UPSC Mains 2016 GS Paper 1 Q15: model answer

Hiware Bazar in Maharashtra's drought-prone Ahmednagar district was a village of migrants in the 1990s. Through watershed work, a ban on borewells for irrigation and a grazing plan, it became one of India's most prosperous villages. Land and water decided its fate.

Miseries from poor management

• Droughts and crop failure leading to farmer distress and suicides.
• Floods from deforested catchments and encroached floodplains.
• Land degradation affecting about 30% of India's land (ISRO 2021 atlas).
• Groundwater depletion and contamination (arsenic, fluoride).
• Distress migration and malnutrition.

How effective management helps

• Watershed development raises groundwater and crop yields.
• Soil conservation: contour bunding, terracing and afforestation reduce erosion and keep land productive.
• Efficient irrigation: drip and sprinkler, Per Drop More Crop.
• Land use planning: protects floodplains and wetlands, reduces disaster losses.
• Crop planning: matching crops to water availability.
• Rainwater harvesting in villages and cities.
• Flood management: restoring wetlands and floodplains to absorb peak flows, as in the Kosi basin.
• Reclamation of saline and alkaline land, as in Haryana and Punjab, restores farm income.
• Clean drinking water under the Jal Jeevan Mission reduces water-borne disease, especially for women and children.

Examples

• Ralegan Siddhi (Anna Hazare), Rajasthan's johads (Tarun Bharat Sangh), Mission Kakatiya in Telangana.

Conclusion

Many 'natural' disasters are management failures. Good land and water management can drastically reduce human misery, as these villages prove.