UNIT 9 SPECIAL AREA DEVELOPMENT Special Area

Development

PROGRAMMES Programmes

Structure
9.0 Aims and Objectives
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Concepts and Definitions Related to the Special Area Development
Programmes
9. 2.1 Region
9. 2.2 Planning
9. 2.3 Regional Planning
9.2.4 Programmes
9.2.5 Special Area
9.3 Special Area Development Programmes: Policy and Implementation
9.3.1 Hill Area Development Programme (HADP)
9.3.2 Tribal Area Development Programme (TADP)
9.3.3 Western Ghat Development Programme (WGDP)
9.3.4 Drought Prone Area Development Programme (DPADP)
9.3.5 Desert Development Programme (DDP)
9.3.6 Border Area Development Programme (BADP)
9.4 Let Us Sum Up
9.5 Keywords
9.6 Suggested Reading and References

9.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

After reading this Unit, you will be able to understand:

• difference between the concepts of regional development, planning,

special areas, and special areas plans;
• types of special area plans;
• need of special area development plans; and
• policy and implementation of various specialarea development programmes.

9.1 INTRODUCTION
A special area development programme is part of the planning policy of India
for balanced regional development which focused on the development of
those specific regions which failed to keep pace with other parts of the
country. It is a significant development programme that has been initiated
during the Fifth Five Year Plan in order to reduce imbalances and speed up
the economic development of that region. Achieve balance regional
development in India, is a challenging task due to its size and diversity.
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Natural Resources Inequality between various regions of the country has grown over time, it has
Management and
Environment introduced variation in terms of uneven distribution of resources. Economic
and social development in India is studied at various levels; the most
common unit is the state level. However, there are many pockets/areas in a
prosperous state, which are backward and under-developed. This is
particularly due to diverse geographic, economic, and social characteristics.
Some areas are backward due to the landscapes, for example, hilly and
inaccessible areas, distinct cultural groups i.e. tribal areas, problematic and
hostile environments i.e. unproductive soil, desert areas, and drought-prone
areas, and ecologically sensitive areas i.e. western ghats, etc. These regions
need special attention according to their geographical and socio-economic
environment, not only for development but also to flourish like other regions.

According to Prof. R.P. Mishra, regional development is carried through

regional planning which is a technique to evaluate the potential of the sub-
national areas and to develop them to the best advantages of the nation as a
whole.

As we know regional development aims to remove regional disparities

through socio-economic development and eradicate the backwardness of the
region at par with other regions of the country. In this regard, various
committees have been constituted by the Government of India from time to
time to prepare reports and assess the level of backwardness in these areas.
Finally, for the first time in Fourth Plan (1969-74) special area development
plans were implemented in these specific areas, considering the local issues
and challenges including physical, economic, and social structures. Various
programmes under Special Area Development Programmes were
implemented like Hill Area Development Programme, Drought Prone Area
Development Programme, Desert Development Programme, Western Ghats
Development Programme, and Tribal Sub-Plans, etc.

9.2 CONCEPT AND DEFINITIONS RELATED

TO SPECIAL AREA DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMMES
Special Area Development Programmes were designed to address the
development challenges of the area with distinct physical and socio-economic
characteristics. The concept of regional planning is central to special area
development programmes. It means to develop the backward or less
developed region which is an integral part of this planning policy. In the
starting phases, the planning in India followed a top-down approach, which
lacked the special needs of the local areas from the plan formulation
perspective. As a concept, regional planning was introduced in the later
plans, particularly after the Fourth Plan. It is, therefore, necessary to
understand the basic concepts of regional planning and development for
acquiring a whole understanding of the special area development programme.

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9. 2.1 Region Special Area
Development
Programmes
It is a geographical and a real unit that is homogenous in nature in terms of
definite criteria. These are the part of the Earth's surface, which are
distinguished in some defined ways from surrounding areas, which may be
due to the complex of land, water, air, animals, and men and women regarded
in the spatial relationships as together constituent a definite position of the
Earth surface. A planning region is a segment of territory where economic
decisions apply. The concept occupies an important position in the planning
as it is an important tool of national development.

