Command Area Development | Geography Optional for UPSC (Notes) PDF Download

Introduction

• This programme was initially introduced in 60 major and minor projects including the Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area in 1974.
• The Command Area Development Programme was launched in 1974-75 with the set objectives of improving the utilization of created irrigation potential and optimizing agriculture production and productivity from irrigated agriculture through a multidisciplinary team under an Area Development Authority. It is about the command areas of the major and medium irrigation projects in the country.
• The programme was restructured and termed as “Command Area Development and Water Management (CADWM) Programme” from 1 April 2004.
• Subsequently, the Command Area Development Programme has spread 110 districts in 13 states, covering about 15 million hectares of irrigated agricultural land.
• So far it has covered 310 irrigation projects with a Culturable Command Area (CCA) of about 28.45 mha. Financial assistance is provided to the state governments on a 50:50 basis for the construction activities.

Main Objectives of Command Area Development Program

• Warbandi or the rotational system of water distribution: Some of the marginal and small farmers were not getting their share of the irrigation water. In fact, their water was being utilized by the influential big farmers. In order to overcome this problem, Warbandi was done to ensure an equitable and timely supply of water to all farmers irrespective of the size of their holdings.
• Construction of field channels and field-drains to reduce the water pilferages and effective utilization of water for irrigation. Central assistance up to 50 percent (limited to the prescribed cost norms) is provided to the irrigation and field-developmental activities.
• Land leveling for the uniform spread of irrigation water in the field.
• Demonstrations and training to farmers to diffuse technical know-how and for the adoption of new agricultural innovations for developing suitable cropping patterns, as well as improved farming practices and maintaining soil fertility.
• To prepare a plan for the supply of inputs such as credit, seeds, fertilizers, insecticides and Pesticides.
• Construction of chak-roads.
• To promote ancillary activities like animal husbandry, forestry, poultry, marketing, and processing facilities.
• Diversification of agriculture to make it more profitable and sustainable.
• To give more emphasis to the cultivation of oil-seeds, pulses, and green-manure crops
• To introduce participatory management of irrigation.
• Reclamation of the water-logged areas rendered useless in the irrigated command areas.
• Adaptive trials and demonstrations, training of farmers, etc.
• Repair, renovation, and restoration of water bodies.

Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area Development Program

• The Command Area Development was introduced in the Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area in 1974.
• The main objectives of the Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area were as under:
  • To Reduce Water Pilferages of Canal Water: The wastage of water results not only in under-utilization of water but also leads to water-logging and soil salinity, affecting adversely the yield and production of crops.
  • Development of Social Amenities and Infrastructural Facilities: Since the Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area was newly colonized, there was an urgency to provide civic amenities and infrastructural facilities to supply the necessary agricultural inputs to the farmers. Emphasis, therefore, was laid on the construction of roads, markets and storage facilities to enhance agricultural production.
  • Control of Wind Erosion: There was a serious menace of wind erosion in the Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area which was a potential danger for the silting of the canal and its distributaries. Therefore, efforts need to be made to reduce the wind erosion in the command area of the canal.
  • lining of the Canal: The areas through which the canal passed being desertic and sandy, there was a strong possibility of water seepage and waterlogging. To check and minimize the water seepage, lining of the canal was imperative.
  • Reclamation of Land: Provisions for leveling of land and reclamation of degraded land.
  • Afforestation and Pastures Development: Afforestation along the banks of the canal, its distributaries as well as along the new rural and urban settlements to stabilize the sand dunes. The migratory sand dunes not only damage the arable land and pastures but also bury the orchards and settlements under the sand.
• Implementation of the Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area has helped in bringing the land under irrigation rapidly, increase in water use efficiency, agricultural production, and productivity.
• The improvement in irrigation not only led to a phenomenal increase in agriculture production but also introduced changes in the patterns and rotation of crops.
• Due to the availability of canal water, farmers have adopted the cultivation of wheat, barley, groundnut, mustard, cotton, green manuring crops, orchards, and vegetables in place of Bajara, Millets, and Pulses.
• The Indira Gandhi Canal has brought much prosperity to farmers of the region and cropping patterns have changed substantially.
• However, there occurred numerous environmental and ecological problems in the command area. Apart from waterlogging, the underground water table is rising, rendering the agricultural and pasture lands useless from the agriculture point of view.
• The water-logged areas have become the breeding grounds for mosquitoes and malaria. These problems need to be addressed on a priority basis.
• The Command Area Development and Water Management (CADWM) Programme was started initially in December 1974 to improve the irrigation potential utilization and optimize the agricultural production and productivity through the integrated and coordinated approach of efficient water management.
• Who implements the program?
  • The Ministry of Water Resources coordinates and monitors the implementation of CADWM at the national level and the Programme is being implemented through the Command Area Development Authorities (CADAs) at the State level.
• Initially, 60 major and medium irrigation projects were taken up under the CAD Programme, covering a Culturable Command Area (CCA) of about 15.00 million hectares.
• During XII Plan, the CADWM programme has been implemented with Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP). The programme is being implemented under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojna (PMKSY) – Har Khet Ko Pani from 2015-16. The ongoing CADWM programme has now been restricted to the implementation of CAD works of 99 prioritized AIBP projects.
  
