Watershed development
Note
Integrated management of a drainage basin's land and water resources through check dams, contour bunding, afforestation, and groundwater recharge structures. Implemented under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana – Watershed Development Component (PMKSY-WDC) and the earlier Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) following the Common Guidelines 2008. It is a demand-side water-conservation strategy that reduces soil erosion, improves dryland agriculture productivity, and builds community-level water security in rain-fed regions.
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Questions on this topic
Consider the following pairs matching water harvesting structures used in decentralised watershed development with their primary hydrological function:
- Check dam — Arrests surface runoff at a drainage outlet to promote percolation and recharge of groundwater
- Farm pond — Stores rainwater on-farm to provide supplemental irrigation for rainfed crops during dry spells
- Contour bund — Diverts excess runoff away from agricultural fields to prevent waterlogging of the root zone
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
Explanation
Check dams are small barriers constructed across drainage channels or streams to slow and impound surface runoff; the impounded water percolates into the soil, recharging the shallow aquifer — this is their primary hydrological function in watershed development. Farm ponds are excavated or embanked on-farm storage structures that capture rainwater; they allow farmers to store water during rainfall events and draw it for supplemental irrigation during dry spells within the kharif or rabi season — making rainfed agriculture more resilient to erratic rainfall. Contour bunds, however, are earthen embankments constructed along the contour lines of a slope — their function is NOT to divert runoff away but to slow it down and spread it across the field, promoting in-situ infiltration and soil-moisture conservation. Diverting runoff away from fields would defeat the conservation objective; contour bunds retain runoff on-slope for enhanced percolation. Pairs 1 and 2 are correctly matched; Pair 3 misrepresents the function of contour bunds.
Consider the following pairs regarding watershed structures used under the Watershed Development Component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC-PMKSY) and their primary function:
- Continuous Contour Trenches (CCTs) — Intercept and retain rainwater on hill slopes to reduce runoff and promote in-situ soil moisture conservation
- Kolhapuri-type weirs — Low-cost masonry check structures across streams designed to slow water flow, enhance groundwater recharge and support local irrigation
- Percolation tanks — Surface storage structures that hold rainwater and allow it to slowly seep into the ground to recharge underlying aquifers
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
Explanation
All three pairs are correctly matched under the ridge-to-valley watershed development framework. Continuous Contour Trenches (CCTs) are dug along the contours of slopes to intercept rainfall, reduce surface runoff and build soil moisture in situ — a foundational tool on the ridge portion of the watershed. Kolhapuri-type weirs are traditional, low-cost stone or masonry structures built across seasonal streams (nalas); they check the velocity of flowing water, allow it to spread and percolate, thereby recharging groundwater and providing lift irrigation to nearby fields. Percolation tanks are shallow, bunded reservoirs in the middle-to-lower reaches of a watershed whose design deliberately allows stored rainwater to percolate gradually into the soil and replenish local aquifers. WDC-PMKSY explicitly prioritises all three as integral interventions in the ridge-to-valley treatment sequence under the Department of Land Resources (DoLR), Ministry of Rural Development.
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