policy

Development of wastelands mainly in non-forest areas aimed at checking land degradation , putting such wastelands of the country to SUSTAINABLE use & increasing bio-mass availability especially that of fuelwood , fodder , fruits, fiber & small timber. Government of India is taking up this colossal task through its INTEGRATED WASTELAND DEVELOPMENT PROJECT SCHEME (IWDP) by revitalizing & reviving village level institutions & enlisting people's participation. It is people's own programme which aims at giving them actual decision making powers in terms of project implementation & fund disbursal.




It is one programme which is making sincere efforts towards the empowerment of the people so that a sense of collective responsibility can be evolved among them. The new guidelines for watershed development provides a paradigm shift in the traditional approach where the role of the Government is changed from that of governance to facilitation. The institutional arrangements envisaged in the Guidelines can be seen as a true reflections of the Agenda 21 where the sustainability comes through the involvement of people & the local bodies. The approach of watershed development in a holistic manner automatically strikes a prudent balance between environmental concerns & developmental aspirations. The efforts being made under the guidelines can be termed as sincere & honest as here the survival of life itself is at stake with the watershed development rather than the quality of life itself as compared to similar situations in the developed countries. In fact , the effective community control has been an integral part of the Indian social fabric which was fragmented by the colonial rule. This programme is an effort towards its restoration & a small step in the achievement of this goal which might turn into a big leap with the support from the people.