in 1981 proposed that all hill areas in the country located above 600 meters in height and not already covered under tribal sub-plans should be considered as backward hill areas requiring targeted development.

Development plans for these hill areas are formulated considering their unique topographical, ecological, social, and economic conditions. The primary objective is to harness the specific indigenous resources of these regions, such as developing horticulture (fruit cultivation), plantation crops, animal husbandry, poultry farming, forestry, and small-scale/village industries, in a manner suitable for the hill environment.

Case Study – Integrated Tribal Development Project In Bharmaur Region

The Bharmaur tribal area is located in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, covering Bharmaur and Holi tehsils. It was officially designated as a tribal area in 1975. This region is home to the 'Gaddi' tribal community, known for maintaining a distinct identity, practicing transhumance (seasonal migration with livestock), and speaking the Gaddiali dialect.

Bharmaur is geographically challenging, with harsh climatic conditions (freezing winters, heavy snowfall), a limited resource base, and a fragile environment. The region is spread over roughly 1,818 sq km, mostly between 1,500m and 3,700m above sea level, surrounded by the Pir Panjal range in the north and Dhaula Dhar in the south. The Ravi river and its tributaries drain the area, carving deep gorges and dividing it into four physiographic divisions: Holi, Khani, Kugti, and Tundah. Mean monthly temperatures range from 4°C in January to 26°C in July.

The population density is low (21 persons per sq km in 2011). Historically, the Gaddis faced geographical and political isolation, leading to socio-economic deprivation. Their economy is largely based on agriculture and sheep/goat rearing.

Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP)

The development process in Bharmaur began significantly in the 1970s after the Gaddis were recognised as a 'scheduled tribe'. Under the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974), Bharmaur was included as one of five Integrated Tribal Development Projects (ITDP) in Himachal Pradesh. The ITDP aimed to improve the quality of life for the Gaddis and reduce the development gap between Bharmaur and other parts of the state. The plan prioritized the development of transport and communications, agriculture and allied activities, and social and community services.

Impacts Of ITDP In Bharmaur

The ITDP has had significant positive impacts on the region:

• Infrastructure Development: There has been substantial development of infrastructure, including schools, healthcare facilities, provision of potable water, roads, communication networks, and electricity. However, the benefits of infrastructural development have been more concentrated in villages along the Ravi river in Holi and Khani areas, with remote villages in Tundah and Kugti still lacking sufficient infrastructure.
• Social Benefits: The project has led to considerable social improvements. Literacy rates have increased dramatically (female literacy rose from 1.88% in 1971 to 65% in 2011). The gender gap in literacy has narrowed, sex ratio has improved, and the incidence of child marriage has declined.
• Economic Changes: The traditional economy was based on subsistence agriculture and pastoralism (sheep and goat rearing). While traditional cultivation methods persist, there has been an increase in the cultivation of pulses and other cash crops over the past few decades. Pastoralism's importance has declined; only about one-tenth of households now practice transhumance. However, Gaddis remain mobile, with a significant portion migrating to areas like Kangra during winter for wage labor.

Sustainable Development

The concept of development is multi-dimensional and signifies positive, lasting transformations in the economy, society, and environment. Historically, the state of societies was largely shaped by their interaction with the environment, mediated by technology and institutions.

Evolution Of Development Concept

The understanding of 'development' has evolved significantly, particularly since the mid-20th century:

• Initially (post-WWII), development was often equated solely with economic growth, measured by increasing Gross National Product (GNP) and per capita income.
• In the 1970s, it was realised that economic growth alone didn't address rising poverty due to unequal distribution. The focus expanded to include "redistribution with growth" and "growth and equity".
• By the 1980s, the concept broadened further to encompass social well-being, improved living standards, access to health and education, equality of opportunity, and ensuring political and civil rights, reflecting a more holistic view of human well-being.

Emergence Of Sustainable Development

The concept of Sustainable Development gained prominence in the late 1960s and 1970s amid growing environmental concerns stemming from industrial development. Influential publications highlighting environmental limits and population impacts raised awareness and fear among environmentalists and the public.

