Contemporary India Chapter 1 Resources And Development

D.

A.

C.

D.

C.

Gujarat

Alluvial soil is found in the river deltas of the eastern coastal plains.

The  features of Alluvial soil:

(i)This is the most widely spread and important soil. The entire northern plains of our country are made of alluvial soil.

(ii)Alluvial soils contain adequate proportion of potash, phosphoric acid and lime which are ideal for the growth of several crops like Sugarcane, Paddy, Wheat and Pulses.

(iii)The alluvial soil consists of various proportions of sand, silt and clay.

The steps to be taken are:

(i)Ploughing along the contour lines can decelerate the flow of water down the slopes. This is called contour ploughing.

(ii)Steps can be cut out on the slopes making terraces. Terrace cultivation restricts erosion. Western and central Himalayas have well developed terrace farming.

(iii)Large fields can be divided into strips. Strips of grass are left to grow between the crops. This breaks up the force of the wind. This method is known as strip cropping.

Biotic resources: These are obtained from biosphere and have life such as human beings, flora and fauna, fisheries, livestock etc

Abiotic resources: All those things which are composed of non-living things are called abiotic resources. For example, rocks and metals.

Land use pattern in India:

Total geographical area of India is 3.28 million sq km. Land use data, however, is available only for 93 per cent of the total geographical area because the land use reporting for most of the north-east states except Assam has not been done fully. Moreover, some areas of Jammu and Kashmir occupied by Pakistan and China have also not been surveyed.

The land under permanent pasture has also decreased. Most of the other than the current fallow lands are either of poor quality or the cost of cultivation of such land is very high. Hence, these lands are cultivated once or twice in about two to three years and if these are included in the net sown area then the percentage of NSA in India comes to about 54 per cent of the total reporting area. The pattern of net sown area varies greatly from one state to another. It is over 80 per cent of the total area in Punjab and Haryana and less than 10 per cent in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Andaman Nicobar Islands.

Forest area in the country is far lower than the desired 33 per cent of geographical area, as it was outlined in the National Forest Policy (1952). It was considered essential for maintenance of the ecological balance. The livelihood of millions of people who live on the fringes of these forests depends upon it.

Continuous use of land over a long period of time without taking appropriate measures to conserve and manage it, has resulted in land degradation. 

Technical and economic development has led to more consumption of resources:

(i) Technical and economic development has led to more consumption of resources. Higher level of technological development needs more and more resources for production activities. For example water resources are being over exploited to expand irrigated area.

(ii)Human beings have fallen into modern line of consumption. A new middle class which has emerged on account of economic development has increased trend of consumption over the year.

(iii) Information technology has brought boom in human choices, interests, hobbies, life-style and status-symbols.

A.

Utility

C.

United States of America

D.

India

A.

Soil

B.

Thermal electricity

A.

43%

C.

Land covered with natural grasses

D.

Rocks

A.

Unfit for cultivation

D.

Population

A.

B.

Biotic and abiotic

C.

Laterite soil

A.

46.24%

D.

Cultivable land not cultivated for a season to regain its fertility

C.

Strip cropping

C.

Alluvial soils

C.

D.

On the basis of exhaustibility

A.

Regur soil

D.

D.

Rivers

B.

Buildings

B.

D.

D.

Gully erosion

A.

C.

Shelter belts

A.

Strip cropping

A.

restrict soil erosion

B.

Defective methods of farming

C.

Indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources

D.

all of these

D.

19.2 km

C.

200 km

A.

Arunachal Pradesh

C.

Bihar

A.

Jharkhand

B.

Kerala

B.

Black soil

D.

Forest soil

A.

Arid soil

B.

Solar

D.

Endemic

C.

Fish

D.

Privately owned house

C.

D.

Fossils Fuels

B.

Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan

D.

Animal

A.

30%

D.

Horses

D.

Ploughing up and down the slopes

D.

