their great growth potential.CATEGORISATION OF HILLAREAS25.3 The hill areas fallbroadly into two categones, namely, (i) those that are co-extensive withthe boundaries of the State or the Union Territory and (ii) these whichform a part of a State.25.4 The development of bothcategories of hill areas requires appropriate programmes of development.Hill States25.5 The hill areaswhich are self-contained politico-administrative units are being treatedas Special Category Slates whose outlays are met, substantially out ofCentral assistance. These are the States and Union Territories of theNorth-Eastern Region, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. The investmentsneeded for meeting the vast infrastructural gaps in communications, transport,power generation and transmission, for the development of stable and diversifiedagriculture in place of the extensive practice of jhum-ing, horticulture,plantation crops giving rise to low volume and high-value products andlarge-scale afforestation with a view to restoring and protecting ecology,are heavy.
On the other hand, it would take a considerable time for theseareas to build up an adequate resource base. In view of this, the bulkof the outlays are provided out of Central Assistance.North-Eastern Council25.6 For the integrated developmentof the Hill States and Union Territories of the North-Eastern region,the Central Government set up the North Eastern Council in 1971 by anAct of Parliament. The North-Eastern Council started functioning withthe commencement of the Fifth Five Year Plan. The Council takes up suchschemes as are of common interest to more than one State or Union Territoryand to the region as a whole under its development plans. The Councilhas played an important role in the' development of inter-regional programmesof power generation and transmission, construction of roads, agriculture,animal husbandry, fisheries etc. It has been supporting research and experimentalprojects.
A training infrastructure is being built up for manpower developmentin the region under the auspices of the Council.Hill Areas in Composite States of.the Himalayan and sub-Himalayan region25.7 Hill areas forming partof larger composite State occur in Assam, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengalin^tlie Himalayan and sub-Himalayaii region. Although the primary responsibilityfor the development of these hill areas is that of the concerned StateGovernments, the need for Central' assistance has been recognised evenas far back as the Second Five Year Plan. Arrangements for providing Centralassi-^atlce to the Hill Areas Development Programme have been furthersystematised since the commencement of the Fifth Five Year Plan. The SpecialCentral Assistance is being allocated among the constituent States, givingequal weightage to the area and population of the hill areas.25.8 Since the Fifth Plan,the concept of a sub-plan has been introduced, in order to ensure complementarityand linkages among the schemes formulated under the various sectors ofthe State Plan and out of the Central additive.
Hill Area Development Program New York
A statement showing theArea, Population and DistrictsjTalukas covered under the Hill Areas Programmeis given below: HillAreaArea('000 Sq. Kms)Population(1971) (Lakh)No.of DistrictsAssamHiilAic-as.15-24-552Districts (Karbi Anglong ami North Cachar)UttarPradesh HillAreas.51-138-228Districts (Dehradun, Pauri, Garhwal, Tehri Garhwal, Chamoli, Uttarkashi,Almora, Pithoragarh and Nainital)West-BengalHill Areas.2-44'803Sub-Divisions of Darjeeling District viz. Sub-Divisions of Sadar Kalimpongand Kurseong.Western Ghatsand other Hill Areas25.9The Western Ghats region consists of a contiguous area of 132 talukasin the States of Maha-rashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the UnionTerritory of Goa. The total area is 134.5 thousand Sq. And the populationin this area is 26.49 millions.
Central assistance is provided for developmentprogrammes in these areas, though the concept of a sub-plan has not beenintroduced. The other hill areas include Tamil Nadu Hill Areas (in additionto the Western Ghats areas) with an area of 2.5 thousand Sq. Andpopulation of 4.94 lakhs.NEWTHRUSTS AND FUTURE DIRECTION25.10The experience gained from the working or the sub-Plan suggests the needfor greater horizontal integration among the various elements of a developmentprogramme.
