Designing a watershed scorecard as a performance evaluation tool for Ur River watershed, Tikamgarh District, Madhya Pradesh

• Main Authors: Meeta Gupta, V.C. Goyal, Fawzia Tarannum, Jyoti P. Patil
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2017-12-01
• Series: International Soil and Water Conservation Research
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095633917301144

The study is an attempt to design a watershed scorecard by identifying and evaluating selected set of indicators, such as surface water quality, ground water quality, soil condition, agriculture condition, and forest condition, which accurately reflect the health of the watershed. Ur River Watershed in Tikamgarh District, Madhya Pradesh was taken as a case study to assess the watershed health. Evaluation was done by calculating different indices for the selected set of indicators and comparing them with the National standards and guidelines. Based on the performance of each indicator, the grades were assigned to the indicators which helped in designing the watershed scorecard. The results revealed that within the watershed, the forest and soil conditions need a considerable plan for improvement in order to maintain the ecosystem whereas the surface water quality, groundwater quality and the agricultural conditions requires protection as well as enhancement in certain areas. Keywords: Watershed scorecard, Ur River, Bundelkhand, Water quality, Agricultural condition