Out of the total geographical area of the country of 329 MH, about 146
MH is degraded and 85 MH is rainfed arable land. This includes degraded land
not only under private ownership, but also the one with the departments of
panchayat, revenue and forest. All these lands are prioritized for development
under various watershed development projects under Common Guidelines for Watershed Development Pro
jects,2008. During
the 11th Five Year Plan, major thrust would be laid on developing the untreated
areas. The Technical Committee on Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP), Desert Development Programme (DDP) and Integrated Wastelands Development Programme (IWDP), under the chairmanship of Shri S. Parthasarathy (2006), addressed major issues in watershed programmes and recommended viable strategies and mechanisms for effective implementation of these programmes. Based on the suggestions of the Committee, National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA), in coordination with Planning Commission, formulated Common Guidelines for Watershed Development Projects, 2008 to give an impetus to watershed development programmes. The provisions in the Common Guidelines and the observations of the Parthasarthy Committee have necessitated modifications in the watershed schemes of the Department of Land Resources. Accordingly, DPAP, DDP and IWDP of the Department of Land Resources have been integrated and consolidated into a single modified programme called Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) w.e.f. 26.02.2009. The provisions of treatment of micro-watersheds on cluster basis, reduced number of installments, delegation of power of sanction of projects to the States, dedicated institutions, capacity building of stakeholders, monitoring & evaluation, specific budget provision for Detailed Project Report preparation, livelihood for assetless people and productivity enhancement are the major features of IWMP.