Mere regionalisation of the area budget alone will not help.Equally there is a need tor a balance in emphasis between beneficiary-orientedand infrastructural development programmes, keeping in view the vitalimportance of ecological restoration and conservation. Better water andland-use and control of soil erosion through watershed management, afforestation,silvi-pasture development and replacement of annual crops with perennialshrubs and trees and plantation crops in steep slopes and developmentof other high value-low volume crops linked with processing and marketingai'e some of the methods of promoting sustainable development.
Rural andsmall industries and electronic and precision instruments industries willalso be promoted.Land Use Pattern25.11The current land-use pattern either in the form of jhuming in theeastern Himalayan region or in the form of indiscriminate deforestationfor a variety oi purposes in the Western region is leading to eco-catastrophiesof various kinds. It is widely accepted that in the hills and in undulatingterrain, it would be wise to grow perennial plants and to promote scientificanimal husbandry. Hor;iculture, particularly apple cultivation, has receivedwidespread interest not only in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh andUttar Pradesh Hills but also in Arunachal Pradesh and parts of easternHimalayan region. This has to be supported by appropriate steps in post-harvesttechnology and marketing. Shortage of packing material in Himachal Pradeshis leading to deforestation of valuable timber trees.
Transport of producein the north-eastern region is another bottleneck. The emphasis, therefore,has to be on high valuelow volume crops and products. In some partsof the hills, out-migration of men has taken place, making it necessaryto introduce agricultural implements and muchinery which could be handledby women.Soil Erosion25.12The damage that soil erosion causes to the hill areas, including its impacton irrigation projects is well known. In this context, it is necessaryto evolve;in integrated strategy in the hill areas of mini-watershedmanagement.
Besides the technology as applied to these areas in fieldslike road construction, power, irrigation and industrial projects wouldneed constant review to avoid unfavourable consequences like land slidesand erosion.Forestery25.13Forestry is essential not only for eco-preser-vation but also for fuel,human and animal nutrition, limber and raw-material tor industry. It alsoprovides wind barrier to agriculture and shade for plantations of coffee,tea, spices, etc. Preventing further deforestation and promoting extensiveplanting of these are both necessary. Afforestation of catchment areasis of very high priority for preventing soil erosion as well as regulatingwater supply. Suitable agro-forestry techniques would be fostered in suchareas.Animal Husbandry25.14In spite of the opportunities offered by favourable climate, the economicpotential offered for dairying, sheep and other animal husbandry in thehill areas has not been fully tapped. In many hill regions the problem,is of overgrazing due to uncontrolled animal population and poor management.The scientific management of these lands can increase the yield of fodderand support effectively a large animal population. The animal husbandryprogramme will need a strong preventive and curative animal health programme,together with processing and marketing oT the produce.Conservationand Environment25.15The hill areas, particularly, the Himalayan region is rich in geneticmaterial of medicinal and food plants, fruits, including citrus and awide range of other economic plants, orchids and other flowers.
Some rarewild life still occurs in these areas. It would be important to have anintegrated strategy for the preservation of the valuable flora and faunathrough a chain of biosphere reserves, national parks and gene-sanctuaries.25.16For the scientific planning of the hill areas in the country, vital informationon resources e.g., occurrence of minerals, soil characteristics, vegetationaltypes and characteristics, estimation of the volume of surface and sub-surfaceflow in watersheds, etc., is required. Such information also needs tobe constantly updated. Remote-sensing techniques and air-photo interpretationcombined with ground truth studies hold great possibilities for this purpose.A perspective plan spelling out the long-term and short-term develop mentsin the area will be drawn up. Plans will be drawn up for the regional,sub-regional, taluka (block) and settlement levels.25.17While the use of legal and executive powers to provide necessary protectionto the environment should be made effective, far more reliance shouldbe placed on people's action to achieve the desired results.
