Resource information
The Government may declare any area as a protected watershed area and the Watershed Conservation Officer may take within the area the measures established by the present Act for the purpose of soil and watershed conservation (e.g. construction and maintenance of waterworks, afforestation, planting of grasses or other vegetation, protection of forests, cultivation of crops and fruits, maintenance of the fertility of the soil, etc.). The cultivation of lands within the protected watershed area may be undertaken by the Water Conservation Officer or, in the case of private property, by the landowner or the tenant, on the basis of a land use system. In relation to the purpose of this Act, article 10 lists acts that are prohibited in areas where natural disasters have occurred or may occur, such as storing water, cutting trees, plants or other forest products, digging sand or soil, dumping garbage, grazing animals. If the government considers it necessary, it may shift industrial, commercial or resettlement colonies, acquire privately-owned land according to current law onland acquisition. The Water Conservation Officer has the power to: (a) enter at any time into protected watershed areas for inspection or maintenance purposes; (b) prohibit actions that may cause soil erosion or washout on lands on which protection measures have been taken. Further provisions concern the establishment of the National Resources Conservation Commission in order to advise the Government on matters relevant to watershed and soil conservation. Moreover, the Government may form District soil and Watershed Conservation Committees for coordinating soil and watershed conservation operations in any district. Final provisions concern the settlement of disputes.
