Correct Answer: (b) Area specific approach of development.

Correct Answer: (c) Integrated Tribal Development Programme

Correct Answer: (c) Irrigation (Note: While eco-development is crucial for sustainable development, the immediate agricultural boom was due to irrigation water in the desert).

The two main types of planning are:

1. Sectoral Planning: Focuses on the development of specific sectors of the economy like agriculture, industries, or transport.
2. Regional Planning: Focuses on specific geographical areas to reduce regional imbalances and ensure uniform spatial development.

Answer: The main objective of the Drought Prone Area Programme (initiated in the Fourth Five Year Plan) is to provide employment to the people in drought-prone areas and create productive assets to minimize the adverse effects of drought through irrigation projects, land development, and afforestation.

Answer: Sustainable development means taking care of our economic, social, and environmental needs in the present, while ensuring that the natural resources and environment are preserved for the survival and progress of future generations.

The Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP) was initiated during the Fourth Five Year Plan to mitigate the impacts of severe droughts on crops, livestock, and human populations.

Objectives and Implementation:

• Employment Generation: Initially, the focus was heavily on creating employment opportunities in drought-prone rural areas through labor-intensive public works.
• Asset Creation: It aims at creating productive assets like reservoirs, check dams, and irrigation canals.
• Ecological Balance: Over time, the strategy shifted to restoring ecological balance through afforestation, pasture development, and soil conservation.

Help in Dryland Agriculture:

It significantly helps dryland agriculture by promoting soil moisture conservation techniques, micro-irrigation (drip and sprinkler), and encouraging farmers to grow drought-resistant crops (like millets and pulses) instead of water-intensive crops. This ensures that agriculture remains productive even with erratic rainfall, securing the livelihoods of marginalized farmers.

The Indira Gandhi Canal has transformed the dry deserts of Rajasthan, but it has also caused ecological problems like waterlogging and soil salinity. To promote sustainable development in this command area, the following measures are essential:

1. Strict Water Management: The water management policy must be strictly implemented. Farmers should be encouraged to use protective irrigation in Stage-I and extensive pasture development in Stage-II.
2. Changing Cropping Patterns: Farmers should not grow water-intensive crops like rice and sugarcane in the desert. They should shift to crops like citrus fruits, gram, and cotton.
3. Lining of Canals: To prevent water seepage and subsequent waterlogging, canal beds and water courses must be concreted/lined.
4. Eco-Development: Massive afforestation, shelterbelt plantations, and pasture development are necessary to stabilize sand dunes and improve the micro-climate.
5. Financial Support: Poor and marginalized farmers must be provided with adequate financial and institutional support to clear and level their land for efficient farming.

Correct Answer: (c) Brundtland Commission (1987)

Correct Answer: (c) Chamba

Correct Answer: (b) Harike Barrage

Answer: The Gaddis are a tribal community practicing transhumance (seasonal migration with their livestock). They primarily inhabit the Bharmaur region in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, which has a harsh climate and rugged topography.

Answer: Economic development in India has been uneven. While some regions are highly developed due to better resources or historical advantages, others remain backward. Target Area Planning (like Hill Area or Drought Prone Area planning) is necessary to uplift these backward regions, reduce regional disparities, and ensure balanced national growth.

1. Increased Agricultural Production: The availability of irrigation water has led to the cultivation of cash crops like cotton and wheat in desert lands.
2. Afforestation: Canal water has enabled large-scale afforestation and pasture development, reducing wind erosion.
3. Availability of Drinking Water: It has provided a reliable source of drinking water for both humans and livestock in the arid regions of Bikaner, Jaisalmer, and Barmer.

Before the ITDP (Integrated Tribal Development Project) was introduced in the 1970s, the Bharmaur region faced severe challenges:

• Geographical Conditions: Located in the Pir Panjal range, it features high mountains, deep valleys, and a freezing climate. It remains cut off from the rest of the state during heavy winter snowfalls.
• Economic Backwardness: The economy was purely agrarian and pastoral. The Gaddis relied on sheep/goat rearing and subsistence agriculture on terraced fields. There was zero industrialization.
• Social Deprivation: The region lacked basic infrastructure. Schools, hospitals, and proper roads were virtually non-existent. Female literacy was exceptionally low, and the overall standard of living was poor due to extreme isolation.

The ITDP brought massive positive changes to the Bharmaur region:

1. Infrastructure Development: The highest priority was given to the development of transport and communications. New roads connected Bharmaur to Chamba, ending its historical isolation.
2. Educational Expansion: A network of schools was established. The most significant achievement was the rapid rise in literacy rates, especially female literacy.
3. Healthcare: Primary health centers and dispensaries were set up, reducing maternal and infant mortality rates.
4. Economic Shift: Improved connectivity allowed the Gaddis to shift from purely subsistence farming to growing cash crops like pulses and apples, significantly raising their income.
5. Social Empowerment: Better education and connectivity led to the decline of social evils like child marriage, integrating the Gaddis into the mainstream economy.

While the canal brought prosperity, it triggered severe ecological degradation:

1. Waterlogging: In Stage-I of the command area, excessive use of water for irrigation without proper drainage systems caused the groundwater table to rise, leading to widespread waterlogging.
2. Soil Salinization: Due to high evaporation rates in the desert, the rising water table brought dissolved salts to the surface. This white salt crust makes the soil completely infertile.
3. Change in Cropping Pattern: Farmers greedily shifted to water-intensive commercial crops (like paddy and sugarcane) which are unsuitable for desert ecology, worsening the water crisis.
4. Loss of Indigenous Flora: The natural desert ecosystem and indigenous drought-resistant plant species were destroyed to make way for commercial agriculture.

Correct Answer: (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.

Correct Answer: (d) Assertion (A) is false, but Reason (R) is true. (The report focused on sustainability, not just industrial output).

Answer: It was introduced to address and reduce regional imbalances in economic development across different parts of the country.

Answer: Marginal Farmers Development Agency.

Answer: By creating specialized infrastructure, promoting local resources (like horticulture), and generating employment suited to the local topography, it uplifts the region's economy, integrating it with the national mainstream.