Land Resources

• Land is a crucial resource for humans and provides biotic resources for plants and animals.
• Soil composition, groundwater availability, and local climate are the basis of land utilization and development.
• Minerals, groundwater, and other hidden resources can bring development to industrial complexes, mining sites, tourist centers, settlements, and other land uses.
• Land use varies from region to region and over time, depending on physical and human factors.
• India has a total geographical area of about 328.73 million hectares, and land utilization statistics were available for about 305.90 million hectares in 2010-11.
• India’s land use pattern is varied due to its geographic diversity, with 46% of the total geographic area being net sown, 22% forest cover, 8.5% barren and un-culturable waste land, 5.5% non-agricultural uses, and the remaining area being used for tree crops, grooves, permanent pastures, and grazing lands.

Net Sown Area

• Net sown area refers to the physical extent of land on which crops are grown and harvested.
• Agricultural production in India largely depends on net sown area.
• Net sown area increased from 118.7 million hectares in 1950-51 to 141.58 million hectares in 2010-11.
• However, per capita cultivated land has decreased drastically from 0.53 hectares in 1951 to 0.11 hectares in 2011-12.
• Agricultural prosperity depends on the percentage of net sown area to total reporting area, which varies greatly between states.
• Punjab and Haryana have some of the highest proportions of net sown area, while Arunachal Pradesh has the lowest.
• The decline in net sown area is a recent phenomenon, largely due to an increase in non-agricultural land use.

Area sown more than once

• Multiple cropping is the practice of growing more than one crop on the same land in a year.
• It constitutes 34.3% of the net sown area and 16.6% of the total reporting area.
• It is practiced on land with rich fertile soils and regular water supply.
• The percentage of area sown more than once is low in India due to infertile soils, deficiency of moisture, and insufficient use of manures and fertilizers.
• Increasing the intensity of cropping through multiple cropping is seen as a way to increase agricultural production.
• The Indo-Ganga plain in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and coastal regions have a large percentage of area sown more than once.

Forests

• Actual forest cover is different from the area classified as forest by the government
• The latter is the area identified and demarcated for forest growth, consistent with land revenue records
• Increase in demarcated area under forest does not necessarily mean an increase in actual forest cover
• Area under forest cover was 40.41 million hectares in 1950-51 and increased to 69 million hectares in 1999-2000
• According to the India State of Forest Report 2019, total forest cover in India is 7,12,249 sq km, or 21.67% of the country’s geographical area
• Tree and forest cover together make up 24.56% of India’s area (8,07,276 sq km)
• 24.39% of forest land to the total reporting area is not sufficient for a tropical country like India where about 33% of the total land should be under forests
• To reach the 33% target, massive tree plantations, restrictions on felling trees, and reclaiming forest area will be necessary.

Land not available for cultivation

• This class includes two types of land: land put to non-agricultural uses and barren and unculturable waste.
• Land under settlements, infrastructure, industries, and shops are included in the non-agricultural use category.
• The area under non-agricultural uses is increasing at the expense of wastelands and agricultural land due to the changing structure of the Indian economy and expansion of settlements.
• Andhra Pradesh has the largest amount of land in both categories, followed by Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.
• Barren and unculturable waste includes land such as barren hilly terrains, desert lands, and ravines that cannot be brought under cultivation.
• The amount of this land has been variable over time and accounted for 13.8% of the total reported area in 1999-2000.

Permanent pastures and other grazing lands

• Most of the land under this category is owned by the village Panchayat or the Government.
• Common Property Resources are the lands owned by the village Panchayat.
• Only a small proportion of this land is privately owned.
• 10.3 million hectares of land is devoted to permanent pastures and other grazing lands which is about 4% of the total reporting area of the country.
• Grazing takes place mostly in forests and other uncultivated lands wherever pasturage is available.
• The area under pastures and grazing lands is not sufficient for the large population of livestock in the country.
• About one-third of the reporting area in Himachal Pradesh is under pastures, while it varies from 4 to 10 percent in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Odisha.
• It is less than 3 percent in the remaining parts of the country.
• The decline in land under pastures and grazing lands is due to pressure from agricultural land and illegal encroachment due to the expansion of cultivation on common pasture lands.

Land under miscellaneous tree crops and groves

• Land under miscellaneous tree crops and groves is not included in net area sown but is used for agricultural purposes.
• This category includes land under casuarina trees, thatching grass, bamboo, bushes, and other groves for fuel.
• Most of this land is privately owned.
• The area under this category declined sharply from 198 million hectares in 1950-51 to only 4.46 million hectares in 1960-61 and further to 4.29 million hectares in 1970-71.
• In 1999-2000, the area under this category stood at 3.21 million hectares or 1% of the total reporting area.
• Odisha has the largest area in this category followed by Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, and Tamil Nadu.

Culturable waste land

• Culturable waste is land available for cultivation but not being used due to various reasons such as lack of water, soil erosion, or human neglect.
• This land was used in the past but has been abandoned for some reason.
• Any land left uncultivated for more than five years is included in this category.
• The land can be brought under cultivation after improving it through reclamation practices.
• Reh, bhur, usar, and khola tracts of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana are examples of such lands.
• Rajasthan has the highest area of cultivable wasteland, followed by Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
• The land under this category has declined considerably from about 22.9 million hectares in 1950-51 to 13.8 million hectares in 1999-2000 due to land reclamation schemes.
• For long-term conservation and maintenance of eco balance, this land should be put under afforestation and not under crop farming.
• National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), Hyderabad is making a valuable contribution in mapping the wastelands in India through satellite imageries.
• The wastelands and cultivable wastelands have witnessed a decline over time due to the increasing pressure on land from the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors.

Fallow land

• Fallow land is temporarily out of cultivation and helps soil recoup its fertility naturally.
• Fallow land is of two types: current fallow and fallow other than current fallow.
• Current fallow is left uncultivated for one year, and its area has increased from 10.68 to 14.70 million hectares from 1950-51 to 1999-2000.
• Fallow other than current fallow is left uncultivated for more than a year but less than five years, and its area has sharply declined from 17.4 million hectares to 11.18 million hectares from 1950-51 to 1999-2000.
• Proper use of fertilizers, irrigation facilities, crop rotation, and other farm techniques can reduce the extent and frequency of fallow land to increase agricultural production.