SR-47 : Soil and water conservation with special reference to NE region

Abstract

North Eastern Region is one of the richest areas in the world in soil & water resources. Its water resource is undoubtedly sufficient enough to satisfy its ever increasing demands of its own as well as the other parts of eastern India. But due to management problems the region is yet to put these vast resources into some beneficial uses worth the name and rather chronically suffers from devastating floods or drainage congestion in the valleys and acute shortage of even drinking water or large scale erosion in the hills.

Management of excess water or controlling the frequent calamities it causes to the horrors of the people is, however, beyond the scope of the topic. But looking at the other side of the problem i.e. scarcity of water amongst plenty specially in the hill region during non-monsoon, there is urgent need of all round soil and water conservation for which every forum technical or administrative has been expressing its serious concern since long.

There have been many successful scientific efforts towards this elsewhere in the country. There have been small scale practices and experiments in the North Eastern Region as well, but in reality most of the people of the region are yet to have know hows of the same or motivated enough to translate the ideas into reality. Then barring few experimental, research and indigenous practices, no comprehensive watershed management plan for resource conservation has yet been made in even the serious problem areas like Cherrapunji etc.

In view of the growing concern of all the sectors to the soil & water conservation in North East Hi Region, this report is an attempt to review the problems and methodologies in details, analyze it for applicability and suggest suitable remedial measures.