Lok Sabha Question No. 70 (STARRED), answered on 2017-07-20
Subject: Development of Wasteland
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF LAND RESOURCES

## LOK SABHA

STARRED QUESTION NO. 70 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.07.2017

## Development of Wasteland

## *70. SHRI KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  area  of  wasteland  is  increasing  in  economically  backward  regions  of  the country particularly in Bundelkhand;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the details of the decline in cultivable land in the country including Bundelkhand during the last three years; and
- (d) the measures being taken by the Government for development of wasteland and increasing the quality and water retention capacity of the soil?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

- (a) to (d): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

*****

## Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) to (d) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 70 for answer on 20.07.2017

- (a) to (d): Data  on  area  under  wastelands  in  the  country, including  in  economically backward  regions  of  the  country,  is  not  centrally  maintained  in  Department  of Land Resources.

An  assessment  study  commissioned  by  Department  of  Land  Resources,  which was conducted by National Remote Sensing Centre, namely 'Wastelands Atlas of India - Change Analysis Based on Temporal Satellite Data of 2005-06 and 200809'  (2011), inter  alia contains  district-wise  estimated  area  under  wastelands during 2005-06 and during 2008-09.

The estimated area under wastelands in 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh  comprising  the  Bundelkhand  region  was  7785.62  square  km  during 2005-06 and 7807.48 square km during 2008-09.

The estimated area under wastelands in the country, including Bundelkhand and economically backward regions of the country, was 472261.94 square km during 2005-06 and 467021.16 square km during 2008-09.

The 'Wastelands Atlas of India - Change Analysis Based on Temporal Satellite Data of 2005-06 and 2008-09' (2011) is available in the public domain, including on the official website of the Department of Land Resources at http://dolr.nic.in/dolr/wasteland\_atlas.asp.

As  per  information  received  from  Directorate  of  Economics  and  Statistics, Ministry  of  Agriculture  and  Farmers  Welfare,  details  of  estimated  area  under agricultural  /  cultivable  land  in  the  13  districts  of  Uttar  Pradesh  and  Madhya Pradesh  comprising  the  Bundelkhand  region  as  well  as  details  of  agricultural  / cultivable land in the country during 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 are given in Annexure I .

Department  of  Land  Resources  has  sanctioned  8214  watershed  development projects  in  28  States  (except  Goa)  [during  the  period  2009-10  to  2014-15] covering an area of about 39.07 million hectare under the Watershed Development  Component  (WDC)  of  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Krishi  Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)  principally for development  of rainfed portions of net cultivated area and culturable wastelands.

State-wise details of number of sanctioned projects, area covered by the projects and  funds  released  as  Central  share  [from  2009-10  to  2017-18  (upto  30 th June 2017)] are given in Annexure II.

Inter se distribution of funds (Central share plus State share) amongst the projects in a particular State is undertaken at the State level by the respective States.

Details  of  number  of  sanctioned  projects  in  13  districts  of  Uttar  Pradesh  and Madhya  Pradesh  comprising  the  Bundelkhand  region  and  area  covered  by  the projects are given in Annexure III .

The activities being undertaken through the watershed development projects inter alia include  ridge  area  treatment,  drainage  line  treatment,  soil  and  moisture conservation,  rain  water  harvesting,  nursery  raising,  afforestation,  horticulture, pasture development, livelihoods for assetless persons, etc.

The projects are at various stages of  implementation. Priority  is  being given to qualitative and timely completion of the on-going projects. Administrative reports of completion of 635 projects have been received from 10 States from 1 st April 2017 onwards (upto 13.07.2017). The details are given in Annexure IV .

As  a  systemic  improvement,  a  protocol  on  formal  completion  and  closure  of WDC-PMKSY  projects  has  been formulated by the Department  of  Land Resources in consultation with Ministry of Water Resources, River Development &  Ganga  Rejuvenation  and  NITI  Aayog.  The  protocol inter  alia envisages  to ensure (i) the due completion of unfinished works (if any), (ii) maintenance, (iii) security and (iv) sustainability of the watershed development projects. Before the projects are formally treated as closed by the Department of Land Resources, the completion and closure protocol has to be duly adopted by the States in respect of the projects administratively reported to have been completed. All States (except Goa) have been accordingly requested on 12 th July 2017.