9. 2.2 Planning
It is a process of taking decisions to implement certain developmental
decisions to attain overall socio-economic goals. It involves taking decisions
further to the welfare of people who can live a sustainable, equitable,
efficient, and healthy life together. There are two dimensions of planning i.e.
formulation and implementation.

9. 2.3 Regional Planning

Regional planning is a technique to assess the potential of sub-national areas
and to develop them to the best advantage for the whole nation. It deals with
efficient land use activities and settlement structure growth. It is a specific
type of planning based on the regional system by including the public action
aimed at social well-being. It also implies that regional planning is concerned
fundamentally with society in the context of space. The basic origin of
regional planning and development stems from regional inequality and
intense socio-economic developmental imperatives of particular geographic
areas in particular and society as whole.

Regional planning tries to fulfill regional aspirations, demands, make

optimum use of regional resources, solve regional problems, involves local
people in plan formation and implementation.

9.2.4 Programmes
This is a set of related activities with certain long-term goals. In the planning
process, the programmes are linked to a set of activities with a defined
objective and achieve targets to attain the long-term developmental needs of
the country or the state. Programmes are specific in terms of their intent,
objective and long-term target. The time factor is also an important factor in
the formulation and implementation of programme planning. Each
programme differs in terms of structure and approach. In regional
programmes generally, local people through village panchayats, local groups,
and schools involved in environmental conservation like afforestation and
maintenance cultural heritage in particular.

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Natural Resources 9.2.5 Special Area
Management and
Environment
These are areas with distinct characteristics in terms of the physical setting,
geographical location, social structure, cultural setting, and economic
groupings. Special areas have their own special needs and developmental
requirements due to unique characteristics. Normal plans and programs can’t
address the development imperatives of special areas; hence, for such areas,
special plans are formulated and implemented from time to time to address
the challenges and issues of regional development inequalities. In special
areas, the ecological condition of the region is the main criteria for
formulating programmes for achieving a dynamic balance of socio-economic
development through resources exploitation and utilization for the purpose of
human development.

9.3 SPECIAL AREA DEVELOPMENT

PROGRAMMES: POLICY AND
IMPLEMENTATION
Special Area Development Programme is an important programme of
planning progress of Government of India, which was started in Fourth Five
Year Plan. It is a strategic plan of the special requirement to deal with
problems of the variousregions due to their distinct geo-physical structure
and location like mountain, desert and socially economical backward region
like tribal.

Brief discussions on some of the special area development programmes are as

follows:

9.3.1 Hill Area Development Programme (HADP)

The Hill Area Development Programme was introduced during Fifth Five
Year Plan for designated hill areas. In India, total of 17 percent area and 11
percent of the population comes under the hilly region. From a planning point
of view, the hill area is divided into two groups on the basis of the total hill
area. The first category belongs to those states which are entirely hill like
Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachala Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Himachal
Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. This region is termed as ‘Special Category States’
in which emphasis is given on infrastructure development, social and
community services.

Apart from this, those hilly areas, which form part of larger states where
limited parts are hilly and underdevelopment termed as ‘Designated Hill
Areas’. Mainly:

i) Two districts of Assam – North Cachar Hills and Karbi Anglong.

ii) Eight districts of Uttarakhand – Dehradun, Pauri Garhwal, Tehri
Garhwal, Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Nainital, Almora and Pithoragarh.
iii) Darjeeling district of West Bengal.
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iv) Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu. Special Area
Development
v) 163 Talukas of Western Ghats area Covering parts of Goa, Karnataka Programmes

(40 talukas), Kerala (29 talukas), Maharashtra (162 talukas) and Tamil
Nadu (29 talukas).

The HADP was introduced mainly for these designated hill areas in 1974-75
to remove interstate imbalances in the level of development. It was
recommended by a committee of the National Development Council (NDC).
There are many characteristics of the hilly region which are responsible for
the formulation of this specific development plan, like terrain of hills, socio-
economic and cultural diversity, population pressure, deforestation for
commercial as well as household purposes, low productive of land due to soil
erosion and road expansion, shifting cultivation, overgrazing, and mono
culture forestry, etc.