Madhya Pardesh

The classification of resources:

(a) On the basis of origin – biotic and abiotic

(b) On the basis of exhaustibility – renewable and non-renewable

(c) On the basis of ownership – individual, community, national and international

(d) On the basis of status of development – potential, developed stock and reserves.

Renewable Resources: The resources which can be renewed or reproduced by physical, chemical or mechanical processes are known as renewable or replenishable resources.
For example, solar and wind energy, water, forests and wildlife, etc. The renewable resource may further be divided into continuous or flow.

Three measures for conservation of resources are mentioned below:

(i) Judicious utilisation of resources.

(ii) Preventing wastage of resources.

(iii) Use of alternatives or substitutes in the case of non-renewable resources.

Everything available in our environment which can be used to satisfy our needs is defined as resources.

The characteristics:

(i)it is technologically accessible 

(ii)It is economically feasible 

(iii)It is culturally acceptable

The characteristics of black soil:

(i)These soils are black in colour and are also known as regur soils.

(ii)Black soil is ideal for growing cotton and is also known as black cotton soil. 

(iii)It is believed that climatic condition along with the parent rock material are the important factors for the formation of black soil.

(iv)This type of soil is typical of the Deccan trap (Basalt) region spread over northwest Deccan plateau and is made up of lava flows.

(v)The black soils are made up of extremely fine i.e. clayey material. They are well-known for their capacity to hold moisture.

Indiscriminate usage of resources have led to the following major problems:

(i)Depletion of resources for satisfying the greed of few individuals.

(ii)Accumulation of resources in few hands, which, in turn, divided the society into two segments i.e. haves and have nots or rich and poor.

(iii)Indiscriminate exploitation of resources has led to global ecological crises such as, global warming, ozone layer depletion, environmental pollution and land degradation.

Technically, all the resources belong to the nation. The country has legal powers to acquire even private property for public good. We might have seen roads, canals, railways being constructed on fields owned by some individuals. Urban Development Authorities get empowered by the government to acquire land. All the minerals, water resources, forests, wildlife, land within the political boundaries and oceanic area upto 12 nautical miles (19.2 km) from the coast termed as territorial water and resources therein belong to the nation.

The factors responsible for soil formation are:

(i) Relief, parent rock or bed rock, climate, vegetation and other forms of life and time are important factors in the formation of soil.

(ii) Various forces of nature such as change in temperature, actions of running water, wind and glaciers, activities of decomposers, etc. contribute to the formation of soil.

(iii) Chemical and organic changes which take place in the soil are equally important. Soil also consists of organic (humus) and inorganic materials.

(i) 46.6% of land is dedicated to the net sown area and 7.7% to the fallow land.
(ii) Fallow land is cultivated once in two or three years while net sown area is cultivated more than once in a year.

Land degradation:

(i)Mining sites are abandoned after excavation work is complete leaving deep scars and traces of over-burdening. In states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa deforestation due to mining have caused severe land degradation.

(ii)In states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra overgrazing is one of the main reasons for land degradation.

(iii)In the states of Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, over irrigation is responsible for land degradation due to water logging leading to increase in salinity and alkalinity in the soil.

(iv)The mineral processing like grinding of limestone for cement industry and calcite and soapstone for ceramic industry generate huge quantity of dust in the atmosphere.

(v)It retards the process of infiltration of water into the soil after it settles down on the land. In recent years, industrial effluents as waste have become a major source of land and water pollution in many parts of the country

Sustainable economic development means ‘development should take place without damaging the environment, and development in the present should not compromise with the needs of the future generations.’

Land resources:

(i)We live on land, we perform our economic activities on land and we use it in different ways. Thus, land is a natural resource of utmost importance.

(ii)It supports natural vegetation, wild life, human life, economic activities, transport and communication systems.

(iii)However, land is an asset of a finite magnitude, therefore, it is important to use the available land for various purposes with careful planning.

Sheet Erosion: When water flows as a sheet down a slope and as a result, the top part of the land is washed away, such an erosion is called sheet erosion.