  Indira Gandhi Canal

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojna (Pmksy)

• PMKSY is a proposed scheme by the Government of India which envisaged to connect the irrigation system’s three crucial components – the Field application, water sources, and distribution network for optimal usage
• The new irrigation scheme assumes importance as 65 percent of the total 142 million hectares of farmland in the country are still not covered under irrigation.
• The PMKSY intends to focus on an ‘end-to-end solution‘ in the irrigation supply chain by implementing the new program in a “project mode” with decentralized state-level planning and execution.
• The PMKSY projects would be scrutinized by the State Level Project Screening Committee (SLPSC) and sanctioned by the State Level Sanctioning Committee already set under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana.
• The state agriculture department would be the nodal agency for implementation of PMKSY projects, while there would also be an inter-ministerial National Steering Committee (NSC) for periodic review of the same.
• A state will become eligible to access PMKSY funds only if it has prepared the district irrigation plans and state irrigation plans and sustained an increasing expenditure trend in the irrigation sector in the state plan.
• PMKSY funds would be given to states as 75 percent grant by the central government and the remaining 25 percent share is to be borne by the state government. For the northeastern regions and hilly states, the funding pattern would be 90:10.
• PMKSY Envisages Interlinking of Perennial Rivers to avoid Drought and Flood Situations.
• Strengthening of Krishi Vikas Kendras or Agriculture Science Centres in all the districts of the country to aid the farmers with new technology up-gradation for irrigation.
• Linkage of the scheme with Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme to channelize the available workforce to productive and value-added work.

Defining Schedule Tribes & various committees

• The Government of India Act of 1935 called for representation of "backward tribes" in provincial assemblies for the first time.
• The Constitution does not provide a specific definition for Scheduled Tribes, but Article 366(25) outlines the process for defining them under Article 342.
• The Kaka Kalelkar Commission in 1953 defined Scheduled Tribes as groups that lead a separate and exclusive existence and are not fully assimilated into the larger community.
• The Elwin Committee in 1959 examined the functioning of Multi-Purpose Development Blocks for tribal development programs.
• The U.N. Dhebar Commission in 1960 addressed the overall situation of tribal groups, including land alienation issues.
• The Lokur Committee in 1965 recommended five criteria for identifying Schedule Tribes, including primitive traits, distinct culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with the larger community, and backwardness.
• The Shilu Ao Committee in 1966 addressed tribal development and welfare.
• The Tribal Sub-Plan approach emerged from committees constituted during the 1970s.
• The Bhuria Committee in 1991 recommended the enactment of the PESA Act of 1996.
• The Bhuria Commission in 2002-2004 focused on a wide range of issues from the Fifth Schedule to tribal land and forests, health and education, the working of Panchayats, and the status of tribal women.
• The Mungekar Committee in 2005 examined issues of administration and governance.
• The Bandopadhyay Committee in 2006 looked at development and governance in Left-Wing Extremist areas.
• The committees dealt with two main issues, development and protection, but the outcomes for tribal communities have been mixed.

Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups

The Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India are a classification of tribes that are more vulnerable compared to other tribal groups in the country. This vulnerability is due to their relatively smaller population, isolation, lack of written language, simple technological practices, and a slower rate of societal change.

• Originally known as Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs), this classification was created by the Dhebar Commission in 1973 to identify and address the unique needs of these tribes. In 2006, the Government of India renamed PTGs as PVTGs.
• There are currently 75 PVTGs out of 705 Scheduled Tribes in India. The government has initiated specific development programs and funds to cater to the needs of these groups. However, more developed and assertive tribal groups often consume a major portion of the tribal development funds, leaving PVTGs in need of more directed support for their development.
• Odisha, a state in eastern India, has the highest number of PVTGs among all states in the country. Efforts are being made to uplift these communities and provide them with better access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities, while preserving their unique cultural heritage.