About the Society
Soil Conservation Society of India was born at Hazaribagh. Bihar (now in Jharkhand) in December 1951. at the first National Symposium on Soil Conservation organized by the first multidisciplinary Department of Soil Conservation created by the Damodar Valley Corporation. on the pattern of the TVA-Tennessee Valley Authority (USA). It was registered at Patna. Bihar vide No. 14. 1952-53 under the Societies Registration Act of 1860.
The Society is particularly indebted to the contribution and dedication of the following founder members.
1. Mr. Andrew de Vajda. Chief Conservation Engineer of the DVC. who was FAO Adviser at Rome. and voluntarily attended the office. without salary. till his death at 86. 2. Sh. K.S.V. Raman. ICS. the then Director of Soil Conservation and Rehabilitation. who directed the affairs of the Society for 25 years and brilliantly edited the Journal. 3. Sh. S.N.Mazumdar. ICS. Chairman of the DVC. 4. Sh. K.B. Sahay. Revenue Minister of Bihar. 5. Sh. C.D. Deshmukh. ICS. Finance Minister. Govt. of India. 6. Sh. Sudhir Sen. General Manager and Secretary. DVC. 7. Dr. J. K. Basu. the first and foremost Soil Conservationist of the country. whose researches at Sholapur created the Dry Farming System compatible with drought conditions. He is the creator of the Soil Conservation Institute. Dehradun and the Centers under it. as also the national soil conservation programme under the then Central Soil Conservation Board. 8. Dr. S.P. Raychaudhuri. who wrote the first Soil Survey guidelines and became the first Head of what was subsequently called. till very recently. All India Soil and Land Use Survey (now renamed as Soil and Land Use Survey of India). 9. Sh. H.N. Thakur. IAS (Deputy Director (Rehabilitation) DVC. who was instrumental for the success of the DVC's policy of the land foreland for the oustees of the land submerged by the construction of high Dam. 10. Sh. A.A. Hakim. who worked very ably as DVC's Soil Conservation Engineer and later as Professor at IIT. Kharagpur. Unfortunately. he died at a young age. 11. Sh. S.N. Kaul. who created the system of foreshore farming for the big dams. for the emerging land from the large man-made lakes. He died of the ripe old age of 95. 12. Dr. N.D. Rege. who was at the Soil Conservation Headquarters for many years and was the first Officer who helped to create the Water Management programme of the country under the able direction of B.B.Vohra. IAS. 13. Sh. Anmol Singh. who was one of the founders of the Soil Conservation Programme in U.P. and still active in the state. 14. Sh. R.N. Srivastava. who helped to lay the foundation of a Soil Conservation Programme. first in Madhya Bharat and then in Madhya Pradesh. 15. Sh B.S. Subramanian. who has always emphasized the proper management and development of soil & water resources. 16. Sh. B.M. Lakshmipathy. the first Chief Agricultural Engineer of Tamil Nadu. who helped to create the first two-wheel tractor and land forming equipments. 17. Sh. P.S. Lamba. who was Director of Agriculture. M.P.. first opposed Watershed Management . but later became its ardent advocate; 18. Sh. M.K. Shirole. who helped to develop Dry Farming Techniques at Sholapur. and later created the largest Soil Conservation Organisation of the country in Maharashtra;...and many more. whose contribution was no less than others. 19. Prof. J.S.Bali. who is 90 years at present. works actively for the society and for the profession with the dedication and zeal of a pioneer. On his return for Malaysia in 1983. he revived the Society which had gone into dormant stage for about six years after the death of Shri K.S.V.Raman. the first President and the Editor. Prof. Bali had been President of the Society for two terms. and is now our Patron or more exactly a working Patron and Adviser. 20. Dr. M.L.Dewan. Another outstanding name is that of Dr.M.L.Dewan. who has been the ex-secretary of the Society. He is a live wire. humming with activity. even at the age of 91. He is devoted to the Himalayas. His interests truly range from the Soil to the Soul. He attracts a large number of volunteers who are affectionately called the Dewan Brigade. PRESIDENTS AND SECRETARY-GENERALS PresidentsPeriod • Shri K.S.V. Raman. I.C.S.1951-54 • Shri P.P. Verma1955-62 • Shri K.S.V. Raman. I.C.S.1963-82 • Prof. J.S. Bali1983-93 • Dr. S. Subramaniyan1993-2003 • Dr. S.P. Gawande2003-2005 • Dr. Suraj Bhan2005-Continuing Secretary-GeneralsPeriod • Dr. M.L. Dewan1951-52 • Shri A.A. Hakim1953-54 • Shri S.S. Pillai1955-57 • Shri J.N. Pandey1957-62 • Shri N.C. Bole1963-80 • Shri D.K. Rao1980-82 • Dr. R.L. Karale1983-88 • Dr. S.P. Gawande1988-92 • Shri G.F. Thawakar1992-95 • Dr. Suraj Bhan1996-99 • Dr. S.N. Das2000-05 • Shri B. Rath2005-2013 • Shri Jagat Vir Singh 2013-20 • Sh. RAS Patel 2021- Continuing HEAD QUARTER OF THE SOCIETYThe headquarter of the society was Hazaribagh from 1952 to 1989 in Bihar State now in Jharkhand state which was shifted from Hazaribagh to New Delhi. as resolved in a meeting of the General Body held on January 19. 1990 at IARI(Pusa). New Delhi. A regular office has now been established which is functioning. in a systematic manner. with the close coordination with relevant Ministry/Departments at the Central and State Govt. Department in the country. ICAR Research and Training Institute. NGOs and dedicated member of the Society. The present Address of the Society is: G-4 National Societies. Block-A. National Agriculture Science Centre Complex.