Primarily, the planning approach of HADP has been economic development

with sustainable use of natural resources of the area covered under this
programme. The HADP programme started with basic objectives of Socio-
economic development of the hills and their inhabitant with ecological
development and to promoting the basic life support system through
infrastructural development.

Under the HADP programmes, special Central Assistance is given to

designated hill areas in order to develop these ecologically fragile areas. The
strategy of the programme is based on a separate sub-plan approach for all
hills areas in the concerned state. The HADP cell was established to
formulate the Plan and implementation of the programmes.

The approach and strategy of HADP evolving for more than four decades
from beneficiary-oriented in the Fifth Five Year Plan to eco-development.
Ecology was the main central point in the seventh Plan with a focus on eco-
restoration, eco-preservation, and eco-development. The eighth Plan focused
on the productive sector of the hill economy especially in modernizing
agriculture practice and small-scale industries of household, cottage, and
village levels. Again, eco-preservation and eco-restoration were
conceptualized with a focus on sustainable use of bio-diversity. The main
objective of the Tenth Plan was based on the need and aspirations of the local
community and their active participation in the design and implementation of
strategies for the conservation of bio-diversity and sustainable livelihoods.
The Watershed Development approach continued in further plans and it was
implemented through HADP and WGDP to preserve fragile eco-systems in a
sustainable manner and based on environmentally friendly technologies.

Soil conservation, Horticulture, and Forestry are the core sector under the
hills programme. The participatory approach involved NGOs, Schemes for
income generation and gap-filling infrastructure schemes such as the
cultivation of bamboo, medicinal plants, and agro-forestry to enable people to
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Natural Resources earn for livelihood. The action plan of the planning strategy of HADP are as
Management and
Environment follows:

i) Development of land use plan for the forest area as well as cultivated
areas.

ii) Conserve soil and water to increase the productivity of the land by using
vegetative methods and changing cropping patterns.

iii) Promote non-land-based economic activities to uplift the poor people for
their income generation and to ensure environmental protection.

iv) Forestry, Plantation, horticulture, poultry, apiculture, animal husbandry,

village and cottage industries to encourage and explore indigenous
resources for eco-development.

v) Development of biosphere reservoirs, national parks, wildlife

sanctuaries’ for eco-restoration and preservation.

vi) Emphasis on a small scale high-value industry such as electronics, fibre

optics, furniture, carpet weaving, and drugs and pharmaceutical.

vii) Promote tourism industries.

viii) Economic upliftment of tribes in isolated locations and settlements.

ix) To evolve a comprehensive human settlement policy and discourage

migration.

x) “Area-based Approach” adopted and integrated plans to be prepared for

all watersheds and high priority watersheds shall be chosen for treatment.

xi) Use of scientific interventions will be encouraged i.e. application of

remote sensing, etc.

xii) Promotion of Non-Conventions Energy Sources i.e. Solar, Hydro, Bio-

Gas etc.

xiii) Prevent Jhum cultivation and rehabilitating the Jhumias in such

plantation agriculture, making them progressively owners of the
plantation estate,

xiv) To ensure people's participation in all development, involving NGOs,

local people in managing societal resources at the local level.

In Ninth Five Year Plan the Special Central Assistance (SCA) available for
HADP is now divided between designated hill areas under HADP and the
designated talukas of Western Ghats development programme in the ratio of
60:40. The SCA is divided on the basis of area and population both giving
equal weightage. In Eleventh Five Year Plan, total Rs. 211.48 crores were
allocated for implementation under the HADP in the Nilgiri district. The
major part of funds for core sector such as soil conservation (22.51%),
148 welfare of SC (26.3%)/ST (11.02%, forestry (18.44%), horticulture
(11.39 %,) development of local bodies (rural 18.64% & urban bodies Special Area
Development
24.94%) and roads sector (13.63%) were allocated. An outlay fund for Programmes
Twelfth Plan was 316.80 crores for spending at the rate of 63.36 crores per
year.