The needfor increasing public awareness about the environmental issues and tostimulate public participation in activities for environmental protectionhas been emphasised- in the Chapter on 'Development and the Environment'.The measures indicated for the above purpose would be vigorously implementedin the Hffl areas.25.18The concept of eco-development needs to be built into the programmes selectedfor implementation. Keeping constant need for eco-preservation in view,it is necessary that economic projects located in these areas build intotheir cost, the cost of eco-restoration.
A paper project, for example,should include the cost of afforestation and its economic viability determinedaccordingly.Planning25.19During the Sixth Plan, an integrated strategy, as outlined above, willbe pursued. The planning process so far developed for the hill areas wouldbe reviewed both in its operational mechanics and content. The programmesof ecological conservation in some areas would require a regional approachand coordinated action by several states. The Western Ghats region andthe Himalayan region, both cut across several states.
For these regions,appropriate implementation mechanisms would be devised for ensuring aregional overview and action at the national level,25.20To summarise, new approaches will have to be introduced for meeting thebasic needs of hill people comprising water, food, work, fodder, feed,fuel and fertiliser. Water will have to be harvested in small pondsand reservoirs on a watershed basis and stored for use during winter andspring. Since land in the hills is best used for perennial crops, it willbe advisable to store the needed food-grains in small storage structuresat numerous points so that food availability attains the requisite degreeof viability for persuading fanners to abandon jhumming and adopting cultivationof annual crops in steep slopes. 'Store water and food wherever possible'has to be a major motto of the IRD programme in hill areas. Work willhave to be provided under NREP and development projects in the fieldsof forestry, animal husbandry, fisheries, horticulture, agro-forestryand cottage industries. Since, women do most of the jobs in hills, theywill have to be given opportunities for upgrading they skills in Krishiand Van-Viyyan Kendras.
The District Manpower Planning and EmploymentGeneration Councils will have to prepare detailed blue-prints and actionplans for this purpose. Fodder and Teed plants will have to be grown extensivelyunder the social forestry and agro-forestry programmes.
Hill Area Development Programme (hadp)
Until adequatefodder and feed become locally available, it will be necessaryto establish 'Fodder and Feed Banks' at suitable places involvingthe supply of enriched cellulosic wastes and straw. Arrangements for fuel-svpplywill have to be made under the village woodlots programme. Quick growingfuel trees will have to be cultivated under the social forestry programme.The Inter-University Eco-development camps to be organised with the helpof the staff and students of universities and the Eco-development forcesconsisting of ex-servicemen will have to play a leading role in spearheadingthe afforestation movement. This programme will have to be monitored andscientifically supported by the Himalayan Research net-work to be constitutedwith the involvement of all the 12 universities in the Himalayas. A similarprogramme will have to be organised for the Western Ghats region25.21The current practice of maintaining a large number or unproductive cattlejust for the purpose of getting manure should be rendered unnecessaryby providing the needed nutrients to crops through biological and mineralfertilisers. Cultivation of legumes both for fodder and grain purposestogether with suitable rhizohal cultures will have to be taken up on alarge scale in forest canopies.25.22If a new movement for the promotion of scientific land and water use andhuman resource development in the hills is launched during this Plan,the extensive damage now taking place in the hills to basic life supportsystems, both because of the greed of the rich and the genuine needs ofthe poor for fuel, fodder, feed and fertiliser can be arrested. Successin protecting the hill eco-systems will determine the future fate of agriculturein the adjoining plains.Outlays25.23The Plan of the North-Eastern Council is fully funded by the Central Government.The programmes are implemented through the constituent units or Centralorganisations.
The NEC's five year plan 1974 79 was of Rs. 90 croresand actual expenditure was Rs. 86.67 crores. The outlay provided in theSixth Five Year Plan for NEC's programmes is Rs.
340 crores.25.24The provision for Special Central Assistance for hill areas in compositestates of the Himalayan and sub-Himalayan region and the Western Ghatsand other Hill areas was Rs. 170 crores in the Fifth Plan, the actualexpenditure during 197479 being Rs. 162.65 crores. In the SixthPlan, the provision has been raised to Rs.
560 crores.