Sustainable Development and Natural Resource Conservation through Watershed Approach: A Case Study

Kalahandi a western district of Odisha, India is one of the most backward regions of the country. Reeling with problems of prolong dry spell and erratic rainfall have caused havoc and has given the district the distinction of one of the worst drought affected regions of the country. With major chunk of its population representing the lower strata of the society (mostly SC, ST and landless), grabs the attention of national, international media for all wrong regions like pervasive poverty, crop failure, farmer  homicide, malnutrition, migration etc. A centrally sponsored program called ‘Integrated Water Management Program (IWMP) has been launched in the region from the period 2010-11 to 2016-17 with an objective to combat different issues to bring sustainable development in the area and to elevate the living condition of the dwellers. The study infactis an attempt to evaluate the onsite impact of the project in the region. Two micro watershed namely Turpi (Lat. Ext.-20’06’5”E 6-20’05’N6” Long. Ext.-83⁰05’3” to 83⁰03’6 E”) and Pastipada (Lat. Ext. 20’0’5” N to 20’1’57” N and Long. Ext.- 83⁰6’15” to 83⁰6’25 E”) watershed of river Tel, a none perennial river, belonging to Bhawanipatna block of the district has been used as a case study for assessing effect of various watershed intervention. Poor soil cover, sparse vegetation erratic rainfall, large scale erosion, lower water table, over exploitation of ground water is the perennial problems of the region.