Why is it necessary to implement watershed development programme

Panachayati Raj is a system of democratic governance. Until 1993 it operated sporadically. In 1993 after 43 years of independence the Constitution was amended and Panchayati Raj became the part of the democratic system. The Constitution specifies a three tier structure at the local level i.e. at the village, the block and the district level. Panchayati Raj has been assigned a vital role to play in rural development. The XI Schedule which accompanies the Amendment to the Constitution specifies the development areas over which Panchayati Raj Institutions have responsibility. One of the areas mentioned in Article 243G (3) of the XI th Schedule is Watershed Development. The Ministry of Rural Development is also committed to empower Panchayati Raj Institutions. Hence in the Watershed Development Guideline 2001 and Hariyali Guideline 2003 Panchayati Raj Institutions have been given a vital role for Watershed Development Programme. This paper examines the role of Panchayati Raj Institution in Watershed Development Programme with special reference to Songadh and Uchhal Taluka in the State of Gujarat. The Indian Journal of Political Science is one of the most reputed refereed journals of Political Science at international level and the foremost journal of the discipline in India. A quarterly publication, the journal reflects the intellectual tradition and dedication of its parent body, the Indian Political Science Association (IPSA),toward the advancement of political science, scie...

Chris White, URS, London In order to deal with the complexity of water management issues, discussion over water resources is typically separated into distinct topics such as Due to the interrelated nature of water issues, the use of particular economic or policy instruments can create trade-offs. Purchasing water access rights to secure environmental flows, for example, may be a cost-effective method of increasing the amount of water in the environment, but reduced water extractions may also negatively impact small towns and communities dependent on irrigated agriculture. In order for water security to be managed effectively, the use of economic and policy instruments cannot be considered in isolation, but rather should be considered in terms of their wider impact on society and the environment. Effective water security management therefore requires planners to take into account the ‘triple bottom line’ and evaluate policies in terms of their economic, environmental, and social impacts. In order to deal with this complexity and coordinate policy effectively, it is often argued that economic and policy instruments should be used as part of a wider integrated water resource management (IWRM) framework. IWRM is a framework designed to improve the management of water resources based on four key principles adopted at the 1992 Dublin Conference on Water and the Rio de Janeiro Summit on Sustainable Development. These principles hold that: (1) fresh water is a finite and vulnerabl...

By Vinay Harswal WRM Specialist, Water For People India This blog was a finalist in our first Water For People blog competition among all of our colleagues around the globe. Congratulations Vinay! Versión en español A watershed is not simply the hydrological unit but also socio-political-ecological entity which plays crucial role in determining food, social, and economic security. The watershed development approach must be guided by principles of balance: whatever is drawn from mother earth must be returned, and sufficiency for all before superfluity for some. Watershed development reduces the volume and velocity of runoff through a series of interventions. The aim is to make the water walk, rather than letting it run. The simple methods of stalling rainwater from running off have an enormous positive impact on the overall health of the watershed. What is a Watershed? The area where a river "catches" its water is called its catchment or watershed. A watershed can be visualized as a landscape shaped unevenly like a bowl or basin. When it rains, water flows down from the top of this bowl to collect at the bottom. The undulating land area of any region forms several such units, each of which are called watersheds. Water within each of these units drains to a common point. So, the hills, valleys, forests, and fields that encircle the falling rain and guide it into streams and then rivers, all form the enclosure that is a watershed. The top of a watershed from where the slopes ...