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Wastelands in India

By

Prof. A. Balasubramanian

Centre for Advanced Studies in Earth Science

University of Mysore,

India

About one fourth of the Earth’s surface is covered by land. In many instances, the biological and

physical makeup of the land contributes to how it is used. Some land areas wh ich contain rich

soils are the most suitable zones for farming. At the same time, some land areas which are prone to

be affected by floods are less suitable for any activity including settlement. Land is a valuable

natural resource. It is the home for all life. The needs of human population are met by the land for

Food, Fibre, Medicine, Housing and settlement, Energy supply, Water supply, Material supply ,

Engineering construction and also for Congenial environment for all life to survive. Land is the

most important ingredient for any ecological and economic development in the world. When it is

good, a land can be used for several activities including cultivation, construction, grazing and for

all other development works.

Land is a terrestrial bioproductive eco system. It comprises of soil, water, plant and other biota.

Based on the ecological conditions, Land systems are classified into various types as,

a) Cropland

b) Barren Land

c) Wet Land

d) Arid dry land

e) Range land

f) Grass land

g) Snowy land and

h) Wastelands. Wasteland is a major category by itself.

Cropland – is the land in which crops are regularly planted and harvested. It includes land in

fallow or pasture as a part of a regular rotation system.

Barren Land are areas characterized by exposed bed rocks, desert pavements scarps, talus,

slides and other accumulations of rock without vegetative cones. It is considered to be a track

of up productive land.

Wet Land is an area of land whose soil is saturated with moisture either permanently or

seasonally. Such areas are partly or completely covered by shallow pools of water.

Wetlands include swamps, marshes and bogs.

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A Land becomes a valuable resource, when the environmental conditions are conducive for

human use. A land may be declared as a wasteland due to some limiting factors in the

environment. These limiting factors may be natural or anthropogenic. Improper landuse is a

major anthropogenic factor affecting a land system. Due to increase in population, the

demand of land for cultivation and other activities has also increased.

The type of wastelands created due to these limiting factors are many in the world. Wastelands

may also be valuable lands. Some of the serious categories are

a) Degraded land

b) Salinized soil

c) Waterlogging

d) Desertification and

e) Soil erosion.

These have drastically decreased the per capita cultivable land besides ecological imbalances.

According to a report of the FAO, the global land area without major soil fertility constraints is

about 31.8 million sq.km and the total potential arable land is about 41.4 million sq.km. India

shares 16% of the world population, while its land is only 2% of the total geographical area of the

world. Naturally, the pressure on the land is often beyond its carrying capacity. Therefore, the

productive lands, especially the farmlands in the India are in the constant process of various

degrees of degradation and are fast turning into wastelands. At present, approximately 68.35

million hectare area of the land is lying as wastelands in India. Out of these lands, approximately

50% lands are such non-forest lands, which can be made fertile again if treated properly.

It was unprotected non-forestlands, which suffered the maximum degradation mainly due to the

tremendous biotic pressure on it.

In the last 50 years, India’s lush green village forests and woodlots have been deforested to the

maximum. In India, Wastelands mapping was carried out by the Ministry of RD + the NRSA, of

the DoS. This has been done by preparing geospatial databases using ground truth and satellite

data. India has a Geographical area of 3.2 ml. sq.km of which 0.63 million sq.km are existing as

wastelands. India has about 15% of the worlds livestock (in 2% of the total grographical area)

- Has 1% Forest area of the world.

- 0.5% of Pasture Land

India has a forest cover of about 76.78 million hectares,Which is 23.36% of the total

geographical area of India. The world average percapita availability of Forest is 0.8 ha. And for

India it is 0.08 ha.

A wasteland is a degraded land without vegetation. Wastelands can be brought under vegetation

with reasonable effort. It is a land which is deteriorating for lack of water and soil management.

