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Ravines of Chambal evoke images of deep gullies along the Chambal river, long infamous as hideouts of dacoits. Today, however, these gorges face a different threat—encroachment by those seeking to “reclaim” the land. Formed by erosion due to river flow or rainfall, ravines are steep, degraded landforms. The Chambal ravines, spanning Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, are often regarded as badlands or wastelands: severely degraded, unproductive and largely left unused.
Efforts have been on to utilise these lands through levelling, or flattening the terrains to make the slope gentler and more productive. For instance, in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh, farmers have been levelling ravines in hopes of gaining cultivable land. Consider Rajghat, a popular spot for a Chambal river safari, located in Morena tehsil. “At least 10 km of ravines in Rajghat have been levelled,” says Bhagwan Singh Solanki, who has been working as a boatman for the safari for the past 32 years. Much of it is done by farmers of Bhanpur village, adjacent to Rajghat. According to resident Siyaram Meena, the village has 100 families; many of them have land holdings of only 2-5 bighas (0.4-1 hectare or ha; 5 bighas equal 1 ha). Lack of space, along with population growth and poor employment, force farmers to convert ravines.
The river safari also passes through Morena's Masoodpur village. Some 15 years ago, the village's farms were at least 5 km away from the Chambal, recalls Bhura Singh Gurjar, a resident. “Now, fields have reached the riverbank,” he says.
Farmers speaking with Down To Earth (DTE) say for several years, levelling was done manually and on a smaller scale. However, the practice has accelerated since 2000 with the availability of machines. In many cases, it is the only affordable option.
Farmers’ estimates suggest preparing a field in a ravine costs Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh, while buying 1 bigha can cost Rs 14-15 lakh.
Next, ravine lands are also being marked for development projects. For example, in 2024 Madhya Pradesh announced a project to build the country’s first solar power storage plant in Morena, in about 3,000 ha of ravine land. Similar allocations are being made for industries, officials tell DTE on condition of anonymity.
As a result of such conversion, the total ravine area in Morena has decreased from 1,082.71 sq km in 1974 to 415.98 sq km in 2014, says a 2020 study by Padmini Pani, a professor at the School of Social Sciences, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, who has been researching Chambal ravines for over three decades. In other words, a large part of the ravine area has been levelled (see 'Vanishing ravines').
Ravines are considered highly fragile, given that they are formed due to constant erosion of loose or poorly aggregated soil by river water or surface runoff. Farmers that DTE spoke with claim that years of degradation have left even levelled ravines unproductive, and crops grown on these lands do not see good yields.
Further modification of these landforms via conversion, therefore, poses several risks. According to a 2011 study published in the journal Aquatic Conservation, ravines help divert monsoon floodwaters away from villages located on higher ground. This means in areas where ravines are levelled, settlements stand vulnerable to inundation. An example of this risk came to the fore in Remji Ka Pura...
This article was originally published in the December 1-15, 2025 print edition of Down To Earth