Desert Development Programme
Also called: DDP · Topic: Regional Planning and Sustainable Development in India · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 6 "Planning and Sustainable Development in Indian Context"
Meaning
The Desert Development Programme (DDP) is a target area programme that began in 1977-78. It works to control desertification, which means good land slowly turning into desert. It covers two kinds of desert. The hot deserts are in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana. The cold deserts are in Jammu and Kashmir (now Ladakh) and Himachal Pradesh. Its main tools are afforestation, shelterbelts (rows of trees that block the wind), pasture development and water harvesting. In 2009-10 it was merged with DPAP and IWDP into the Integrated Watershed Management Programme, which is now WDC-PMKSY (verify current).
Example
In the Thar Desert of western Rajasthan, shelterbelts and pastures planted near villages slow down moving sand dunes. This protects farmland from wind erosion.
Don't confuse with
- Drought Prone Area Programme: it began earlier, in the Fourth Plan. It covers semi-arid areas where the rain often fails, such as Marathwada and Rayalaseema, not only true deserts.