The strategy of implementation of HADP has changed over time. Emphasis

has shifted from individual-oriented schemes towards an area-based
approach. The Nilgiris has adopted the “watershed-based Plans” since “Area
Based Programme” such as soil and water conservation measures can be
taken up more effectively. Under this scheme, the resources information of
watersheds was gathered and analysed through Remote Sensing Techniques
based on which, ISRO, Bengaluru have delineated watershed boundaries of
Nilgiris District and boundaries verified with the coordination of Agriculture
Engineering, Horticulture and Forest Departments. The Nilgiris District is
drained by major rivers like Bhavani, Moyar and Kabbini, which are the
tributaries of Cauvery and Pandian. The entire district has been delineated
into 75 major watersheds based on the drainage pattern. Soil conservation,
Horticulture, and Forestry are the core sectors under this Programme.
Besides, importance is also accorded to the welfare of the SC/ST, Human
Resource Development, Development of Local Bodies, Roads, Tourism,
INDCO Tea Factories, Khadi & Village Industries, and Sericulture, etc. by
providing substantial funds.

The entire watershed in order of annual crop coverage and aspects are
prioritized with the ten-watershed identified as High Priority Watershed. For
better coordination and implementation of the schemes under various sectoral
heads, the delineated watershed has been further sub-divided into Micro-
Watershed, each covering an area of 300-500 Ha. The activities of the core
sectors have been integrated with those of the other line Department to
stabilize the ecology besides involving the local people along with NGO by
adopting integrating watershed approach from the year 1995-96. 60% 0f the
total funds have been allocated to identify priority watersheds on an
integrated watershed basis and 40% for other than watershed works which
include 15% for maintenance of assets created under HADP and 10%
towards establishment costs.

In order to involve the farmers and local people in planning for their own
needs, the NGO takes up Participatory Rural Appraisal meetings in which the
watershed communities take part to express their views and suggest
corrective measures.

9.3.2 Tribal Area Development Programme (TADP)

The number of tribal populations and their situation presents a varied picture
in the country. Some areas have high Tribal concentrations like Mizoram,
Lakshadweep, and Meghalaya while in other areas; the tribal form only a
small portion of the total population. Tribal areas are mainly geographically
hilly, forested, and dry in nature, due to this socio-economic not happened. 149
Natural Resources There are some tribal groups, which are still at the food-gathering stage,
Management and
Environment practice shifting cultivation or pursuing primitive forms of agriculture. To
prevent the exploitation of tribes by other groups of society and to bring them
into the mainstream, our constitution also makes provision for their socio-
economic development.

Till 1976, tribal regions were far from country development and were facing
various problems. After a detailed and comprehensive review, specific efforts
were taken in the Fifth Five Year Plan because their needs and problem vary
depending on their geographic demographic concentration. the tribal area
development programme took note as an integrated programme for areas with
50 percent or more tribal concentration. The importance is given to sub-plan
preparation for such areas with the aim for improving quality of life of tribes
and decrease gap between the level of development from other parts of
country.

Tribal area sub-plan approach: To tackle the problem of tribal communities,

in the form of a tribal sub-plan, was applied for the tribal development.This
sub-plan approach to tribal development has been operative in 19 States and
2 Union Territories. It covers extensive areas of Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Orrisa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, and
Rajasthan. The tribal areas have been divided into three categories as micro
(block-level), meso (sub-division/tehsil), and macro (state level). In others,
wards development block was taken as the smallest unit of development in
the new strategic plan. It is known as the Integrated Tribal Development
Project (ITDP). Important aspects of the tribal area development programme
are as follows:

i) Take-up as family-oriented programme and to increase productivity level

of beneficiary family in the field, horticulture, animal husbandry, and
small-scale industry, etc.

ii) To liberate trials from the exploitation of land grabbing money-lending,

debt-bandage, forest-labour, etc.

iii) To improve quality of life through education and training programme.

iv) To provide infrastructural facilities in tribal areas.

