Question

For land management point of view, the size of watershed should be

• A. Less than 100 ha
• B. 100 ha to 500 ha
• C. 500 ha to 1000 ha
• D. 1000 ha to 1500 ha

Hint:

In India, the standard unit of treatment under national watershed guidelines is generally a micro-watershed of approximately 500 ha, making the 500-1000 ha range the practical choice for field-level execution.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Watersheds are classified into different categories (macro, sub, milli, micro, and mini) based on their geographical area.
The selection of an appropriate watershed size is critical for effective planning and implementing soil and water conservation measures.
Detailed Explanation:
- Watershed classification based on size typically follows these standard ranges:
1. Macro-watershed: $> 50,000 \text{ ha}$
2. Sub-watershed: $10,000 \text{ to } 50,000 \text{ ha}$
3. Milli-watershed: $1000 \text{ to } 10,000 \text{ ha}$
4. Micro-watershed: $100 \text{ to } 1000 \text{ ha}$
5. Mini-watershed: $10 \text{ to } 100 \text{ ha}$
- For detailed land management, local-level planning, and community participation (such as under the Integrated Watershed Management Programme, IWMP), the ______micro-watershed______ scale is considered ideal.
- A size of ______500 ha to 1000 ha______ represents the optimal operational unit.
This size is small enough to allow detailed physical surveys and community-based execution, yet large enough to establish meaningful resource management practices (such as check dams, farm ponds, and vegetative barriers) and assess their hydrologic impacts.

Step 2: Final Answer:
The ideal size of a watershed from a land management perspective is 500 ha to 1000 ha. This corresponds to option (C).