Lok Sabha Question No. 694 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-20
Subject: Conversion of Wasteland into Cultivable
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: DUSHYANT CHAUTALA

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

## LOK  SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 694 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.07.2017

## Conversion of Wasteland into Cultivable

## 694 SHRI DUSHYANT CHAUTALA:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has instructed States to maintain data of wasteland and initiated any plan to convert them into cultivable and if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise;
- (b)  whether  the  Government  has  also  been  implementing  any  plan  or  programme  for conversion of waste land into cultivable and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the total area of land converted into cultivable along with the financial implications met by the Government in this regard, State/UT-wise?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) to (c): Data  on  area  under  wastelands  in  the  country  is  not  centrally  maintained  in Department of Land Resources. States have not been asked to maintain data of wastelands.

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 I.

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.

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 II .

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 (c) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 694 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                                              |

# Upto 30.06.2017, including releases under the erstwhile IWMP.

- 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 (c) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 694 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 |