Resource Planning Atlas of Jammu & Kashmir (People Land & Forest) : JAMMU
by
Gurbakhsh Singh
| Publisher | BOOKWELL |
| Publication Year | 2013 |
| ISBN-13 | 9789380574226 |
| ISBN-10 | |
| Language | English |
| Binding | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | Pages |
ABOUT THE BOOK :-
‘Resources are not, they become’ is a famous doctrine
propounded by Erich W.Zimmermann Resources in general and natural resources in
particular need to be managed and planned in such a way that they become
capable of feeding the billions along with satisfying their other needs and
wants. Being universally true, the problem is most pressing for the developing
world in general and India in particular. Managing the resources in a backward,
hilly and mountainous state of Jammu and Kashmir is still more important.
It is in this context that the author, Prof. Gurbakhsh
Singh, has taken up only three resources viz. people, land and forests of Jammu
region of Jammu & Kashmir state for their assessment over time and space so
that this assessment becomes handy for the future planning of these resources
for their optimal utilization. He has taken large number of relevant and cogent
parameters to discuss these resources. Besides, deliberating briefly on the
environmental settings of study region he has dwelt upon various elements of
population which greatly influence the use of the land. While discussing land
as a resource all the nine categories of land use have been defined and
discussed along with newly created tenth category-“The potential agricultural
land” in their spatial and temporal context. Agricultural regionalization is
based on four cogent parameters of agricultural productivity, ranking of crops,
crop combination and crop diversification. Besides all this, levels of
agricultural development have been obtained by selecting ten relevant
variables. Forests are by far the most important resource of the study region
and as such only four commercially important species based on four parametric
angles viz distribution of areas, growing stock (a b h), density and volume of
growing stock have been dealt with in such a way that future planners can be
helped in taking decisions. All these aspects of three important resources are
depicted by more than one hundred and seventy maps (plates) which give it a
shape of an Atlas and make the work more comprehensive and authentic.
About the Author:-
Born on 10th October, 1944 at village Mundi Harhi, Tehsil
Bagh now in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), Prof. Gurbakhsh Singh, popularly
known as G.B. Singh, graduated from G.G.M. Science College, Jammu in 1963. He
obtained his M.Sc; M.Phil and Ph.D degrees from A.M.U., Aligarh in the years
1966, 1977 and 1981 respectively. After serving as a Prof of geography in
different Govt. Degree colleges of the state from 1966 to 1988, he joined the
P.G. Department Of Geography, University of Jammu, Jammu at the very inception
of this department from where he retired as professor and its head in 2004.
Prof. Gurbakhsh Singh remained an eager and enthusiastic
researcher throughout his teaching career and even after. He has authored
about fifty research papers which stand published in different journals of
national and international repute. Besides, he authored three research oriented
books. He completed two major research projects. Prof. Singh has attended more
than sixty national and international seminars and conferences and presented
research papers which received accolade from the scientific community. He is
life member of various associations engaged in the development and propagation
of geography as a spatial science He represented North – West India as a Member
of The Executive Committee Of National Association of Geographers India for
three terms. He received innumerable invitations from different universities of
the country to deliver special lectures. Prof. Gurbakhsh Singh is still
actively engaged in the research activities which are reflected in his
participation in seminars, conferences and his research publications.
Though produced by a geographer with a long inning of teaching and research, this book is useful piece for both scholars and policy makers. Based on huge data primarily gathered through varied secondary sources, the author presents a richly illustrated (around 168 maps, 13 diagrams and 70 tables) and lucidly described picture of the natural and social worlds of Jammu Province, constituting one of the major administrative units of the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
ReplyDeleteOrganized in eight chapters, the book unfolds layer by layer the personality of this topographically and climatically varied region. The major aspects dealt for spatial and temporal analysis are population, land use, irrigation, agricultural scenario and forest wealth. What makes this descriptive atlas an outstanding and fascinating creative product is its dynamic nature. The scholar has utilized data for different times, mainly four periods for exploring cartographically this least studied region.