Lok Sabha Question No. 2198 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-08
Subject: Conversion of Infertile and Barren Land into Fertile Land
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: TARIQ ANWAR, HARISH DWIVEDI

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

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED  QUESTION NO. 2198 TO BE ANSWERED  ON 08.03.2018

## conversion  of Infertile and Barren Land into Fertile  Land

## 2198. SHRI TARIQ AI\MAR:

## SHRI HARISH CHAI\IDRA ALIAS HARISH DWIVEDI:

will the Minister  of RURAL DEVEL0PMENT  be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the total area of infertile  and barren land across the country, State-wise;
- (b) the details of the schemes  to convert existing  infertile and barren land into fertile land in near future;
- (c) whether the Government proposes  to distribute  the said land amongst the landless  poor people  and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether  the Government is implementing any scheme  at present to control the problem  of increasing barren land; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRT RAM KRIPAL  YADAV)

- (a) to (e): As per the information  received  from Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, the State / UT-wise  details  of barren and unculturable land are given in Annexure I.

There is no specific  scheme  / programme  exclusively  to convert existing  infertile and barren land into fertile land. However,  Department of Land Resources has sanctioned  8214 watershed  development projects  in 28 States (except Goa)  [during the period  2009-10 to 2014-151 covering an area  of about 39.07 million hectare under the watershed Development component (wDC) of the  pradhan  Mantri Krishi sinchayee  Yojana (PMKSY) principaily for development  of rainfed portions of net cultivated area and culturable  wastelands.

The activities  being undertaken through  the watershed developm ent 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.

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 28s February 2018)] are given in Annexure II.

In addition,  other Central Ministries / Departments like Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare are 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 WDCPMKSY.

As per Entry l8 and Entry 45 of List II (State  List) of the Seventh Schedule  of the Constitution,  the subject of 'Land' and its management  including distribution of land amongst the landless  poor people falls in the jurisdiction  of the States.

+

## dnnexure  referred  to in reply to parts (a) to (e) of Lok Sabha Unstarred  Question  No. 2198 for answer on 08.03.2018

State/  UT-wise  details of barren  and unculturable  land in the country

## Area in thousand hectare

| Sr. No.   | State / UT                | Area of barren and unculturable land*   |
|-----------|---------------------------|-----------------------------------------|
| I         | ANDHRA PRADESH            | 1351                                    |
| 2         | ARUNACHAL PRADESH         | 37                                      |
| 3         | ASSAM                     | I r90                                   |
| 4         | BIHAR                     | 432                                     |
| 5         | CHHATTISGARH              | 288                                     |
| 6         | GOA                       |                                         |
| 7         | GUJARAT                   | 25s2                                    |
| 8         | HARYANA                   | 119                                     |
| 9         | HIMACHAL PRADESH          | 777                                     |
| 0         | JAMMU & KASHMIR           | 305                                     |
| I         | JHARKHAND                 | s68                                     |
| 2         | KARNATAKA                 | 787                                     |
| I J       | KERALA                    | l3                                      |
| 4         | MADHYA PRADESH            | 1357                                    |
| 5         | MAHARASHTRA               | t727                                    |
| 6         | MANIPUR                   | 1                                       |
| 7         | MEGHALAYA                 | 129                                     |
| 8         | MIZORAM                   | 6                                       |
| 9         | NAGALAND                  | 2                                       |
| 20        | ODISHA                    | r078                                    |
| 21        | PUNJAB                    | 58                                      |
| 22        | RAJASTHAN                 | 2403                                    |
| 23        | SIKKIM                    |                                         |
| 24        | TAMIL NADU                | 489                                     |
| 25        | TELANGANA                 | 607                                     |
| 26        | TRIPURA                   |                                         |
| 27        | UTTARAKHAND               | 228                                     |
| 28        | UTTAR PRADESH             | 462                                     |
| 29        | WEST BENGAL               | ll                                      |
| 30        | ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS | 2                                       |
| 3l        | CHANDIGARH                |                                         |
| 32        | DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI      | 0                                       |
| 33        | DAMAN & DIU               |                                         |
| 34        | DELHT                     | l8                                      |
| 35        | LAKSHADWEEP               |                                         |
| 36        | PUDUCHERRY                | 0                                       |
|           | ALL INDIA                 | 16996                                   |

Note:'O'relates  to the area  below 500 Hectares

Source:  'LAND usE STATISTICS  AT A GLANCE 2005-06 To 2014-15'(June  z0t7)

Directorate  of Economics  & Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

## Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) to (e) of Lok Sabha  Unstarred  euestion  No. 2198 for answer on 08.03.2018

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)

w  Sanctioned  under the erstwhile trt"S which has been amalgamated as the Watershed  Development  Component  (WDC) ofthe Pradhan Mantri  Krishi Sinchayee  yojana  (pMKSy) with efrect from 2015-16. 8214 39.07 15475.51

| st. No   | State             | Sanctioned (from 2009-10 to 2014-l$p   | Sanctioned (from 2009-10 to 2014-l$p   | Central share released (from 2009-10 to 2017-18#)   |
|----------|-------------------|----------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
| st. No   | State             | Total no. of Proiects                  | Area of the nroiects                   | Central share released (from 2009-10 to 2017-18#)   |
| I        | Andhra Pradesh    | 432                                    | I .810                                 | 848.77                                              |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh | Is6                                    | 0.467                                  | 215.54                                              |
| 3        | Assam             | 372                                    | 1.577                                  | 349.24                                              |
| 4        | Bihar             | 123                                    | 0.612                                  | 104.54                                              |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh      | 263                                    | 1.195                                  | 250.85                                              |
| 6        | Gujarat           | 610                                    | 3.103                                  | 1136.80                                             |
| 7        | Haryana           | 88                                     | 0362                                   | 88.70                                               |
| 8        | Himachal Pradesh  | 163                                    | 0.840                                  | 259.54                                              |
| 9        | Jammu & Kashmir   | 159                                    | 0.652                                  | l18.20                                              |
| t0       | Jharkhand         | 171                                    | 0.91I                                  | t62.69                                              |
| 1l       | Karnataka         | 571                                    | 2.s69                                  | 177t,87                                             |
| t2       | Kerala            | 83                                     | 0.423                                  | 89.94                                               |
| l3       | Madhya Pradesh    | 517                                    | 2.937                                  | 1247.46                                             |
| t4       | Maharashtra       | l 186                                  | 5.1 28                                 | 2250.62                                             |
| l5       | Manipur           | 102                                    | 0.491                                  | t34.96                                              |
| t6       | Meghalaya         | 96                                     | 0.236                                  | 166.34                                              |
| t7       | Mizoram           | 89                                     | 0.373                                  | 224.40                                              |
| l8       | Nagaland          | lll                                    | 0.476                                  | 460.79                                              |
| t9       | Odisha            | 310                                    | 1.700                                  | 902.14                                              |
| 20       | Punjab            | 67                                     | 0.314                                  | 52.46                                               |
| 2t       | Rajasthan         | t02s                                   | 5.764                                  | 2030. I 5                                           |
| 22       | Sikkim            | l5                                     | 0.066                                  | 22.08                                               |
| 23       | Tamil Nadu        | 270                                    | 1.368                                  | 834.35                                              |
| 24       | Telangana         | 330                                    | 1.399                                  | 511.08                                              |
| 25       | Tripura           | 65                                     | 0.213                                  | 177.65                                              |
| 26       | Uttarakhand       | 65                                     | 0.346                                  | 124.10                                              |
| 27       | Uttar Pradesh     | 612                                    | 3.045                                  | 808.49                                              |
| 28       | West Bengal       | 163                                    | 0.693                                  | 131.76                                              |
|          | Total             | 8214                                   | 39.07                                  | 15475.51                                            |

#Upto 28.02.2018,  including releases under the erstwhile  IWMp.

- Note: l) WDC-PMKSY is not operationar in the union Territories.
- 2) There is no sanctioned project  in Goa.