Under Tribal development programmes total of 180 ITDP units are

operational. It is evident from the spatial distribution of tribal area
programme that Central India is mostly covered under tribal sub-plan. The
funds for the sub-plan come from a state plan, central outlay from central
ministries, special central assistance, and institutional finance. Central
assistance funds given for tribal programme can be divided into sector-wise
i.e. education, economic upliftment, and health. Various services provided to
the tribal population under this programme are free education, provision for
educational equipment, school, scholarship, etc. Due to this plan, many tribal

150
communities of India have been improving their economic, educational, Special Area
Development
social, and cultural status. Programmes

The largest number of such projects has been in Central India. Madhya
Pradesh has 49, followed by Orissa (21), Assam (19), Maharashtra (16),
Bihar (14), and West Bengal (12). In all, more than two-third of the total
projects are in these states. During the Seventh Plan total areal coverage
under ITDP comprised 15.27 percent area of the country. Major parts of the
States of Manipur (90.03 percent), Sikkim (63.49 percent), and Tripura (63.8
percent) were under such projects. The other states with large areas covered
include Orrisa (44.2 percent), Himachal Pradesh (43.03 percent), Madhya
Pradesh (36.9 percent), and Bihar (25.1 percent).

Despite many efforts of state and central government tribal are not much
benefited, due of some grass route implementation problems. It is significant
to note that non-tribal is now migrating to tribal majority areas in substantial
numbers. On the other hand, tribal are migrating to other areas in search of
educational and employment opportunities. The tribal population may not
remain in the majority for long in any administrative unit. It is, therefore,
necessary to have a proactive to meet this new challenge.

There is a need to give more attention to weaknesses of tribal area

programme and by strengthening that their existence and participation can be
possible in main stream of the country.

9.3.3 Western Ghat Development Programme (WGDP)

The mountain regions or hill areas of the Himalayan region in the north and
Western Ghat region in the south hold the sources, the catchment, and
watersheds of several major river systems flow; they prosper in forests,
plants, animals, and mineral wealth. They have very fertile and very sensitive
eco-systems. The Western Ghats are a range of mountains along the west
coast about 1600 km long and 80 to 100 km wide running continuously from
Maharashtra to Tamil Nadu with an interruption in continuity in the Palghat
district of Kerala. The Western Ghats form 8.82 percent of the country’s
mountainous area. Hilly eco-systems of Western Ghats are one of the richest
flora and fauna and unique bio-diversity with 30 percent of the area under
forest. The Western Ghats range is an important determinant in shaping the
climate, economy, and social milieu of peninsular India. The western ghat
region is a part of Tamil Nadu which spreading in 33 taluks of eight districts:
Coimbatore, Tirupur, Dindigul, Theni, Madurai, Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli,
and Kanyakumari. It is 20 percent of Tamil Nadu. Western Ghat
Development Programme (WGDP) began in 1975-76. This programme
started with concerns with economic development programmes but the focus
moved towards socio-economic, infrastructure, and ecological development.

The WGDP was initiated with 100 percent central assistance and is now
shared between centre and state government in a ratio of 90:10. Under this
151
Natural Resources programme 70 percent of resources are reserved for those schemes which
Management and
Environment promoting sustainable livelihoods like soil and water conservation, forestry,
and infrastructural development. Watershed is adopted as a basic treatment
unit for augmentation and stabilization of production, minimizing ecological
degradation, reduction in regional disparity, and opening up to greater
livelihood opportunities for the rural poor. From the year 2010-11, emphasis
was given to the watershed approach for WGDP implementation schemes. It
is an integrated approach with local participation. During the Eleventh plan,
soil and water conservation measures were taken up in 166 watersheds at a
cost of Rs. 101.16 crore in which Rs. 36.63 crore was spent on the soil
conservation sector and Rs. 19.10 crore on the forestry sector.

Scope of Development: Western Ghats region offers scope for the

development of forest, horticulture, animal husbandry, and improving the
water availability for recharging groundwater as well as for drinking
purposes. The development of Western Ghats will also help ecological
up-gradation and conserve natural resources. It has also scope for increasing
the area under the plantation crops like tea, coffee, cardamom, cocoa, rubber,
pepper, etc.

