Hazards of soil erosion in India: A growing concern

In an agro-based country like India, land is by far the most valuable asset. The continuous erosion/degradation of such valuable resource is a major environmental concern. According to a report of the NCEPC, India was losing more than 6,000 million tones of topsoil per year in 1972 in terms of major nutrients-N, P, K, which alone represented an annual loss of Rs. 700 crores. Today the loss is many times more. So, the first and foremost task must be to identify the areas of major concern as well as required measures to check the damages. Soil conservation is especially critical in India because of its spatial and temporal nature of rainfall. Spatially, annual rainfall varies from 10 to 1,000 centimeters. Temporally, 70% of the annual rainfall occurs during a four-month period i.e. between June and September. Under these handicaps, India produces crops on more than half of its total land area. The problems of soil erosion in India are varied and complex, which needs urgent and increased attention.