Gully Erosion: When the running water cuts through the clayey soils and makes deep channels as gullies, then such an erosion is called gully erosion. The Chambal ravines are the result of such gully erosion.

It is the declaration signed by world leaders in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), which took place at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

It aims at achieving global sustainable development. It is an agenda to combat environmental damage, poverty, disease through global co-operation on common interests, mutual needs and shared responsibilities. One major objective of the Agenda 21 is that every local government should draw its own local Agenda 21.

Resource planning:

(i)Planning is the widely accepted strategy for judicious use of resources. It has importance in a country like India, which has enormous diversity in the availability of resources.

(ii)There are regions which are rich in certain types of resources but are deficient in some other resources.

(iii)There are some regions which can be considered self sufficient in terms of the availability of resources and there are some regions which have acute shortage of some vital resources. For example, the states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are rich in minerals and coal deposits.

(iv)Arunachal Pradesh has abundance of water resources but lacks in infrastructural development. The state of Rajasthan is very well endowed with solar and wind energy but lacks in water resources.

(v)The cold desert of Ladakh is relatively isolated from the rest of the country. It has very rich cultural heritage but it is deficient in water, infrastructure and some vital minerals. This calls for balanced resource planning at the national, state, regional and local levels.

There are many ways to solve the problems of land degradation.

(i)Afforestation and proper management of grazing can help to some extent.

(ii)Planting of shelter belts of plants, control on over grazing, stabilisation of sand dunes by growing thorny bushes are some of the methods to check land degradation. 

(iii)Proper management of waste lands, control of mining activities, proper discharge and disposal of industrial effluents and wastes after treatment can reduce land and water degradation in industrial and suburban areas.

Soil as a Resource in India:

(i)Soil is the most important renewable natural resource. It is the medium of plant growth and supports different types of living organisms on the earth.

(ii)The soil is a living system. It takes millions of years to form soil upto a few centimeters in depth. Relief, parent rock or bedrock, climate, vegetation and other forms of life and time are the important factors in the formation of soil.

(iii)Various forces of nature such as change in temperature, actions of running water, wind and glaciers, activities of the decomposers, etc. contribute to the formation of soil.

(iv)Chemical and organic changes which take place in the soil are equally important.

(v)Soil also consists of organic (humus) and inorganic materials.

On the basis of the status of development resources can be classified into four types.

(i) Potential resources: These include resources which are found in a region, but have not been utilised. For example, solar and wind energy in Rajasthan and Gujarat respectively.

(ii) Developed resources: These include resources which are surveyed and their quality and quantity have been determined for utilization. For example coal, iron, manganese, etc.

(iii) Stock: Materials in the environment which have the potential to satisfy human needs but human beings do not have the appropriate technology to access them are called stock. For example, geothermal energy.

(iv) Reserves: Resources which can be put into use with the help of existing technical ‘know-how’ but their use has not been started. These can be used for meeting future requirements. For example, water in dams, forests, etc.

In June 1992, more than 100 heads of states had met in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, for the first International Earth Summit.

The Summit was convened for addressing urgent problems of environmental protection and socioeconomic development at the global level. The assembled leaders signed the Declaration on Global Climatic Change and Biological Diversity. The Rio Convention endorsed the global Forest Principles and adopted Agenda 21 for achieving Sustainable Development in the 21st century.

On the basis of ownership resources can be classified into four types.

(i) Individual resources: These are owned privately by individuals. For example, plots, houses, plantation, pasture lands, ponds, are owned by individuals.

(ii) Community owned resources: The resources which are accessible to all the members of the community are called community owned resources. For example, grazing grounds, burial grounds, picnic spots, play grounds, etc.

(iii) National resources: All the minerals, water resources, forests, wildlife, land within the political boundaries and oceanic area upto 12 nautical miles from the coast belong to the nation.

(iv) International resources : There are international institutions which regulate some resources. The oceanic resources beyond 200 km of the Exclusive Economic Zone belong to open ocean and no individual country can utilise these without the concurrence of international institutions.

