Question

Describe the Hill Area Development Programmes of India.

Hint:

Hill Area Development Programmes of India

Answer 1

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Hill Area Development Programmes (HADP) were launched by the Indian government to address the special problems of hilly and mountainous regions, which need different planning from the plains because of their difficult terrain, limited farmland and fragile ecology.

Step 2: Objectives.
The programme aims to raise income and employment in hill areas, check ecological damage from over-farming and deforestation, improve infrastructure like roads and irrigation suited to slopes, and slow migration from hills to the crowded plains.

Step 3: Focus areas covered.
HADP was extended to hilly districts across states such as Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal (Darjeeling), Tamil Nadu (Nilgiris) and the northeastern hill states, tailoring plans to each region's terrain and resource base.

Step 4: Strategies used.
Programmes promote horticulture (fruit growing), animal husbandry, plantation crops like tea and spices, forestry-based livelihoods, tourism and small-scale industry, which suit the hilly terrain better than intensive grain farming, along with soil and water conservation works on slopes.

Final Answer:
Hill Area Development Programmes in India are region-specific plans that promote horticulture, forestry, tourism and conservation to raise livelihoods in hilly regions while protecting their fragile ecology.\[ \boxed{\text{Region-specific hill development and conservation plans}} \]