Planning in India: sectoral, regional and target area
Planning means thinking about the future, choosing goals and deciding steps to reach them. Sectoral planning makes programmes for one sector of the economy, like farming, irrigation, industry or transport. Regional planning tries to reduce gaps between regions, because growth does not spread evenly.
India's Five Year Plans were made by the Planning Commission (now replaced by NITI Aayog in 2015). To help backward areas, the government used target area planning: special programmes for particular regions, like the Command Area Development Programme, and target group programmes for special groups of people, like small farmers and farm labourers.
Hill area and drought-prone area programmes
Hill Area Development Programme
Started in the Fifth Five Year Plan for hilly districts. It planned for horticulture, plantation, animal rearing, poultry, forestry and small village industry, keeping local people's needs and the fragile hill environment in mind.
Drought Prone Area Programme
Started in the Fourth Five Year Plan to give jobs to people in drought-hit areas and build assets. It first stressed labour-heavy works; later it added irrigation, land development, water saving, afforestation, grassland and pasture development, and rural electricity. Such areas are mostly in the dry parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat, west Madhya Pradesh, Marathwada, Rayalaseema, Telangana and Karnataka.
What is sustainable development?
Earlier, 'development' meant only economic growth. By the 1960s–70s people saw that growth was harming the environment. In 1987 the World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Report, 'Our Common Future') gave a simple idea: sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without taking away the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
It rests on three pillars that must stay balanced: economic growth, social fairness and environmental care.
Case study: Bharmaur tribal area
Bharmaur is a tribal area in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, home of the Gaddi tribe. It has a harsh climate, poor soil, steep slopes and heavy snow in winter. The Gaddis traditionally lived by moving with their sheep and goats between high and low pastures (transhumance).
Bharmaur was declared a notified tribal area in 1975, and the Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) began in the Fifth Plan. It built roads, schools, health centres, drinking water, communication, electricity and helped farming and animal rearing.
Results: literacy grew, the sex ratio improved, early marriage fell, and more people took up farming of pulses and cash crops. Movement with herds declined. Women's education and health improved.
Case study: Indira Gandhi Canal command area
The Indira Gandhi Canal (earlier called the Rajasthan Canal) is one of India's largest canal systems. It starts from the Harike barrage in Punjab, where the Sutlej and Beas meet, and runs parallel to the Pakistan border inside Rajasthan's Thar desert. A command area is the land that a canal can irrigate.
Work began in 1958. Stage I (north, gentler land) and Stage II (drier, sandy land with dunes) together bring water to districts like Ganganagar, Hanumangarh, Bikaner, Jaisalmer and Barmer.
Effects
- Positive: soil moisture rose, crops like wheat, cotton, groundnut and rice spread, afforestation and pasture grew, wind erosion fell.
- Negative: too much irrigation caused waterlogging and soil salinity.
Steps for sustainability
Follow the water management policy strictly, avoid water-hungry crops, grow citrus fruits, use sprinkler and drip irrigation, drain waterlogged land, plant shelter belts of trees, and give land to the landless and poor, with help to settle.
Key formulas and definitions
- Sectoral planning: one sector; regional planning: one region
- Target area: region-focused programme; target group: people-focused programme
- Sustainable development: meet present needs without harming future generations (Brundtland, 1987)
- Three pillars: economy + society + environment
- Command area: land that a canal can irrigate
- Bharmaur: Gaddi tribe, Chamba (HP), notified tribal area 1975
Worked examples
1. A government gives cheap loans to all small farmers across India. Is this target area or target group planning?
Target group planning, because it aims at a group of people (small farmers), not one region.
2. A plan builds check dams, pastures and tree belts in a dry district. Which programme does it match?
The Drought Prone Area Programme, which focuses on water saving, pastures and afforestation in dry areas.
3. Why was the Hill Area Development Programme needed?
Hill areas have steep slopes, fragile soils and poor access, so ordinary plans did not suit them. Special plans for horticulture, forests and small industry were needed.
4. Name two changes in Bharmaur after the tribal development project.
Literacy rose and the sex ratio improved; roads, schools and health centres were built and farming of cash crops increased.
5. Why did waterlogging happen in the Indira Gandhi Canal area?
Farmers gave far more water than crops needed and drainage was poor, so the water table rose and salts came up to the surface.
6. Suggest three steps to make the canal command area sustainable.
Grow less water-hungry crops like citrus instead of rice; use drip and sprinkler irrigation; plant shelter belts and drain waterlogged land.
Common mistakes
- Mixing target area and target group programmes. One targets a place, the other a group of people.
- Saying sustainable development means stopping development. It means development that does not harm the future.
- Placing Bharmaur in Uttarakhand. It is in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh.
- Thinking more canal water is always better. Too much water causes waterlogging and salinity.