Land Resources & Land Use
Land Resources & Land Use in India
India's 328.7 million hectares support 18% of the world's population on just 2.4% of global land area, making sustainable management critical. Net sown area covers ~140 million hectares (43%), while desertification affects about 30% of land. UPSC tests land use classification, land reform types, and desertification challenges. SSC/RRB exams ask about net sown area percentages, degradation types, and SVAMITVA.
Key Dates
India's total geographic area: 328.7 million hectares (3,287,263 sq km)
About 140 million hectares — 43% of total area; highest proportion among large countries
About 71.4 million hectares — 21.71% of geographic area (ISFR 2021)
About 55.76 million hectares classified as wasteland (Wasteland Atlas 2019)
Current + other fallow: about 25 million hectares — land temporarily not cultivated
About 30% of India's land area (97.85 million hectares) affected by desertification/degradation
Land ceiling laws limit agricultural land ownership; varies by state and land type
Land Use Classification
The Directorate of Economics & Statistics divides India's land into nine categories. (1) Forests — ~71.4 million hectares (21.7%). (2) Not available for cultivation — (a) non-agricultural uses like buildings, roads, industries (~26.3 million hectares), (b) barren/uncultivable land including mountains, deserts, glaciers (~17.5 million hectares). (3) Other uncultivated land — (a) permanent pastures/grazing lands (~10.3 million hectares, declining), (b) miscellaneous tree crops and groves (~3.4 million hectares), (c) culturable wasteland (~12.7 million hectares with agricultural potential). (4) Fallow lands — (a) other than current fallows (~10.2 million hectares), (b) current fallows (~14.7 million hectares). (5) Net Sown Area — ~140 million hectares (43% of total, among the highest globally). Gross Cropped Area reaches ~198 million hectares due to double/triple cropping, giving a cropping intensity (GCA/NSA x 100) of about 142%.
Land Degradation & Desertification
Degradation affects about 97.85 million hectares — 30% of India's total area (SAC-ISRO Desertification Atlas 2016). Six types dominate: (1) Water erosion — the most widespread at ~68 million hectares; produces ravines (Chambal, Yamuna), sheet erosion, and gully erosion. (2) Wind erosion — ~14 million hectares, concentrated in Rajasthan and Gujarat (Thar Desert). (3) Waterlogging — ~8.5 million hectares from over-irrigation and poor drainage in Punjab and Haryana canal areas. (4) Salinization/Alkalinization — ~7 million hectares where irrigation deposits excess salts, creating usar/reh lands in UP, Punjab, Haryana. (5) Deforestation — forest conversion for agriculture, mining, and urbanization; includes shifting cultivation in the NE. (6) Mining — open-cast operations create wastelands in Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Goa. India joined the UNCCD in 1994. At COP14 (New Delhi, 2019), India committed to restoring 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 and achieving Land Degradation Neutrality.
Land Reform Measures
Post-Independence land reforms were a priority for reducing inequality: (1) Abolition of Intermediaries — zamindari, jagirdari, inamdari systems abolished by 1956; brought about 20 million cultivators into direct relationship with the state; most successful reform; (2) Tenancy Reforms — regulation of rent (reduced from 50% to 20-25% of produce), security of tenure (protection from arbitrary eviction), conferment of ownership rights on tenants; partially successful — loopholes remained; (3) Land Ceiling — fixed maximum land a person/family can hold; surplus land redistributed to landless; ceiling varies by state and land type (irrigated/non-irrigated); about 7.3 million acres declared surplus, 6.0 million acres redistributed — limited success due to benami transactions (land held in others' names); (4) Consolidation of Holdings — merging fragmented holdings into compact blocks; successful in Punjab, Haryana, western UP; reduces inefficiency of small scattered plots. Challenges: Incomplete implementation, political resistance, legal loopholes, lack of updated land records.
Land Records & Digitization
India's land records system is complex and often outdated. About 70% of court cases in India are related to land/property disputes. Key initiatives for modernization: Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP, merged into SVAMITVA): Objectives: computerization of land records (Record of Rights — RoR), updating of land records, survey/re-survey using modern technology, integration of registration and cadastral records. SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas, 2020): Uses drone technology to survey rural inhabited land; provides "Property Cards" (Record of Rights) to villagers; enables: (a) rural homeowners to use property as collateral for loans, (b) accurate property tax assessment, (c) reduce property disputes. Target: all villages by 2025. Over 1.5 crore property cards distributed. States like Karnataka (Bhoomi), Andhra Pradesh (Mee Bhoomi), and Madhya Pradesh (Bhu-Abhilekh) have advanced land records digitization. National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS) standardizes property registration across states. Challenges: inaccurate base records, resistance from vested interests, legacy title issues, coordination between revenue and registration departments.
Sustainable Land Management
Sustainable land management (SLM) aims to maintain or enhance ecosystem services (food production, water supply, carbon storage) while ensuring long-term productivity. Key strategies: (1) Watershed Management — treating catchments as units; includes contour bunding, check dams, farm ponds, afforestation; IWMP (Integrated Watershed Management Programme) now part of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY); (2) Agroforestry — integrating trees with crops and/or livestock; Sub-Mission on Agroforestry promotes this; improves soil health, provides additional income; (3) Wasteland Development — National Wasteland Development Board; Green India Mission targets afforestation/restoration of 10 million hectares; (4) Reclamation — reclaiming alkaline soils (by adding gypsum), acidic soils (by liming), waterlogged areas (drainage improvement), mined areas (restoration with topsoil and plantation); (5) Organic Farming — reduces chemical degradation; Sikkim became India's first fully organic state (2016); Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) promotes organic farming; Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) promoted in Andhra Pradesh based on Subhash Palekar's methods. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) integrates multiple approaches for climate-resilient land management.
Relevant Exams
Land resources is important for both geography and economy sections. UPSC tests land use classification, land reform types, and desertification challenges. SSC/RRB exams ask about net sown area percentage, land degradation types, and first organic state. Current affairs on SVAMITVA, UNCCD commitments, and wasteland development are tested. Land reform history is also important for Indian Economy paper.