According to the National Remote Sensing Agency of the Department of Space, about 16% of the

geographic area of India is accounted as wastelands. The National Wastelands Inventory Project

has identified the critical areas using survey records, topographic maps and satellite images. Geo

spatial data analysis has been used as a tool for this purpose. As the management of land is to be

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done at microlevel, the spatial data integration has been attempted at 1:50,000 scale. In this scale,

satellite images and topographic maps are easily available for direct correlation.

National Wasteland Development Board was established in 1985 under the Ministry of Forests

and Environment mainly to tackle the problem of degradation of lands, restoration of ecology and

to meet the growing demands of fuel wood and fodder at the national level. This board aims to

develop the wastelands mainly in non-forest areas aimed at checking land degradation , putting

such wastelands of the country to promote sustainable use & increasing bio-mass availability

especially that of fuelwood, fodder , fruits, fiber & small timber. The National Waste Land

Development Board also take steps to map the wastelands for development.

The entire country was fully analysed and mapped for identifying the wastelands. Among all the

states, the districts which have more than 15% area under wasteland were identified for detailed

mapping. In order to assess the nature and propose of rejuvenating the wastelands, a common

classification system has been adopted.

The following are the major categories of wastelands considered for mapping.

1. Gullied or ravenous land

2. Land with or without scrub

3. Waterlogged land or Marsh land

4. Land of soil salinity/alkalinity

5. Land of shifting cultivation

6. Underutilized Degraded Notified Forestland

7. Degraded Pasture/ Grazing Land

8. Degraded Land of Plantation Crops

9. Desertic sands or Coastal sands

10. Mining or industrial waste lands

11. Barren land with rock/ stony wastes

12. Steep sloping lands

13. Snow covered lands

In India, the total area under degraded and wastelands in the country stands at 114.01 M ha.

The extent of area under water erosion is 23.62 M ha, and under wind erosion is 8.89 M ha.

Let us see the distribution pattern of these categories of wastelands as identified by the

government. They are available in the form of maps and statistics.

Wasteland class Area (in M ha) Percentage

Gullied/ravinous land 2.06 0.65

Land with/without scrub 19.40 6.13

Waterlogged/marshy land 1.66 0.52

Land affected by salinity 2.04 0.65

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Shifting cultivation area 3.51 1.11

Degraded notified forest land 14.07 4.44

Degraded pastures/grazing land 2.60 0.82

Degraded land under plantation 0.58 0.18

Sandy area 5.00 1.58

Mining/industrial wasteland 0.12 0.04

Barren rock y/stony/sheet rock 6.46 2.04

Steep sloping area 0.77 0.24

Snow covered/glacial area 5.58 1.76

Total 63.85 20.16

Among the categories of wastelands, 31% goes to snow covered lands, 22% comes under

degraded notified Forest land, 10% Barren Rockyland and the rest are occupied by the other

categories.

For a proper development of these areas, it is necessary to know their utility values.

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1. Gullied or Ravinous lands are formed due to localized overland flow of water. Water flow can

erode the loose soil and create minor channels called Gullies. Network of gullies produce a

ravenous land affected by drainage. In India, about 0.02 M. sq.km of land comes under this

category. Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are the states having more ravine lands, followed by

Uttar Pradesh.

2. The land with or without scrub is generally prone to deterioration due to erosion. Erosion is

more active on elevated portions of land. This category covers a maximum of 0.194000 m. sq.km.

About 19% of this type exists in Madhya Pradesh followed by Maharastra. Gujarat has about 11%.

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3. waterlogged zones are mostly wetlands. These are ecotones or taransitional zones between

permanently aquatic and dry terrestrial ecosystems. Wetlands is a collective term for marshes,

swamps and bogs. They also include areas along the edge of streams, lakes and coastlines. There

are considered to be wastelands due to sources of mosquitoes, flies and unpleasant.

Due to the continuous presence of water in the soil mantle, a land becomes a wetland. It also

becomes waterlogged due to rise of ground water levels upto the surface. Wetlands help to retain

water during dry periods, keeping the water table high and stable. Marshy lands are unique

environments with typical vegetation.

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Though a limited land area comes under this category, the problem exists mainly in Uttar

Pradesh followed by Gujarat and West Bengal.

