Some facts about Land Use in India • India has about (i) 16.7% of world’s population (ii) 15% of livestock population (iii) 1.5% of forest and pasture land on 2% of World’s geographical area.

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Availability of Land • Increasing pressure on land. • Per capita availability of land declined from 0.89 hectares in 1951 to 0.27 hectares in 2007-08. • Per capita availability of agricultural land declined from 0.48 hectares in 1951 to 0.16 hectares in 1991. • Increase in population of rural India has grown by 1.49 times during the past 5 decades, urban population has grown by 3.58 times during the same period.

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Name of the Country

Area (Sq Km)

Population (in million)

%age of population living in rural area

%age cultivated land

%age other land

Australia

76,86,850

20.60

34

6.19

93.81

China

95,96,960

1322.04

72

16.13

83.87

Germany

3,57,021

82.21

12

33.73

66.27

France

5,47,030

63.60

24

35.49

64.51

India

32,87,240

1148.00

72

51.63

48.37

Russia

170,75,200

142.01

27

7.28

92.72

USA

96,29,091

310.23

20

18.22

81.78

UK

2,44,820

60.59

23.43

76.57

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Definition of Country Planning • A scientific, aesthetic and orderly disposition of land resources, facilities and service with a view to securing the physical, economic and social efficiency, health and well-being of rural communities. • An integrated land use policy for the countryside which inter-alia includes agriculture, industry, commerce forests, mining, housing infrastructure and urban area settlements is required, to settle claims/counter-claims of these sectors.

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Main objectives of the Workshop • To review the existing policies, if any, to support the best possible use of the land and the sustainable management of land resources for the countryside. • To facilitate a dialogue among the experts and stakeholders on the issue of land use conflicts between industry and agricultural land uses with an overall objective of developing a national-level strategy/ framework for minimization of such conflicts. • To analyze the changes in land use pattern and its linkage with agricultural growth and diversification. • To explore the possible ways to ensure the active involvement and participation of the all important stakeholders, particularly communities and people at the local level, in decisions on land use and management.

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Main objectives of the Workshop …contd. • To arrive at the mechanism to improve and strengthen planning, management and evaluation systems for land and land resources for the countryside. • To explore the use of innovative technologies in planning and management of land resources. • To deliberate and finalize about a dedicated team/institutional set-up at the district/ state/national-level for this purpose.

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Projected Demand and supply of foodgrains in India in the year 2020 (Million Tonnes)

1.

Projected Food Demand in 2020

307

2.

Average Food Production in Triennium Ending 2002

205

3.

Gap to be met

102

4.

Maximum Possible Contribution of Irrigated Agriculture of which

64

From Irrigated Area Expansion

38

From Increases in Productivity of Irrigated Agriculture

26

5.

Minimum Balance required from the Rainfed Agriculture

38

6.

Share of Rainfed Agriculture

37%

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State/Region-level Land Use Policies • Major land use zones which could be identified for planning: a) Control/development/regulated zones (Municipal Areas) b) Highway corridor zone c) Natural conservation zones/Forest Areas/Green Buffers /Water Bodies d) Agricultural zones e) Industrial zones - Polluting/Non-polluting, SEZs, Industrial Parks/Estates.

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Food Security • As an immediate step, State Governments should declare Class-A, Category-I, Agricultural Land, as a reserved Agricultural Zone, which cannot be put any other use but for agriculture. • The Land Use Policy may be re-visited for these areas only after about 10 years. • If need be, regulation, on the lines of declaring reserved forest areas, may be adopted for Reserved Agricultural Zones. • No polluting industry should be allowed to be developed in the vicinity of the Reserved Agricultural Zone. • This area should be approximately 40 to 45% of the net area sown.

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