Wasteland is not capable of producing materials or services of values. In other words, it means such a land has lost its productivity.
So far, various measures have been taken by the State Forest Department and its allied agencies for reclamation of wasteland and saving them from desertification. However, the measures seem to be inadequate.
Wasteland has been on the rise thanks to rising human activities due to urbanization and industrialisation. The mining spoils areas after the minerals are extracted. The area is left as a barren land replete with holes and pollution. Not a blade of grass grows there. The Centre and the State Governments with foreign aids are going to spend huge funds to counter climate change. There must be a detailed planning for proper utilization of the funds.
Now 16 districts of Odisha are severely affected by drought due to acute shortage of water. Mostly, the south western districts are reeling under acute shortage of water. So the State Government has decided to create 2,000 check dams annually in medium irrigation projects for arresting water to remove the water crisis during the crop period.
No doubt, it is a good idea, but the proper sites should be selected before construction of such check dams. The check dams are only possible in the tributaries and sub- tributaries of the main rivers including rivulets.
During fifties and sixties, there were large numbers of small and medium irrigation projects for better and adequate management of water resources. But due to lack of interest and fraud, such schemes utterly failed. In some States and in western Odisha, the local people are continuing such practices without assistance of the Government to overcome water crisis. Such green planning operations should start from water shed areas of the river.
Water management is most important to improve the local economy. Water conservation and management can not only improve the environmental position but also can increase the productivity of land. Recently as the sources inform the State Government aimed to produce 7lakh tons of fish on a commercial basis. Such aim cannot be fulfilled unless the water resources of the State are not properly administrated.
land and water management is crucial to improve the quality of lives of the people of the country. Now the Government has planned to fill all voids through industrials ashes. By doing so it is going to create several ash ponds within the forest lands and each ash pond will act as animal trap and create hazards for the wild lives. It is better all mining voids are utilized to store water so that the wild creatures can get enough of water. Besides, they can be used to boost fish cultivation. The land after mining should be used to grow fruit bearing trees and climbers, which are eatable for the wild animals. At present, many fruit bearing trees, bamboo, climbers, creepers and rhizomes are vanishing from the forests due to mining and industrial activities.
As the wild animals are not getting enough fodder and water in their habitats, they are straying into human settlement which leads to man-animal conflicts. The process will continue until the habitats of wild creatures are not improved and made sustainable.
Forestry is a continuous process for sustainable maintenance of natural resources through scientific operations. As such things are not done the regular fighting between animal and man is going on. As information reveals the wild boar and monkey of Ganjam districts are suggested by the local forest department to be declared as vermin as they are destroying agricultural crops of the region. Such thing was not happening years ago as there was sufficient food for these animals inside the forests. The wild boars, monkeys, elephants and carnivores are migrating into the human habitats for collection of food.
The Forest Department needs to give priority on management of wild lives. The forest management policy should be oriented in such a way that the forest resources, which include wild lives can be managed in a sustainable manner.
Every day our industries in the State are producing 70,000 tons of industrial ash as waste. When all proposed industries of the State will start functioning, more than 3 lakh tons of ash will be produced daily. This will create a critical situation for disposal of the huge quantity of industrial ash. The waste spoils the quality of water, air, and soil and brings physical load on the plant bodies starting from herbs to free species. It renders vast swathe of productive land into unproductive one or waste land. Further, the use of excessive chemical fertilizers deteriorates the quality of the soil and its productivity. There must be intensive research for proper utilization of industrial ashes. This can be utilised in sticky soil like black cotton soil or lime.
The Government departments dealing with soil and soil fertility should make research for commercial use of industrial ashes.
The writer during his term as a forest officer had been able to make proper use of polluted water of Nandira river of Talcher. The water is now utilized by the local peasants for raising agricultural crops.
(The writer is a former senior forest officer and an environmentalist. Tel no 9937460649)