(1) Black soil 

(2) Desert (Arid) soil

(3) Mountainous soil

(4) Alluvial soil

(5) Red and yellow soil

(6) Laterite soil.

33%

2. Stock

Overdraining of ground water

Duration of day

Alluvial soil

(i)renewable resources

(ii)flow

The process of transformation of things available in our environment involves an inter- dependent relationship between nature, technology and institutions. Human beings interact with nature through technology and create institutions to accelerate their economic development.

Black soil are also known as regur soils.
Black soil is ideal for growing cotton.

Forest soils:

(i)These soils are found in the hilly and mountainous areas where sufficient rain forests are available.

(ii)The soils texture varies according to the mountain environment where they are formed.

(iii)They are loamy and silty in valley sides and coarse grained in the upper slopes.

(iv)In the snow covered areas of Himalayas, these soils experience denudation and are acidic with low humus content.

(v)The soils found in the lower parts of the valleys particularly on the river terraces and alluvial fans are fertile.

State of India’s Environment

(i)The village of Sukhomajri and the district of Jhabua have shown that it is possible to reverse land degradation. Tree density in Sukhomajri increased from 13 per hectare in 1976 to 1,272 per hectare in 1992;

(ii)Regeneration of the environment leads to economic well-being, as a result of greater resource availability, improved agriculture and animal care, and consequently, increased incomes. Average annual household income in Sukhomajri ranged from Rs 10,000-15,000 between 1979 and 1984;

Land resources are used for the following purposes:

(i)Forests

(ii)Land not available for cultivation: 

(a) Barren and waste land

(b) Land put to non-agricultural uses, e.g. buildings, roads, factories, etc.

(iii)Other uncultivated land (excluding fallow land): 

(a) Permanent pastures and grazing land,

(b) Land under miscellaneous tree crops groves (not included in net sown area),

(c) Cultruable waste land (left uncultivated for more than 5 agricultural years).

(iv)Fallow lands: 

(a) Current fallow-(left without cultivation for one or less than one agricultural year),

(b) Other than current fallow-(left uncultivated for the past 1 to 5 agricultural years).

(v)Net sown area: 

Area sown more than once in an agricultural year plus net sown area is known as gross cropped area.

A.

Earth Summit 1992

C.

A.

(I) Black Soil (II) Red and Yellow  (III) Mountainous and Forest soil   (IV) Alluvial soil.

Factors responsible for soil formation are:

(i) Colour 

(ii)Thickness

(iii)Texture 

(iv)Age

(v) Chemical and physical properties

The difference:

Potential Resources: Resources which are found in a region, but have not been utilised due to lack of capital or other reasons.

For example, the western parts of India, particularly Rajasthan and Gujarat have enormous potential for the development of wind and solar energy, but so far, these have not been developed properly.

Stock Resources: Materials in the environment which have the potential to satisfy human needs but human beings do not have the appropriate technology to access these, are included among stock.

For example, water is a compound of two inflammable gases; hydrogen and oxygen, which can be used as a rich source of energy. But we do not have the required technical ‘know-how’ to use them for this purpose. Hence, it can be considered as stock.

Land degradation by human activities:

(i)We have sowed our land with the past generations and will have to do so with the future generations too.

(ii)Ninety-five per cent of our basic needs for food, shelter and clothing are obtained from land.

(iii)Human activities have not only brought about degradation of land but have also aggravated the pace of natural forces to cause damage to land.

(iv)At present, there are about 130 million hactares of degraded land in India. Approximately, 28 per cent of it belongs to the category of forest degraded area, 56 per cent of it is water eroded area and the rest is affected by saline and alkaline deposits.

(v)Some human activities and quarrying too have contributed significantly in land degradation.

Across: 1. Regur, 3. Red soil, 5. Sheet erosion, 7. Club of Rome, 9. Lava.

Down:  2. Laterite, 4. Reserves, 6. Biotic, 8. Chambal, 10. Soil erosion.