In response, the United Nations established the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), chaired by Gro Harlem Brundtland. The commission's 1987 report, titled 'Our Common Future' (also known as the Brundtland Report), provided the widely accepted definition of sustainable development:

"Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

Sustainable development advocates for balancing the ecological, social, and economic aspects of development in the present while consciously conserving resources and opportunities for future generations, recognizing that humanity shares a common future.

Case Study Indira Gandhi Canal (Nahar) Command Area

The Indira Gandhi Canal (previously Rajasthan Canal) is one of India's largest canal systems, initiated in 1958. Conceived to bring water to the arid Thar Desert (Marusthali) of Rajasthan, it originates at Harike barrage in Punjab and runs parallel to the Pakistan border.

The total planned length is over 9,060 km, designed to irrigate a vast culturable command area of 19.63 lakh hectares. The project was constructed in two stages. Stage-I, covering districts like Ganganagar and Hanumangarh, has gently undulating terrain, with most area irrigated by flow. Stage-II, spread over Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jodhpur, etc., is desert land with shifting sand dunes and extreme summer temperatures. Stage-II includes lift canals, where water is pumped against the slope.

Irrigation was introduced in Stage-I in the early 1960s and Stage-II in the mid-1980s. Bringing canal irrigation to this dry region has dramatically transformed its ecology, economy, and society.

Environmental And Agricultural Impacts

The impacts of the canal project on the environment are both positive and negative:

• Positive: Availability of soil moisture, afforestation, and pasture development programs have led to the "greening" of the landscape, helping to reduce wind erosion and siltation of the canal system.
• Negative: Intensive irrigation and excessive water use, particularly in Stage-II, have resulted in twin environmental problems of waterlogging and soil salinity, threatening the long-term sustainability of agriculture in affected areas.

The introduction of canal irrigation has transformed the region's agricultural economy. Previously limited by soil moisture, the area has seen increased cultivated area and cropping intensity. Traditional drought-resistant crops like gram, bajra, and jowar have been replaced by water-intensive crops like wheat, cotton, groundnut, and rice. While this has led to tremendous increases in agricultural and livestock productivity initially, the associated problems of waterlogging and salinity pose significant challenges to the sustainability of agriculture in the long run.

Measures For Promotion Of Sustainable Development (In Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area)

To address the environmental degradation and ensure the long-term ecological and economic sustainability of the Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area, various measures have been proposed and need to be implemented:

1. Strict Water Management Policy: Implementing and enforcing policies for efficient water distribution and use, aligning with the original project design of protective irrigation in Stage-I and extensive irrigation/pasture development in Stage-II.
2. Restriction on Water-Intensive Crops: Generally discouraging or restricting the cultivation of crops that require large amounts of water. Promoting crops suitable for semi-arid conditions or plantation crops like citrus fruits.
3. Effective Implementation of CAD Programmes: Ensuring the effective execution of Command Area Development (CAD) measures such as lining of water courses (to reduce seepage loss), land development and leveling, and implementing the 'warabandi' system (equitable distribution of canal water among farmers).
4. Reclamation of Degraded Land: Undertaking measures to reclaim areas affected by waterlogging and soil salinity, restoring their productivity.
5. Eco-development: Promoting environmental restoration through afforestation, establishing shelterbelts (rows of trees to reduce wind erosion), and pasture development, especially in the fragile environment of Stage-II.
6. Financial and Institutional Support: Providing adequate financial assistance and institutional support (credit, training, extension services) to land allottees, particularly those from economically weaker backgrounds, to enable them to cultivate their land effectively and sustainably.
7. Diversification of Economic Base: Ensuring that economic sustainability is not solely dependent on agriculture and animal husbandry. Promoting the development of other sectors alongside agriculture to diversify the economic base and establish functional linkages between villages, agro-service centers, and markets.

Implementing these measures is seen as crucial for mitigating the negative environmental impacts of the canal project and ensuring a more sustainable path for development in the region.