Parasu Ram Mishra (died 2001) was an Indian soil conservationist and environmentalist, credited with efforts for the transformation of Sukhomajri, a small village in Chandigarh in the valley of Shivalik Hills.[1] He was the head of the Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Institute (CSWCRTI) at its Chandigarh centre.[2] He was a recipient of the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of the Padma Shri.[3]
A decade after the Sukhna Lake, conceptualised by Le Corbusier was built, it was detected that sedimentation through the Kansal choe, a seasonal stream, was causing reduction in the depth and size of the lake.[4] In order to find a solution to the problem, CSWCRTI deputed a team in 1975, with Mishra as the project director[5] to Sukhomajri, an arid village at the foothills of Shivalik Hills, in Panchkula district of the Indian state of Haryana.[2] He worked for three years with the local villagers, educating them about the seriousness of the situation and urging them to abandon goat farming which was causing denuding of the forests and shift to cattle farming. He built two check dams across the seasonal stream for rain water harvesting, made water available to villagers for agriculture and was successful in implementing social fencing programme, where the villagers erected fences protecting the forests from cattle grazing.[2] With assistance from the Forest Department of Haryana and the Ford Foundation, he is reported to have transformed the village into a prosperous one.[5] It is reported that the bare slopes of Shivalik Hills were covered with vegetation, the milk production increased nine-fold, the rate of sedimentation was reduced to 1/15th of earlier levels, crop yield increased manifold, and a corpus fund was put in place, under the care of a society, for development activities in the village.[5] A 1992 study by S. K. Dhar, the then Chief Conservator of Forests, confirmed that the tree density also increased from 13 per hectare to 1272 per hectare.[2]
Mishra introduced a new concept of cyclical investment, Chakriya Vikas Pranali, where a part of the returns from a scheme becomes the capital of the next project, which is noted to have assisted in increasing rural employment and making the village self-reliant.[2] The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) acknowledged the success of the Sukhomajri project by publishing a case study report, by P. R. Mishra and M. Sarin under the title Social Security Through Social Fencing.[6] The article was included in the 1988 book, The Greening of aid: sustainable livelihoods in practice, published by IIED.[7] The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian award of the Padma Shri in 2000, for his services in the fields of ecology and environment.[3]
^"A tribute to P R Mishra". Indian Environmental Portal, Government of India. 30 May 2001. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
^ abcde"Down to Earth profile". Down to Earth. 30 May 2001. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
^ ab"Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
^"Sukhomajri: a tiny village in Haryana". Your Article Library. 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
^ abcAmitava Mukherjee, V. K. Agnihotri (1993). Environment and Development. Concept Publishing Company. p. 587. ISBN9788170227885.
^P. R. Mishra, M. Sarin (1987). Social Security Through Social Fencing: Sukhomajri and Nada's Road to Self-sustaining Development. International Institute for Environment and Development. p. 32.
^Czech Conroy, Miles Litvinoff (Editors) (1988). The Greening of Aid. International Institute for Environment and Development. p. 302. ISBN9781853830167. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
April 12, 2024
parasu, mishra, died, 2001, indian, soil, conservationist, environmentalist, credited, with, efforts, transformation, sukhomajri, small, village, chandigarh, valley, shivalik, hills, head, central, soil, water, conservation, research, training, institute, cswc. Parasu Ram Mishra died 2001 was an Indian soil conservationist and environmentalist credited with efforts for the transformation of Sukhomajri a small village in Chandigarh in the valley of Shivalik Hills 1 He was the head of the Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Institute CSWCRTI at its Chandigarh centre 2 He was a recipient of the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of the Padma Shri 3 Parasu Ram Mishra Some of this article s listed sources may not be reliable Please help improve this article by looking for better more reliable sources Unreliable citations may be challenged and removed August 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Parasu Ram MishraBornJanuary 1926Jharkhand IndiaDiedMay 2001Occupation s Soil conservationistEnvironmentalistYears active1965 2000Known forSukhomajri projectSpouseRamjhari MishraChildren6ParentRamVriksha MishraAwardsPadma Shri Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra AwardsContributions editA decade after the Sukhna Lake conceptualised by Le Corbusier was built it was detected that sedimentation through the Kansal choe a seasonal stream was causing reduction in the depth and size of the lake 4 In order to find a solution to the problem CSWCRTI deputed a team in 1975 with Mishra as the project director 5 to Sukhomajri an arid village at the foothills of Shivalik Hills in Panchkula district of the Indian state of Haryana 2 He worked for three years with the local villagers educating them about the seriousness of the situation and urging them to abandon goat farming which was causing denuding of the forests and shift to cattle farming He built two check dams across the seasonal stream for rain water harvesting made water available to villagers for agriculture and was successful in implementing social fencing programme where the villagers erected fences protecting the forests from cattle grazing 2 With assistance from the Forest Department of Haryana and the Ford Foundation he is reported to have transformed the village into a prosperous one 5 It is reported that the bare slopes of Shivalik Hills were covered with vegetation the milk production increased nine fold the rate of sedimentation was reduced to 1 15th of earlier levels crop yield increased manifold and a corpus fund was put in place under the care of a society for development activities in the village 5 A 1992 study by S K Dhar the then Chief Conservator of Forests confirmed that the tree density also increased from 13 per hectare to 1272 per hectare 2 Mishra introduced a new concept of cyclical investment Chakriya Vikas Pranali where a part of the returns from a scheme becomes the capital of the next project which is noted to have assisted in increasing rural employment and making the village self reliant 2 The International Institute for Environment and Development IIED acknowledged the success of the Sukhomajri project by publishing a case study report by P R Mishra and M Sarin under the title Social Security Through Social Fencing 6 The article was included in the 1988 book The Greening of aid sustainable livelihoods in practice published by IIED 7 The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian award of the Padma Shri in 2000 for his services in the fields of ecology and environment 3 See also editSukhna Lake International Institute for Environment and Development nbsp India portal nbsp Environment portalReferences edit A tribute to P R Mishra Indian Environmental Portal Government of India 30 May 2001 Retrieved 6 November 2015 a b c d e Down to Earth profile Down to Earth 30 May 2001 Retrieved 6 November 2015 a b Padma Awards PDF Ministry of Home Affairs Government of India 2015 Retrieved 21 July 2015 Sukhomajri a tiny village in Haryana Your Article Library 2015 Retrieved 6 November 2015 a b c Amitava Mukherjee V K Agnihotri 1993 Environment and Development Concept Publishing Company p 587 ISBN 9788170227885 P R Mishra M Sarin 1987 Social Security Through Social Fencing Sukhomajri and Nada s Road to Self sustaining Development International Institute for Environment and Development p 32 Czech Conroy Miles Litvinoff Editors 1988 The Greening of Aid International Institute for Environment and Development p 302 ISBN 9781853830167 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a author has generic name help Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Parasu Ram Mishra amp oldid 1185082768, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