Development of the Western Ghats Region over the Plan (WGDP) periods:
During the Fifth Five Year Plan, WGDP emphasizes the economic well-being
of the local population in hill areas and exploitation of the resources of the
hilly region. The main activities include in the area are horticulture,
plantation, afforestation, minor irrigation, animal husbandry, and tourism.The
Sixth Five Year Plan mainly focuses on pilot basis infrastructural
development schemes. The Seventh and Eighth Five Year Plan were based on
a life support system to preserve genetic diversity to restore the ecological
damage caused by human activities. During the Ninth Five Year Plan period
the objectives for development schemes under WGDP were ‘Development in
harmony with the environment and ‘Development without upsetting the
fragile systems’. In the Tenth Five Year Plan, the focus was given on
sustainable use of bio-diversity, recognizing the needs and aspirations of
local communities. Under the programme, the main activities undertaken are
soil conservation, horticulture, forestry, minor irrigation, rural roads, animal
husbandry, fisheries, remote sensing, and palm products development. The
main objectives of WGDP are as follows:

i) Maintain ecological balance through forest preservation and conservation

which is necessary for a life support system.

ii) To preserve genetic diversity to restore the ecological damage caused by

human activities.

iii) Create awareness among the people and educate them about severe
consequences of ecological degradation, therefore they play active
participation in eco-development.

152
iv) Checking soil erosion and denudation of area around rivers, lakes, Special Area
Development
marshes, reservoirs, and springs for soil and water conservation. Programmes

v) Afforestation and forestry programmes for increasing tree cover.

vi) Meeting the basic livelihood requirement like fuel, fodder, timber, and
forest products like medicinal materials for the rural tribal population.

vii) Creating a people’s movement at a large scale with the involvement of

women.

9.3.4 Drought Prone Area Development Programme

(DPADP)
A major portion of land use in India is drought-prone and falls under the arid
and semi-arid categories. Arid, semi-arid, or sub-humid are the various
categories to demarcate the drought-prone areas in the country. A drought is a
long-term period of dry weather caused by a shortfall in the normal rainfall
for a given period of time. A drought is a condition of degradation of land,
depleting water resources, decreasing productivity of crops, human resources,
and livestock. It is also characterized by hunger, malnutrition, out-migration
of both human and cattle populations during the crisis. In India, a major
portion of land mass falls under these conditions due to very scanty rainfall
and extreme climatic conditions. DPAP is a special area programme for this
type of region specifically designed to cater to the needs of locations affected
by drought-like conditions.

Draught-prone areas were important factors for creating a regional imbalance

in the country. Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP) was first time
initiated in 1970-71 as the Rural Works Programme (RWP) to tackle the
problem of drought regions. During the Fourth Five Year Plan in 1973-74, it
was changed into an Area Development Programme. The main objective of
programme is to optimum utilization of land, water, and livestock resources,
development of posture, soil and moisture conservation, afforestation with
more emphasis on social and farm forestry, livestock development and dairy
development, restructuring of cropping pattern, improve the economic
condition by increasing income of poor and deprived sections of the society.

The intense pressure of human and livestock population in the drought-prone

areas has reduced the natural resources emphasizing the issues of soil
erosion, falling water table, and depleting the vegetative cover. After the
recommendation of the planning committee Commission, DPAP followed an
integrated area development approach for the same.

Initially, this programme was started with 50-50 sharing of centre and state.
From the implementation point of view, the programme was not very
successful in the starting due to rigid guidelines and an ill-designed
framework. Lack of people’s participation and infrastructure facilities were
main disadvantage of this programme. Since 1995-96 watershed approach is
153
Natural Resources being introduced and the implementation unit of this programme was
Management and
Environment changed to a watershed project. Local people are actively involved in the
planning and development of watershed projects. The fund sharing ratio was
also modified to 75:25. By some estimation, DPAP is being operated in 16
states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh,
Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal,
195 districts and 972 blocks has coverage of 74.6 million hectare area. Total
outlay plan during Eighth Five Year Plan was Rs. 1000 crore, in which
Rs. 500 crore was central share.