In  addition  to  the  WDC-PMKSY  being  implemented  by  Department  of  Land Resources,  other  Central  Ministries  /  Departments  like  Ministry  of  Agriculture and  Farmers  Welfare  are  also  implementing  schemes  and  programmes  like  the per Drop More Crop component of PMKSY which inter alia includes activities for water conservation, drought proofing, water harvesting, ground water recharge,  etc.  that  complement  and  supplement  interventions  undertaken  under the WDC-PMKSY.

Further, under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), being implemented to inter alia prevent soil erosion and land degradation, all types of lands including wastelands are being developed with suitable need-based soil and water conservation measures and partly put to agricultural uses.

Also, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has launched Reclamation of  Problem  Soil  (RPS)  as  a  sub-scheme  of  Rashtriya  Krishi  Vikas  Yojana (RKVY) during  2016-17  for  reclamation  of  problem  soils  (Alkalinity/  Salinity and Acidity) on pilot basis in the States having higher extent of problem soil area.

In addition, National Afforestation & Eco-Development Board in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme 'National Afforestation Programme' for regeneration of degraded forests and adjoining areas through peoples' participation in the country.

## Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) to (d) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 70 for answer on 20.07.2017

## Details of estimated area under Agricultural / Cultivable land in Bundelkhand region and in the country

(square km)

| Sl. No.        | District           | Agricultural / Cultivable Land*   | Agricultural / Cultivable Land*   | Agricultural / Cultivable Land*   |
|----------------|--------------------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
|                |                    | 2012-13                           | 2013-14                           | 2014-15                           |
| Madhya Pradesh | Madhya Pradesh     | Madhya Pradesh                    | Madhya Pradesh                    | Madhya Pradesh                    |
| 1.             | Chhatarpur         | 5355.05                           | 5316.63                           | 5312.86                           |
| 2.             | Damoh              | 3353.91                           | 3351.31                           | 3347.99                           |
| 3.             | Datia              | 2340.75                           | 2374.58                           | 2366.07                           |
| 4.             | Panna              | 3237.43                           | 3257.25                           | 3265.45                           |
| 5.             | Sagar              | 5770.18                           | 5772.36                           | 5771.70                           |
| 6.             | Tikamgarh          | 3233.94                           | 3235.32                           | 3233.96                           |
| Uttar Pradesh  | Uttar Pradesh      | Uttar Pradesh                     | Uttar Pradesh                     | Uttar Pradesh                     |
| 7.             | Banda              | 3805.39                           | 3811.29                           | 3811.05                           |
| 8.             | Chitrakoot         | 2292.76                           | 2274.50                           | 2274.50                           |
| 9.             | Hamirpur           | 3241.54                           | 3252.09                           | 3251.22                           |
| 10.            | Jalaun             | 3765.48                           | 3780.29                           | 3783.69                           |
| 11.            | Jhansi             | 3995.90                           | 3897.07                           | 3896.48                           |
| 12.            | Lalitpur           | 3755.73                           | 3749.54                           | 3746.88                           |
| 13.            | Mahoba             | 2639.51                           | 2641.99                           | 2641.61                           |
|                | Bundelkhand region | 46787.57                          | 46714.22                          | 46703.46                          |
|                | All India          | 1820851.11                        | 1818499.14                        | 1818860.66                        |

* Source: Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare

## Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) to (d) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 70 for answer on 20.07.2017

## State-wise details of number of WDC-PMKSY projects sanctioned, area covered by the projects and funds released as Central share

