Explain the role of planning for judicious use of resources.

(i) Planning is the widely accepted strategy for judicious use of resources.

(ii) It has importance in a country like India, which has enormous diversity in the availability of resources.

(iii) There are regions which are rich in certain types of resources but are deficient in some other resources.

(iv) There are some regions which can be considered self-sufficient in terms of the availability of resources and there are some regions which have acute shortage of some vital resources.

(v) For example, the states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are rich in minerals and coal deposits.

(vi) Arunachal Pradesh has abundance of water resources but lacks in infrastructural development.

(vii) The state of Rajasthan is very well endowed with solar and wind energy but lacks in water resources.

(viii) The cold desert of Ladakh is relatively isolated from the rest of the country. It has very rich cultural heritage but it is deficient in water, infrastructure and some vital minerals.

(ix) This calls for balanced resource planning at the national, state, regional and local levels.