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Non-availability of Geological Maps: the bane of Indian Geology
GSI brought out a Memoir Vol. LXXVII in 1948 which contained a catalogue of publications of the GSI and Index of Geological Maps covering the information upto March 1946. These maps were published as part of Memoirs and Records of GSI on scales of less than 4 miles = 1inch, on 4 miles = 1 inch, 8 miles = 1 inch, 16 miles = 1 inch, 32 miles and more = 1 inch. These geological maps were available along with the publications and in the case of maps which were not published, copies could be obtained from the Director, GSI, at the cost of the materials used and the labour of hand production. By 1946, for nearly 35% of the Indian Subcontinent published geological maps were available on 1inch = 32 miles and less, 15% of the area had 1 inch = 16 miles maps, about 10% of the area on 1 inch = 8 miles and 1 inch = 4 miles. Thus the overall picture of geological map publication was not encouraging at the time of Independence. One redeeming aspect of the maps available was that most of them were printed in colour with excellent reproduction even as early as 1934. Some of the important geological belts like those of Krol, Jammu-Kashmir, Spiti in the Himalaya and the Vindhyan, Aravalli-Delhi in the Peninsula were covered by coloured geological maps.
On the eve of independence, the stress was shifted to mineral investigations and there was not much of regional mapping activity and the situation continued for another decade after independence.
By late fifties to early sixties the regional mapping work was resumed and by the eighties, the entire country was covered by 1 inch = 1mile/ 1:50,000 scale mapping and in selected areas mapping on 1:25,000 scale commenced. In late seventies GSI initiated a programme of publishing geological maps on 1 inch = 4 miles scale and the progress in publication of these maps has been slow. Considering that geological mapping has been completed for the whole of India on 1. inch = 1 mile/1:.50,000 scale there are very few published geological maps; only 72 Quaidrangle maps have been printed (out of which 23 maps are Restricted) this against 358 Degree sheets for the whole country, a very distressing state of affairs.
Considering that GSI has excellent mapping tradition and has covered large areas from Kanyakumari to Karakorum and the quality of work can rival the best in the world, it is frustrating to find that very few maps of these areas have been published. It is equally disheartening to workers who carried out mapping in these difficult and inhospitable terrain, for not seeing their maps in print. Other fellow scientists including those within the organisation and outside are not having the benefit of the latest earth science information readily available in print. This naturally raises the question as to for what purpose the areas were mapped at such great effort and cost. Most of these geological maps gather dust in survey offices. Mapping programme is treated as a ritual with benefit to none.
Perhaps GSI employs the largest number of draftsmen among earth science organisations and has a hierarchy of supervisory officers. There is a Central Map Division and also Regional Map Divisions with local Circle Offices to assist in compilation. To cap it all GSI has a Map Printing Press located at Hyderabad with facilities to bring out coloured maps. Yet, the number of published geological maps is so few that one begins to feel that there is something seriously wrong with the system.
Today we are living in an age of rapid dissemination of information and technological advancement. It is sad that geological maps of areas covered 15 to 20 years ago have not seen the light of the day even now. The scientific community of the country has a right to demand why these maps are not published and information collected at enormous public expenditure is not made available.
India has geological belts which are of worldwide scientific importance; though these belts have been mapped with excellent details, they are gathering dust in the dark shelves of the organisation. Lack of publication of geological maps has put the organisation in an extremely poor light.