Every state has its own organizational setup for the implementation of DPAP.
Through this programme main emphasis is on irrigation projects, land
development programmes, afforestation, grassland development, rural
electrification, and other programmes of infrastructural development
likeroads, markets, servicing, processing, and credit, etc.

Other weaker sections of the society and women were also encouraged to
contribute substantially. The community participation and role of watershed
approach were made the central themes in the programme implementation.
Besides, a unified approach and convergence of all developmental
programmes and effective monitoring and implementation revived the DPAP.

Land development, water resources development, and afforestation and

pasture development were encouraged. Opportunities for alternate
occupations and economic diversification are also locked and developed
under this programme.

9.3.5 Desert Development Programme (DDP)

The Desert Development Programme (DDP) was started in 1977-78 on the
recommendations of the National Commission on Agriculture (1974).
Deserts are extremely arid regions where rainfall occurs less than 25 cm in a
year. A desert area is characterized by no or very little vegetation, extremely
low rainfall, low humidity, and extreme temperature covers both types of
Deserts found in India i.e. cold desert and hot desert. Cold deserts can be
found in the Union Territory of Ladakh, Lahaul, and Spiti districts of
Himanchal Pradesh whereas hot deserts are found in the western part of the
Rajasthan, Gujrat, and Haryana. DDP is a special area programme for such
locations.

The major objectives of DDP are to controlling processes of desertification,

promote of opportunities to raise the level of production through various
activities like irrigation, afforestation, soil and water conservation, dry land
agriculture, groundwater development, livestock development, and human
resources development. Develop such degraded land on the watershed basis
by considering the land, people, and livelihood of the locations. It also aims
to promote socio-economic development and mitigate the adverse impact of
154
drought-affected areas, reduce the loss of livelihood, livestock management, Special Area
Development
and restoring the ecological balance by encouraging the local community Programmes
participation.

Initially, it was implemented in an isolated manner but the later watershed

approach was adopted. Since 1995 is a part of the watershed development
programme. Now there are 1747 watershed projects under different stages of
seven states. Initially, the fund was allocated on a 75:25 basis by the centre
and state but presently it is 100 percent central assistance. At least 75% of the
allocations have been earmarked for activities that would contribute towards
combating the process of desertification. DDP was implemented on a sectoral
basis and the proportionate weights assigned in which maximum given to
afforestation and posture development (40%), water resources development
(20%), etc. the fund allocation is at the rate of Rs. 24 lakh per 1000 sq. km.
with a ceiling of Rs. 5000 lakh per district. Though, for the cold desert area a
lump sum provision for Rs.100 lakh per district for Himachal Pradesh and
Rs. 150 lakh for Jammu and Kashmir.

It was also suggested for the participation of weaker sections, voluntary

organization, creation of assets, and using a unified approach for effective
monitoring and evaluation. DDP is being implemented in 235 blocks, 40
districts, of 7 States by covering an area of 45.8 million hectares. It includes
Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Rajasthan (all hot-desert
areas), and Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir (cold-desert areas).
The watershed approach is the key to DDP implementation. The resources
inventory is the most important step before implementing it as it is crucial for
understanding the area-specific problems. It is being followed since 1995-96
but still, there is a long way to go as only 5 % area is targeted under DDP is
the entire country. At last, this programme was initiated to control the
desertification process, mitigate the affected drought-prone areas, restoring
the ecological balance in the affected areas, and raising the productivity of
land water livestock, and human resources. Out of the total allocated funds, at
least 75% have been contributed to combating the process of desertification.

9.3.6 Border Area Development Programme (BADP)

The Border Area Development Programme was started under the Seventh
Five Year Plan with the objective of balanced development of the sensitive
border in the western region of the country. The total outlay was Rs. 200
crore. In this programme emphasis was given on infrastructure facilities and
the promotion of a sense of security among the local people. In starting this
programme covered Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat states but later on
extended to Jammu and Kashmir. Schemes were started in 1986-87 under the
Ministry of Home Affairs. The main thrust of the programme was changed to
the development of human resources, particularly school education-technical
and vocational in the community development blocks adjoining the border.
Programme has comprised four elements i.e. issues of photo identity cards to
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Natural Resources the population of target areas, education, irrigation, and research studies on
Management and
Environment socio-economic development of these areas.

