Among the various problems that India faces, the most serious problem is that of misuse of natural resources. Today our country is having a vast mineral, forest & water resource. Our nation has suffered huge loses both economically & socially. The major problem now is drought & if the forest & mineral resources would have been utilized properly there would have been a huge generation of employment & revenues.
In India the areas of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh & Orissa are severe drought affected region. If we analyze the data we can find that it’s rural India that is most affected. The rural population largely depends on the natural resource. Due to drought there is a sharp decline of resources. This has serious implications on the economic & social front.
Drought in India is the result of poor water management since no sincere effort is made to conserve the rainwater. This also results in poor agriculture. Simultaneously, there are huge deforestations going on. Houses and factories are set up not realizing the after effects. The most important reason for all this problem is the lackadaisical attitude of government & misuse of govt. funds.
Inspite of all odds there are some examples where people have got together to show that concerted efforts by dedicated people does lead to economic resurrection and prosperity. Rajiv Gandhi Water Shed and several NGO’S have come to the forefront to improve the situation.
“ Every cloud has a silver lining”, that’s what the people of a small village in the Alwar district of Rajasthan has proved. The village is recognized for its outstanding contribution to rainwater harvesting. People built mud dams or “johads” to stop wasteful drain of rainwater.
Afforestation was carried out. Uncultivable land was converted to cultivable land.
Illegal felling of trees should be stopped. The natural resources like minerals should be utilized properly. Govt. should take measures to stop the pilferage of minerals. There should not be any slack time of collection & delivery of raw materials to the industry. So above all 3 points have to be remembered: -
Economic well being of a community of a country is related to the natural resource.
Decentralization & people participation are always essential.
Literacy & awareness among the village folks is essential.
Govt. should take up the following measures: -
o Implementation & monitoring of the programmes.
o Making the water management policy more equitable.
o There should be full financial & legislative support.
o Emphasizing the significance of interdepartmental cooperation for a successful programme.
Such developmental policies have already taken place in Rural India. But there is need to make this an all-encompassing movement to prevent further loss. Effective management of the natural resource will lead to reduction of poverty & generation of employment.
Mainak Gupta, Offline (The Material World Online Management Journal) Volume-4, No- 7, June 2006
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