## (Area in million ha, Amount in Rs. crore)

| Sl. No   | State             | Sanctioned (from 2009-10 to 2014-15) @   | Sanctioned (from 2009-10 to 2014-15) @   | Central share released (from 2009-10 to 2017-18 # )   |
|----------|-------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|
| Sl. No   | State             | Total no. of Projects                    | Area of the projects                     | Central share released (from 2009-10 to 2017-18 # )   |
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh    | 432                                      | 1.810                                    | 725.42                                                |
| 12 2     | Arunachal Pradesh | 156                                      | 0.467                                    | 215.54                                                |
| 3        | Assam             | 372                                      | 1.577                                    | 322.44                                                |
| 4        | Bihar             | 123                                      | 0.612                                    | 85.33                                                 |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh      | 263                                      | 1.195                                    | 217.40                                                |
| 3 6      | Gujarat           | 610                                      | 3.103                                    | 1049.29                                               |
| 7        | Haryana           | 88                                       | 0.362                                    | 77.76                                                 |
| 8        | Himachal Pradesh  | 163                                      | 0.840                                    | 232.71                                                |
| 9        | Jammu & Kashmir   | 159                                      | 0.652                                    | 115.29                                                |
| 10       | Jharkhand         | 171                                      | 0.911                                    | 162.69                                                |
| 11       | Karnataka         | 571                                      | 2.569                                    | 1690.74                                               |
| 12       | Kerala            | 83                                       | 0.423                                    | 78.41                                                 |
| 13       | Madhya Pradesh    | 517                                      | 2.937                                    | 1193.52                                               |
| 14       | Maharashtra       | 1186                                     | 5.128                                    | 2138.81                                               |
| 15       | Manipur           | 102                                      | 0.491                                    | 121.12                                                |
| 16       | Meghalaya         | 96                                       | 0.236                                    | 157.39                                                |
| 17       | Mizoram           | 89                                       | 0.373                                    | 214.40                                                |
| 18       | Nagaland          | 111                                      | 0.476                                    | 447.95                                                |
| 19       | Odisha            | 310                                      | 1.700                                    | 807.66                                                |
| 20       | Punjab            | 67                                       | 0.314                                    | 52.46                                                 |
| 21       | Rajasthan         | 1025                                     | 5.764                                    | 1872.68                                               |
| 22       | Sikkim            | 15                                       | 0.066                                    | 20.68                                                 |
| 23       | Tamil Nadu        | 270                                      | 1.368                                    | 801.25                                                |
| 24       | Telangana         | 330                                      | 1.399                                    | 459.94                                                |
| 25       | Tripura           | 65                                       | 0.213                                    | 167.66                                                |
| 26       | Uttarakhand       | 65                                       | 0.346                                    | 114.13                                                |
| 27       | Uttar Pradesh     | 612                                      | 3.045                                    | 744.56                                                |
| 28       | West Bengal       | 163                                      | 0.693                                    | 116.28                                                |
|          | Total             | 8214                                     | 39.07                                    | 14403.51                                              |

- Note:   1) WDC-PMKSY is not operational in the Union Territories.

2) There is no sanctioned project in Goa.

## Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) to (d) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 70 for answer on 20.07.2017

## Details of number of WDC-PMKSY projects and area covered by the projects in Bundelkhand region

(Area in lakh ha)

| Sl. No.            | District           | No. of Projects *   | Area of the projects   |
|--------------------|--------------------|---------------------|------------------------|
| Madhya Pradesh     | Madhya Pradesh     | Madhya Pradesh      | Madhya Pradesh         |
| 1.                 | Chhattarpur        | 21                  | 1.17                   |
| 2.                 | Damoh              | 18                  | 0.96                   |
| 3.                 | Datia              | 9                   | 0.57                   |
| 4.                 | Panna              | 11                  | 0.62                   |
| 5.                 | Sagar              | 26                  | 1.71                   |
| 6.                 | Tikamgarh          | 20                  | 0.93                   |
| Uttar Pradesh      | Uttar Pradesh      | Uttar Pradesh       | Uttar Pradesh          |
| 7.                 | Banda              | 23                  | 1.13                   |
| 8.                 | Chitrakoot         | 14                  | 0.75                   |
| 9.                 | Hamirpur           | 26                  | 1.28                   |
| 10.                | Jalaun             | 25                  | 1.19                   |
| 11.                | Jhansi             | 23                  | 1.21                   |
| 12.                | Lalitpur           | 25                  | 1.13                   |
| 13.                | Mahoba             | 25                  | 1.26                   |
| Bundelkhand region | Bundelkhand region | 266                 | 13.91                  |

## Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) to (d) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 70 for answer on 20.07.2017

## State-wise details of receipt of administrative reports on completion of WDC-PMKSY projects (01.04.2017 to 13.07.2017)

| Sl. No.   | State          |   No. of projects |
|-----------|----------------|-------------------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh |                62 |
| 2         | Karnataka      |                73 |
| 3         | Madhya Pradesh |                86 |
| 4         | Maharashtra    |               239 |
| 5         | Meghalaya      |                21 |
| 6         | Mizoram        |                16 |
| 7         | Nagaland       |                41 |
| 8         | Rajasthan      |                37 |
| 9         | Tamil Nadu     |                50 |
| 10        | Tripura        |                10 |
|           | Total          |               635 |

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