Sustainable Development-Meaning and Imperatives for Orchard Farmers of Hilly Regions of Uttarakhand: A Case Study of Ramgarh Area of Uttarakhand, India

The idea of sustainable development has been prominently in discussions lately. The developed nations have observed high economic growth in the twentieth century and now the onus has been shifted to the developing nations, majorly the BRIC countries, to provide the large, ever-increasing population a decent level of living. The unscrupulous usage of natural resources earlier by developed nations and now by the developing nations has led to problematic social and ecological changes. This paper tries to explore the pressure of economic growth and the consequences at village level. The study, exploratory in nature, is based on the experiences of a small village (Ramgarh) in the hills of Uttarakhand in India. The area was famous for the orchards, prominently apple, but over the years has seen unprecedented construction of cottages: mostly owned by rich people from outside. It is worth mentioning, that these areas have limited employment opportunities and had high dependence on the local agricultural/horticultural production as source of income. The uncertainties of income have forced large-scale migration to other parts of the country. Consequently, the socio-cultural fabric is also getting fractured. The study is important because it is a situation faced by most of the sections of the society in the rural hinterland of the country.