Lok Sabha Question No. 4046 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-08-10
Subject: Reclamation of Wasteland
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: SONA RAM CHOUDHARY

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

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED  QUESTION  No. 4046 TO BE ANSWERED ON I0.08.2017

## Reclamation  of Wasteland

4046. COL. SONARAM CHOUDHARY:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Govemment  has formulated  schemes lor reclaiming the wasteland in the country  and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the progress  made in reclaiming the wasteland  during  the last three years,  State-wise;
- (c) whether  large  tracts of wasteland are yet to be reclaimed  in hilly and far flung desert areas particularly desert  districts of Western  Rajasthan  like Barmer  and Jaisalmer  and if so, the details  thereof;
- (d) whether  any action plan has been chalked out for utilizing  such wasteland  for productive purposes and if so, the details thereof;  and
- (e) ifnot, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

- (a)  to (e): Data on area under wastelands in the country, including  hilly and far flung desert areas  ofthe country, is not centrally  maintained  in Department  ofland Resources.

An assessment study commissioned  by Department of Land Resources,  which was conducted  by National Remote Sensing  Centre,  namely "Wastelands  Atlas of lndia - 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 the country was 47.22 million hectare during  2005-06 and 46.70 million hectare  during 2008-09.  The estimated  area under wastelands, including  hilly and far flung desert  areas, in Rajasthan  was 9.36 million hectare  during 2005-06 and 8.49 million  hectare  during 2008-09. Statewise details  ofarea under  wastelands  during 2005-06  vis-d-vis 2008-09  is given in Annexure I.

The "Wastelands Atlas of India - Change Analysis  Based on Temporal  Satellite Data of 2005-06  and 2008-09" (201l) is available  in the public  domain, including on the official website of  the Depafiment of  Land Resources at http://dolr.  nic.in/dolr/wasteland\_atlas.aso.

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 ofabout 39.07 million hectare  under  the Watershed Development Component  of Pradhan  Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana  (WDC-PMKSY) principally for development of rainfed portions of net cultivated area and culturable wastelands.

The major activities under the watershed development  prolects  inter alia include ridge area treatment,  drainage line treatment,  soil and moisture conservation,  rain water  harvesting,  nursery raising,  afforestation,  horticulture,  pasture  development livelihood activities  for the asset-less  persons.

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  3l't July 2017)l  are given in Annexure II.

1025 watershed  projects have been sanctioned in Rajasthan covering  an area of 5.76 million hectare  (during  2009-10  to 2014-15) and an amount ofRs.l872.68 crore has been released as Central  share  [from  2009-10 to 2017-18  (upto 31.07.2017\1.  District-wise  details of sanctioned projects  and area covered by the projects  are given in Annexure III.

The projects are at various stages of implementation. Priority is being given to qualitative  and timely completion ofthe on-going projects.  Administrative  reports of completion  of 674 projects have been received from 10 States  from 1'r April 2017 onwards (upto 23.07 .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 Departrnent of Land Resources in consultation with Ministry of Water Resources,  River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation  and NITI Aayog. The protocol inter a/ia 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 Coa) have been accordingly requested on l2'n 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 a/ta includes activities  for water conservation, drought  proofing, water  harvesting, ground  water  recharge, etc. that complement and supplement  interventions undertaken  under the WDCPMKSY.

Further,  under  the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture  (NMSA),  being implemented lo inter alia prevent soil erosion and land degradation,  all types of lands including  wastelands are being developed rvith 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 ofproblem 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 I

## Annexure referred  to in reply to parts (a) to (e) of Lok Sabha Unstarred  Question  No. 4046 for answer on 10.08.2017