In the year 1990-91 and 1991-92, annual outlays were about Rs. 85 crore in
both years. During the Eighth Plan, coverage extended to the Eastern region,
the scope was also reviewed by which problem of the international border
can take care, not for general development schemes. In the Eighth plan, Rs.
640 crore were outlaid for this programme. Later, the scope of the
programme was expanded to include other socio-economic aspects such as
education, health, agriculture, and other allied sectors. During the eighth five-
year plan, the coverage was extended to include the Eastern States that shared
a border with Bangladesh. The implementation of the BADP scheme was on
a participatory and decentralized basis through the Panchayati Raj
Institutions, Autonomous Councils, and local bodies. The guidelines of
BADP were revised in February, 2009 and as per the revised guidelines, the
BADP covers 362 border blocks, which are located along the international
border and come under 96 border districts of 17 States.

9.4 LET US SUM UP

Inclusive and balanced regional development has been the basic principle of
the planning policy of India.The size and diversity of India are such that ideal
planning for balanced regional development is still a distant dream. Over
time, inequality between regions has grown rather than diminished. The
topographical bottlenecks and natural hurdles need special attention for the
development of the basic amenities in some regions of the country.
Development in the country has been caused variation in terms of unequal
distribution of resources and adverse geo-physiography structure. Special
area development programmes are directed to remove these region-specific
backwardness through a more open transfer of fundsin the form of SCA and
set strategic plans. Many programmes like the Hill Area Development
Programme, Tribal Area Development Programme, Drought Prone Area
Programme, Western Ghats Development Programme, Border Area
Development Programme are in tune with the holistic development of the
specific region. The involvement of the different agencies for the monitoring
and assessment makes these programmes successful.

9.5 KEYWORDS
Region: It is a geographical and areal unit which is homogenous in nature in
terms of definite criteria. Region as a part of earth surface, distinguished in
some defined ways from surrounding areas.

Special Area: It is area with special characteristics in terms of physical

setting, geographical location, social structure, cultural setting and economic
groupings. Special Areas which have some special needs and required

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attention to address the challenges and problems of regional development Special Area
Development
inequalities. Programmes

Regional Planning: It is a specific type of planning based on the regional

system by including the public action aimed social well-being. It also implies
that regional planning is concerned fundamentally with the society in the
context of space. The basic genesis of regional planning and development
stems from regional inequality and intense socio-economic development
imperatives of particular geographical areas in particular and society as a
whole.

Desert: Desert is hyper arid areas with rainfall less than 25 cm a year. A
desert is characterized by no or very less vegetation, extremely low rainfall,
low humidity and extreme temperature. Desert is of two types based on
temperature i.e. cold desert and hot desert.

Tribal Sub-plan Approach: A planning approach used for tribal area

development programme with set of activities for achieving long term goals.
It is important in planning process, to attain long term developmental needs
of the country or state. Programmes are specific in terms of its intent,
objective and long-term target. Time factor is also an important factor in
formulation and implementation of programme planning. Each program
differs in terms of structure and approach.

9.6 SUGGESTED READINGS AND

REFERENCES
Mishra, R.P., (1992). Regional Planning: Concept, Technique and Policies,
Concept, New Delhi.

Singh, R.P., (2011). Rural Development: Theory and Practice, Saroj

Prakashan.

Singh, Ranvier., “Tribal Area Development Programmes in India; Issue and

Challenges” in Int. Journal of Social Science, Vol 8,Issue 4 April 2018, ISSN
No. 2249-2496.

Website :https://niti.gov.in/planningcommission.gov.in

https://tsp.apcfss.in/files/127.pdf

P. Trinadha Rao, M. Gopinath Reddy, Jos Chathukulam (2012):

Implementation of Tribal Sub-plan (TSP) Strategy: Impact on Livelihoods of
Tribals in Andhra Pradesh Research Unit for Livelihoods and Natural
Resources,

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