A Study of Micro Watershed Development Projects in Chittoor District

Watershed development activity was taken up in the country prior to Independence in the state of Maharashtra (the Bombay State) as a scarcity relief work during drought years in which contour bunding programme for conservation of moisture and control of soil erosion was mostly undertaken. After Independence, during the Second Five Year Plan, soil conservation research, demonstration and training centres were established in different agro-ecological zones. Soil conservation activities on farmers' fields were started in different states for which almost all the states participated in programmes formulated by government of India, Ministry of Agriculture. In fact, soil conservation activities taken up earlier were on watershed basis, which have now been renamed as 'watershed development programmes'.