Lok Sabha Question No. 315 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-15
Subject: Barren Land
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Pushpendra Singh Chandel

O.I.H.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, COOPERATION AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK  SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 315

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 15 TH  SEPTEMBER, 2020

## BARREN LAND

315. SHRI KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी be pleased to state:

- (a): the details of barren land in the country including Bundelkhand, State-wise;
- (b): whether the Government is aware that agriculture is the main source of employment in economically backward Bundelkhand;
- (c): if  so,  whether  the  Government  has  resolved  to  run  schemes  in  mission  mode  for development of barren land in Bundelkhand; and
- (d): if so, the area of barren land made cultivable in the country including Bundelkhand in the last five years?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

- (a): As per the Land Use Statistics for the year 2015-16 (latest available), the state wise details of area of Barren and Uncultable land in the country including Bundelkhand region is at Annexure I.
- (b) to (d): The economy of Bundelkhand is an agrarian economy and a large population of this region is dependent on agriculture.  As per Seventh Schedule of Constitution of India, land  comes  under  the  purview  of  State  Government  and,  therefore,  it  is  for  the  State Governments to take suitable steps for development of barren land. However, Government of India supplements the efforts of State Government through various programmes.

Department  of Land  Resources  (DoLR)  in  Ministry of Rural Development  is implementing Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) primarily keeping at Center  Stage  the  rainfed  &  degraded area  development.  DoLR  has  sanctioned  8214 watershed development projects in 28 States (except Goa) (now 27 States and UT of J & K and Ladakh), including Bundelkhand region   from 2009-10 to 2014-15 covering an area of about 39.07 million hectare under Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP). IWMP was amalgamated as the Watershed Development Component (WDC) of Pradhan Mantri  Krishi  Sinchayee  Yojana  (PMKSY)  in  2015-16.  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.

As per the information received from the States, between 2014-15 to 2020-21 (upto 1st  Quarter  of  FY2020-21),  about  6.90  lakh  water  harvesting  structures  were  created  / rejuvenated,  an  additional  area  of  about  14.67  lakh  hectares  has  been  brought  under protective  irrigation,  and   about  31.15  lakh  farmers   have  been  benefited   during  the  said period.

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

Apart  from  this,  Indian  Council  of  Agricultural  Research  has  developed  location specific bio-engineering soil & water conservation measure, land management techniques, soil  reclamation  measures  for  saline,  alkali,  waterlogged  and  acid  soils,  and  selection  of suitable crop including agroforestry interventions to reclaim and develop barren lands.

## Annexure referred in reply to part (a) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Q. No. 315 due for answer on 15/09/20

State-wise details of barren & unculturable land in the country and in Bundelkhand region for the year 2015-16 (latest available)

(thousand hectares)

| STATES/Uts                | Barren and Unculturable land   |
|---------------------------|--------------------------------|
| ANDHRA PRADESH            | 1347                           |
| ARUNACHAL PRADESH         | 37                             |
| ASSAM                     | 1200                           |
| BIHAR                     | 432                            |
| CHHATTISGARH              | 288                            |
| GOA                       |                                |
| GUJARAT                   | 2552                           |
| HARYANA                   | 113                            |
| HIMACHAL PRADESH          | 774                            |
| JAMMU & KASHMIR           | 305                            |
| JHARKHAND                 | 586                            |
| KARNATAKA                 | 793                            |
| KERALA                    | 13                             |
| MADHYA PRADESH            | 1360                           |
| MAHARASHTRA               | 1731                           |
| MANIPUR                   | 1                              |
| MEGHALAYA                 | 129                            |
| MIZORAM                   | 6                              |
| NAGALAND                  | 2                              |
| ODISHA                    | 1054                           |
| PUNJAB                    | 52                             |
| RAJASTHAN                 | 2395                           |
| SIKKIM                    |                                |
| TAMIL NADU                | 458                            |
| TELANGANA                 | 607                            |
| TRIPURA                   |                                |
| UTTARAKHAND               | 228                            |
| UTTAR PRADESH             | 453                            |
| WEST BENGAL               | 10                             |
| ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS | 2                              |
| CHANDIGARH                |                                |
| DADRA& N HAVELI           | 0                              |
| DAMAN & DIU               |                                |
| DELHI                     | 18                             |
| LAKSHADWEEP               |                                |
| PUDUCHERRY                | 0                              |
| ALL INDIA                 | 16945                          |
| BUNDELKHAND REGION        | 247                            |

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

Note:'0' relates to the area below 500 Hectares

Bundelkhand region consists of districts of Madhya Pradesh (Chhattarpur, Damoh, Datia, Panna, Sagar Tikamgarh) and Uttar Pradesh (Banda, Chitrakoot, Hamirpur,Jalaun, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Mahoba)

## Annexure II

## Annexure referred to in reply of part (b) to (d) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Q. No. 315 due for answer on 15/09/20

## 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                  |

Source: Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development

*  Sanctioned  during  2009-10  to  2014-15  under  the  erstwhile  Integrated  Watershed Management  Programme  (IWMP),  which  has  been  amalgamated  as  the  Watershed Development Component (WDC) of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) with effect from 2015-16.

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