4. Land of soil salinity or alkalinity severely affects the growth of plants due to excessive salts

or exchangeable sodium. Soil salinity is a controlling factor of agriculture. About 0.020

m.sq.km has come under this category. Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are the states

mainly having this problem.

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5. Land of shifting cultivation is the result of cyclical land use practiced with felling of trees

and burning of forests for growing crops. This leads to land degration and extinction of flora

and fauna. This accounts for about 0.03514 m.sq.km. The situation exists in Manipur,

Assam, Nagaland and Mizoram.

6. Underutilized Degraded Notified Forest land. The maximum of 16% exists in A.P. followed

by M.P.

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7. Degraded Pasture/ Grazing land – The value of pasture land is largely determined by its

productivity. It is important to delineate the pasture land for gazing.

Much of them lies in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and other states.

8. Degraded land of Plantations.

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The maximum is seen in Himachal Pradesh followed by M.P and Jammu & Kashmir.

9. Sandy areas are expected along the coasts and riverine areas. Stabilized accumulation of

sand or alluvium may affect the plains or coasts. About 0.05 M. sq.km of land is covered by

this category. Rajasthan is the main state followed by Assam.

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10. Sometimes, useful land areas become wastelands due to mining and industrial activities.

Dumping of mine wastes and tailings and release of effluents over adjacent areas create a land

unsuitable for any purpose. India, about 0.0012 M.sq.km of land belongs to this category.

Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu are the states having such wasteland.

11. Barren lands exposed with rocks and stones need more attention for development. In India

about 0.065 M. sq.km of land are Barren lands. States like Jammu & Kashmir, Andhra

Pradesh and Rajasthan have more Barren lands.

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Land of Steep Slopes are unstable for any human use. Frequent occurrence of landslides may

not allow the land for appropriate use. Grading of slopes may help in planting tropical crops.

Nearly 0.008 M.sq.km of land comes under steep slopes. It is a problem in Jammu &

Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

The land which can not be used directly is the snow covered land. Glaciers are extreme

environments. About 0.05 M.sq.km of land in India are snow covered. Jammu and Kashmir,

Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh have these types of lands.

Land is a finite resource. Expanding human requirements place an ever increasing pressure on

the use of lands. Wastelands too have the biotic and biotic factors helpful for sustainable

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development. By adopting appropriate conservation practices, wastelands can also be

converted for human use. Improper land use practices may also deteriorate the existing

valuable land resources.

The detailed study made by the Department Land Resources. GOI and the National Remote

Sensing Agency, Department of Space is a good compendium for District level planning.

Land management is the process of managing the use and development of land resources in a

sustainable way. Land resources are used for a variety of purposes which may include

agriculture reforestation, water resources management and eco tourism.

Planning for land conservation should be prioritized based on the severity of the degradational

problems arising owing to water and wind erosions and anthropogenic activities.

Afforestation activities like agroforestry, silviculture and social forestry should be adopted to

protect agricultural lands from further deterioration arising out of degradational processes.

Afforestation of degraded and wastelands should be given priority.

As conservation and land rehabilitation measures are highly expensive, the area for reclamation

should be prioritized based on the severity of the land degradation, the nature of the extent of

the problem and the proposed land use.

Reclamation of acidic, saline and sodic soils should get priority in the districts that are

severally affected by them in different states.

Where complex problems of degradation like water erosion, acidity and water erosion, salinity

and sodicity co-exist, the research agenda needs to be reoriented to bring out a list of “good

practices” for amelioration of soil health of such degraded lands.

Cultivation of bio-fuel producing plants and fuel trees/crops should be encouraged in the

degraded and wastelands.

This is an essential step for environmental protection.

Minerals and mining explorations should be taken up in degraded areas (comparing the present

maps with the maps of Geological Survey of India) to protect good lands from deterioration.

Wastelands due to mining should be reclaimed with suitable technologies, and appropriate

landuse plans may be drawn up for better utilization of such landscapes.

The degraded and wastelands should be effectively used to prioritize areas for reclamation and

water harvesting.