State-wise area under wastelands during 2005-06 vis-a-vis  2008-09

re

| SI. No.   | State             | Area under wastelands   | Area under wastelands   |
|-----------|-------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|
| SI. No.   | State             | 2005-06                 | 2008-09                 |
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh*   | 3878822                 | 3729662                 |
| 2         | Arunachal Pradesh | 574383                  | 1489524                 |
| a J       | Assam             | 877802                  | 845386                  |
| 4         | Bihar             | 684109                  | 960r0r                  |
| 5         | Chhattisgarh      | t181782                 | 1 148218                |
| 6         | Delhi             | 8334                    | 9021                    |
| 7         | Goa               | 49627                   | 48908                   |
| 8         | Gujarat           | 2135038                 | 2010806                 |
| 9         | Harvana           | 234705                  | 214598                  |
| l0        | Himachal Pradesh  | 2247005                 | 2234788                 |
| l1        | Jammu & Kashmir   | 7375438                 | 7s43577                 |
| 12        | Jharkhand         | tt670t4                 | 1 101 738               |
| l3        | Kamataka          | 1443812                 | I 303062                |
| 14        | Kerala            | 245869                  | 244s62                  |
| l5        | Madhya Pradesh    | 4044298                 | 40t1327                 |
| 16        | Maharashtra       | 3826281                 | 3783082                 |
| 17        | Manipur           | 702747                  | s64853                  |
| l8        | Meghalaya         | 386576                  | 412743                  |
| 19        | Mizoram           | 602114                  | 495864                  |
| 20        | Nagaland          | 481518                  | 526672                  |
| 2l        | Odisha            | t664827                 | 1642576                 |
| 22        | Punjab            | 101 950                 | 93683                   |
| 23        | Rajasthan         | 9368947                 | 8492910                 |
| 24        | Sikkim            | 328088                  | 327315                  |
| 25        | TamilNadu         | 912556                  | 872179                  |
| 26        | Tripura           | 131517                  | 96464                   |
| 27        | Uttarakhand       | 1279006                 | 12859s3                 |
| 28        | Uttar Pradesh     | 1098859                 | 988124                  |
| 29        | West Bengal       | 199441                  | 192924                  |
| 30        | Union Territory   | 33730                   | 31500                   |
|           | Total             | 47226194                | 46702116                |

Source: Wastelands Atlas of India - Change  Analysis Based on Temporal Satellite

Data of2005-06  and 2008-09  (201  l)

*lncludes  Telangana

Annexure referred  to in repry;: Hf.:?::9  $."*:fiiha unstarred Question  No'

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

Area in million Amount  in Rs. c

| 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#)   |
| I        | Andhra Pradesh    | 432                                     | 1.810                                   | 725.42                                              |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh | 156                                     | 0.467                                   | 215.54                                              |
| 3        | Assam             | 372                                     | 1.577                                   | 322.44                                              |
| 4        | Bihar             | 123                                     | 0.612                                   | 8s.33                                               |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh      | 263                                     | 1.195                                   | 217.40                                              |
| 6        | Guiarat           | 610                                     | 3.1 03                                  | 1049.29                                             |
| 7        | Haryana           | 88                                      | 0.362                                   | 77.76                                               |
| 8        | Himachal Pradesh  | 163                                     | 0.840                                   | 232.7r                                              |
| 9        | Jammu & Kashmir   | 1s9                                     | 4.652                                   | 115.29                                              |
| 0        | Jharkhand         | t7t                                     | 0.911                                   | 162.69                                              |
| 1        | Kamataka          | 571                                     | 2.569                                   | 1690.74                                             |
| 2        | Kerala            | 83                                      | 0.423                                   | 78.41                                               |
| J        | Madhya Pradesh    | 517                                     | 2.937                                   | t193.52                                             |
| 4        | Maharashtra       | I 186                                   | 5.1 28                                  | 2138.81                                             |
| 5        | Manipur           | 102                                     | 0.491                                   | 121.12                                              |
| 6        | Meghalaya         | 96                                      | 0.236                                   | 157.39                                              |
| 7        | Mizoram           | 89                                      | 0.373                                   | 224.40                                              |
| 8        | Nagaland          | lil                                     | 0.476                                   | 447.95                                              |
| 9        | Odisha            | 310                                     | 1.700                                   | 807.66                                              |
| 20       | Puniab            | 67                                      | 0.314                                   | 52.46                                               |
| 21       | Raiasthan         | l02s                                    | 5.764                                   | 1872.68                                             |
| 22       | Sikkim            | l5                                      | 0.066                                   | 20.68                                               |
| 23       | TamilNadu         | 270                                     | 1.368                                   | 801.25                                              |
| 24       | Telangana         | 330                                     | 1.399                                   | 4s9.94                                              |
| 25       | Tripura           | 65                                      | 0.213                                   | 167.66                                              |
| 26       | Uttarakhand       | 65                                      | 0.346                                   | I 14. t3                                            |
| 27       | Uttar Pradesh     | 612                                     | 3.045                                   | 744.56                                              |
| 28       | West Bensal       | 163                                     | 0.693                                   | l16.28                                              |
|          | Total             | 8214                                    | 39.07                                   | 14413.51                                            |