Dev Prakash Shastri Marg (Pusa). New Delhi-110012 Tel: 011-25848244; Telefax: 011-25848244; Mobile: +919868808980 E-Mail: soilcsi@gmail.com. bhan_suraj1945@yahoo.com Webpage: www.soilcsi.in MANDATE OF THE SOCIETYThe Society is mandate to the welfare of farmers and all the rural people whose livelihoods are associated with the natural resources. It works for the cause of conservation. development. management and sustainable use of the soil. land. water and associated resources of plants and animals. It is an association of conservationists-scientists. professionals and all those who pledge to work for the wise use of the precious finite and limited soil resources. OBJECTIVES
Following are the objectives of the Society are to promote: 1. Survey and assessment of natural resources of the country in a systematic manner using other modern techniques of remote sensing. computerized interpretation for conservation and development programmes. 2. Sound technical and latest advanced knowledge of soil and water conservation livestock. Micro flora. Frow Forest and management practices for land degradation. rainwater harvesting. runoff and control peak of water for all sustainable agriculture production systems. (Including Bio-industrial Watershed Management). 3. Implementing of integrated watershed management approach by the peoples involvement and the Govt. 4. Coordination. in implementation of all matters relating to soil and water conservation and Management with reference to ecology and biodiversity among the various agencies-viz government and non-government organization. This will facilitate policies of the Central State Govt. for Food Security and Agricultural sustainability. 5. Development and management of micro water resources as a vital pre-requisite of bio-production. forestry. animal husbandry and fisheries. land management. rural development. environmental protection and other bio-resources uses and conservation programmes within watersheds. 6. All programmes of ecology. agriculture. for enhancing sustainability for rural development livelihoods to improve incomes through integrated farming system and bioindustrial watershed approach. processing agricultural produce. value addition. Market networking in the watersheds. 7. Judicious and Scientific proper soil and water conservation. development and management in the irrigated and rainfed area. 8. Soil and Water Conservation and development in the rainfed areas for enhancing land productivity and harnessing rainwater. APPROACH 1. Land without soil cannot sustain life. The first step towards protection and management of the soil resource is. therefore: 'KNOW THY SOIL'. Soil Conservation and Management essentially implies treatment of the soil according to its needs and using it according to its capability. 2. The land use capability. besides being related to the land and soil characteristics. is also dependent upon the state of technology and capacity of investment. People -oriented soil conservation and sustainable production systems integrally the traditional knowledge and locative specific technology. are the goals of the society. 3. These goals have been promoted by the Society for the last six decades by making suggestions & recommendations to the people and the governments concerned through Memoranda. Publications. Conferences. Special lectures and direct dialogue/meeting with the decision makers. 4. The Society has been advocating an intigrated approach towards conservation. development and management of the Natural Resources within the natural hydrological boundaries of a watershed. 5. Income is decreasing and poverty is becoming associated with agriculture. especially for the small and marginal farmers. The plight of the landless is worse. Profits have vanished from agriculture. Farmers are in distress and committing suicides. 6. Agriculture and land use now need diversification and value addition through processing. storage and better marketing. The Society has. therefore. been advocating the holistic approach of Bio-industrial Watershed Management. in which protection (of ecology and natural resources). production (from sustainable systems). processing (for value addition and rural employment). policy. and rural infrastructure development are all combined. 7. Land. water. plant. animal and human resources have to be holistically planned for development. management and utilization by converging all relevant programmes within watersheds. STATE CHAPTERS OF SCSIThe Society extended its activities by establishing state Chapters in various parts of the country. Currently. 21 state Chapters of the SCSI are functioning namely (1) Andhra Pradesh. (2) Bihar. (3) Gujarat. (4) Kerala. (5) Maharashtra. (6) Orissa. (7) Tamil Nadu. (8) West Bengal. (9) Uttar Pradesh. (10) J&K. (11) Punjab. (12) Nagaland. (13) Arunachal Pradesh. (14) Mizoram. (15) Madhya Pradesh. (16) Assam. (17) Chhattisgarh. (18) Meghalaya. (19) Karnataka. (20) Tripura and (21) Sikkim.
