Importance & Principle behind the Construction of Check Dam in Microwater-Shed Areas: A Critical Review

Anupam Kumar and Kumar Nikhil

Conservation of water and checking soil erosion is central to the attainment of economic as well as financial sustainability of dry land and agriculture. Integrated Watershed Development Programme, which is proposed by the Government of India, is a major policy instrument for achieving this goal. The importance of watershed development as a strategy of agricultural and overall rural development in rain-fed areas has been recognized in India for the past several decades, and in the recent years has grown exponentially. Recent check-dams constructed over the micro watersheds like the ones in Bidar, Ahmedabad, Latur, Guna, Tumkur, spanning throughout the length and breadth of the nation, and its successful implementation shows its universal applicability. However, it is to be kept in mind that the implementation of check dam construction in a micro watershed based ecology dates back to the establishment of four dry farming research stations at Rohtak, Sholapur, Hyderabad and Bellary in early 30s, which led to the advancement in the recent technological augmentation.