## Annexure referred  to in repty to parts (a) to (e)  ofLok Sabha  Unstarred  euestion  No. 4046 for answer on 10.09.2017

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

Area in lakh ha

* Sancrioned  during  2oo9-lo to l@ Watershed Management  Programme  (lWMp), which has been amalgamated as the Watershed  Development Component  (WDC) of the  pradhan  Mintri Krishi Sinchayee  Yojana (PMKSy) with effect from 2015-16.

| Sl. No.   | District       | No. of projects *   | Area of the projects   |
|-----------|----------------|---------------------|------------------------|
| I         | Ajmer          | 32                  | 1.86                   |
| 2         | Alwar          | 38                  | 2.00                   |
| 3         | Banswara       | 4                   | 0.24                   |
| 4         | Baran          | 27                  | 1.48                   |
| 5         | Barmer         | 83                  | 5.03                   |
| 6         | Bharatpur      | t2                  | 0.68                   |
| 7         | Bhilwara       | 32                  | 1,70                   |
| 8         | Bikaner        | bl                  | 3.92                   |
| 9         | Bundi          | ll                  | 0.56                   |
| l0        | Chittorgarh    | 35                  | 1.59                   |
| ll        | Churu          | 46                  | 2.71                   |
| t2        | Dausa          | I9                  | l.l9                   |
| l3        | Dholpur        | t2                  | 0.61                   |
| t4        | Dungarpur      | 22                  | 1.23                   |
| l5        | Ganganagar     | 7                   | 0.51                   |
| 16        | Hanumangarh    | 6                   | 0.2s                   |
|           | Jaipur         | 55                  | 3.12                   |
| l8        | Jaisalmer      | 57                  | 3.80                   |
| l9        | Jalore         | 33                  | 2.14                   |
| 20        | Jhalawar       | 27                  | 1.47                   |
| 2t        | Jhunjhunu      | 23                  | 1.22                   |
| 22        | Jodhpur        | 83                  | 4.42                   |
| 23        | Karauli        | l5                  | 0.83                   |
| 24        | Kota           | t4                  | 0.76                   |
| 25        | Nagaur         | 55                  | 3.22                   |
| 26        | Pali           | 39                  | 1.96                   |
| 27        | Pratapgarh     | 24                  | t.t4                   |
| 28        | Rajsamand      | l4                  | 0.75                   |
| 29        | Sawai Madhopur | 2t                  | 0.99                   |
| 30        | Sikar          | 33                  | 1.79                   |
| 3l        | Sirohi         | l5                  | 0.85                   |
| 32        | Tonk           | 25                  | 1.37                   |
| 33        | Udaipur        | 45                  | 2.2t                   |
| Total     | Total          | r025                | s7 .64                 |

## Annexure referred  to in reply to parts (a) to (e)  ofLok Sabha  Unstared  euestion  No. 4046 for answer  on 10.0g.2017

## state-wise  details  of receipt  of administrative  reports on compretion  of wDC-pMKSy projects (01.04.2017  to 23.07.2017)

| Sl. No.   | State          | No. of projects   |
|-----------|----------------|-------------------|
| I         | Andhra Pradesh | 62                |
| 2         | Karnataka      | 73                |
| 3         | Madhya Pradesh | 86                |
| 4         | Maharashtra    | 239               |
| 5         | Meghalaya      | )t                |
| 6         | Mizoram        | l6                |
| 7         | Nagaland       | 4t                |
| 8         | Rajasthan      | 37                |
| 9         | Tamil Nadu     | 89                |
| l0        | Tripura        | l0                |
|           | Total          | 674               |