CONSTITUTIONThe Constitution of the Society was published in the very first issue of the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation in October. 1952. Thereafter suitable amendments have been made from time to time. The activities of the Society are being carried out in accordance with the Constitution.
Salient Achievements 1. PUBLICATIONSThe Society has been publishing the quarterly Journal of Soil and Water Conservation since its inception in 1952. A Seminar publication in the form of a book entitled. the Challenge of Our Watersheds. was brought out jointly with FAO in 1957 elaborating and advocating a multidisciplinary watershed approach for land. water and forest conservation and development.
At that time hardly a few persons in India understood what was meant by watershed management. It is a feather in the cap of the Society that today. the word watershed has entered the vocabulary of a common man. The Society also brought out a number of publications based upon the papers presented in its national and international Seminars and Conferences. Some of these publications are listed below. 1. Soil and Water Conservation in India-1993. P.300 2. Advances in Wasteland Development-1997. P.242 3. Advances in Land Resource Management for 21st Century-2000. P.655 4. Land Resource Management for Food & Environmental Security-2001. P.394 5. Watershed Management for Sustainable Production. Livelihood and Environmental Security-Issues and Options-2005. P.162 6. Conservation Farming-Enhancing productivity and Profitability of Rainfed Areas- 2008. P.476 7. Conservation Farming-2009. P.490 8. Bioindustrial Watershed Development-2010. P.303 9. Lead paper and Abstracts-2013. P.392. 10. Mountain. Ecosystem and Man-2013. P.456A specially published book of the Society. authored by Prof. J.S. Bali. titled: Bio Industrial Watershed Management-Concept and Strategies P.100 was brought out in 2005. It has been well received by the policy makers and planners of the country. All these publications have not only been acclaimed by the decision-makers. but also by the end-users-individuals and agencies. NGOs and the student communities etc.
2. LIBRARYSociety maintains a small library. which has about 1000 books. proceedings of the National & International Conferences. Seminars. and Symposia. National & International journals. and other miscellaneous literature.
SCSI s Initiative
It was in late 1980s. when Prof. J.S. Bali suggested creation of a Central Land Resource Ministry or Department. The argument was simple: There is the Agriculture Department to get food from the land; there is the Forest Department to get wood from the land; there is the Water Resources Ministry to get water from the land; but there is no Ministry or even a Department for care and conservation of the mother Resource of the Land. The then President (1993-2003) of the Society pursued the matter vigorously along with other members. It took about 10 years; but our appeal bore fruit ultimately and department of land Resource was included.
3. Y.P. BALI MEMORIAL LECTURE
The Society has organized 24 significant events of for reaching importance they include National Symposium, Annual Sessions/ Conferences and two International Conferences : The themes of the two international conference were (1) Land Resource Management for Food, Employment and Environmental Security in 2000, and (2) Conservation Farming Systems & Watershed Management in Rainfed Areas for Rural Employment & Poverty Eradication (ICON-FARM) in 2008. These Conferences, Symposium and extraordinary meets helped to promote awareness about conservation of soil, water and other associated natural resources, biodiversity and ecology, and served to introduce several new and useful trends in Land and Water Resource Management.
One of the most important outcomes of the First International Conference 2000 was promotion of community centered 'Land Care Movement' driven by grassroots level rural institutions like Panchayat Raj/Local bodies as envisaged under Schedule II (Article 5) of the Constitution of India (Amendment 73) Act 1982. Each country is expected to develop a set of specific plans commensurate with their social, political, economical and environmental needs. Thus, the recommendations made by this International Conference have been fruitful for improving Soil and Water Conservation Programmes in the whole world.
The Society has also achieved another milestone. It collaborated with the International Rice Research Institute in organizing, during May 2003, a Multi-Stakeholder Regional Consultation. The theme was: Assessment of the Role of Agricultural Science and Technology in Reducing Hunger, Improving Rural Livelihoods and Stimulating Environmentally Sustainable Economic Growth.
The details of the National Symposium/Annual Session/Conferences and International Conference organized by the Soil Conservation Society of India since inception are: