Soil erosion hits area the size of 34,000 football fields every year in HP: Study
CHANDIGARH: It’s a disaster waiting to happen. Soil erosion is affecting vast tracts of land in the Shivalik hills and foothills, with Himachal Pradesh (HP) being the worst hit as 34,000 hectares of its land is impacted every year, one hectare being slightly smaller than a football field.
If remedial measures are not taken soon, calamities such as the June 2013 Uttarakhand floods that caused large scale devastation and landslides can strike frequently, states a recently released study by the ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (IISWC) Research Centre.
Soil erosion washes away highly organic and fertile topsoil, affecting crop productivity.
Dr Pawan Sharma, director, IISWC, while sharing statistics till March 2018 told HT that the studies were primarily focused on Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi.
The Shivalik foothills cover Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.
The scenario in HP, says Dr Sharma, is peculiar in terms of variation of soil erosion rates. While just a few tonnes of soil are eroded in some areas, other parts face losses of more than 680 tonnes per hectare per year (t/he/ year).
Water runoff is the main reason for the problem in the three states. Out of the 34,000 hectares in HP, 7,290 hectares have been severely hit, losing 20 to 80 t/ha/ year. About 5,640 hectares are in the dangerous zone, losing 80 t/ ha/yr. Another 3,000 hectares are moderately hit, with 10 to 15 t/ha/ yr impacted.
The situation is alarming in Punjab too, with nearly 51,000 hectares affected. Of this, nearly 3,310 hectares of land has severe to very severe loss of topsoil of more than 10 to 80 t/he/year.
“While nearly 44,000 hectares have soil loss of less than five tonnes t/ha/yr, 3,400 lose 15 t/ha/yr. However, nearly 1,800 hectares have a moderately severe soil loss
of 10 to 20 t/ha/yr, while nearly 8,800 hectares have severe soil erosion of 20 to 40 t/ha/yr. Another 7,200 hectares are in the danger zone with 40 to80 t/ha/ yr,” says Dr Sharma.
Reckless deforestation in the choe (streams) areas of Punjab and Haryana are also a major contributing factor, he adds.
About 190 hectares in Haryana have very severe soil loss of 40 to 80 t/ha/year. Severe soil loss of 15 to 40 t/ha/yr impacts nearly 1,040 hectares of land in the state.
TROUBLE SPOTS
Dr Sharma says the foothills of the Shivalik covering the states of Punjab, HP, Haryana and J&K have a very delicate ecosystem because of the unusual geographical formations and extremely erodible soils.
Deforestation, wind and water
erosion, overgrazing and shifting cultivation are the prime causes of soil erosion in the Shivaliks.
Haryana: Ambala, Mahendragarh, Panchkula, Gurgaon, areas around Markanda and Yamunanagar.
Punjab: Soil erosion by water is a serious condition in the Kandi area, with rain water accounting for an annual loss of more than 40%. Most of the Kandi region has been left infertile and prone to floods by countless choe dotting the districts of Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Ropar and Nawanshahr in northeastern Punjab. Erosion due to water is also prominent in the ravines along the Beas. Wind erosion impacts areas in southwestern districts such as Ferozepur, Bathinda, Mansa and Faridkot. Himachal: Areas scattered in patches across the state.