Land & Water Management

Division of Land and Water Management

The total area of land in our country is around 300 million hectares. The water in our country mainly comes from the Himalayas. Around half of this is considered to be a waste land. The water from Himalayas has high sedimentation rate and the creation of slopes has created a big trouble for existence in the plains of our country. It may lead to floods, injury to the water reservoirs and irrigation system. There are many ways by which the land and water can be managed. The catchment area must be maintained. It starts from the top most layer and the trees are planted for conservation and must be socially and economically viable. There are certain grasses which are used to bind the soil depending upon the local needs, edaphic factors and environment. The presence of suitable outlet channels which can carry the water and the sowing of certain crops also keep a check on the productivity of land. The salinity must also be checked at the regular intervals and should be treated with the leaching where the ground water is not sufficient. The ground water has many advantages as it is economical, it is easy to tap, there is no evaporation and sewage loss, and it lowers the water table in the areas where the water table is high. It is present in the large amount in deserts. So, the ground water must be conserved. The land production has been affected by the degradation but as the population of human is increasing the wasteland is becoming more and more. It is essential and covers around half of the land. It can be culturable and non culturable. The culturable wastelands include the water logged, marsh, saline, forest, strip, mining and industrial land. The non culturable wastelands include the barren area, steep slopes, snow capped mountains and rocky glaciers. The culturable wasteland gives more land for agriculture. The waste land must be reclaimed and should be under taken immediately.

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