Lok Sabha Question No. 1063 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-13
Subject: Conversion of Barren Land into Arable Land
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Balak Nath, Ranjeeta Koli, Manoj Rajoria, Sumedhanand Saraswati

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE & FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE & FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1063

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 13TH DECEMBER, 2022

## CONVERSION OF BARREN LAND INTO ARABLE LAND

1063. SHRI BALAK NATH: SHRI SUMEDHANAND SARASWATI: SHRIMATI RANJEETA KOLI: DR. MANOJ RAJORIA:

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

- (a)  the total hectares of barren land in the country at present;
- (b) whether the Government has taken any measures to convert barren land into  arable land across the country including Rajasthan;
- (c) if so, the details of success achieved in this regard in the country, State-wise including Rajasthan; and
- (d)  the  details  of  the  strategy  and  action  plan  formulated  by  the  Government  to  convert barren land into arable land?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

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

- (a) to (d): As per the latest Land Use Statistics-at a glance, the State-wise / UT-wise details of barren and unculturable land in the country for the year 2018-19 is available at Annexure-I.

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 to convert barren land into arable land. The Government of India supplements the efforts of State  Government  through  various  programmes.  The  Indian  Council  of  Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed location specific bio-engineering soil & water conservation measure,  land  management  techniques,  soil  reclamation  measures  for  saline,  alkali, waterlogged  and  acid  soils,  and  agroforestry  interventions  to  convert  barren  land  into arable land across the country including Rajasthan. While Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (IISWC) has developed several location specific bio-engineering measures to check   soil  erosion  due  to  run-off  of  rain  water,  Central  Arid  Zone  Research  Institute, Jodhpur has developed sand dune stabilization and shelter belt technology to check wind erosion. The Council through Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal and All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Salt Affected Soils has developed reclamation technology, sub-surface drainage, bio-drainage, agroforestry interventions and salt tolerant crop  varieties  to  improve  the  productivity  of saline,  sodic  and  waterlogged  soils  in  the country.

Further, the Watershed Management Division of Department of Land   Resources (DoLR)  implements  a  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  namely  Watershed  Development Component  of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana for development of rainfed/degraded lands in the country.The selection of project areas under the scheme is based  on  well-defined  criteria  provided  by  the  National  Rainfed  Area  Authority.  The activities undertaken, inter alia, include ridge area treatment, drainage line treatment, soil and  moisture  conservation,  rainwater  harvesting,  nursery  raising, pasture  development, livelihoods  for  assetless  persons  etc.  A  total  of  8214  watershed  development  projects were sanctioned during 2009-10 to 2014-15 (in six batches) in 28 States [now 27 States and  UT  of  Jammu  &  Kashmir  and  Ladakh)  involving  an  area  of  about  39.07  million hectare.   Keeping  focus  on  completion  of  all  ongoing  projects,  no  new  projects  under WDC-PMKSY 1.0 have been sanctioned from 2015-16 to 2020-21.   The extended project period of WDC-PMKSY 1.0 got over on 31.03.2022. As per the information received from the  States  /UTs,   under  WDC-PMKSY  1.0,  about  6.56  lakh  water  harvesting  structures have been created / rejuvenated, an additional area of about 14.54  lakh hectare has been brought under protective irrigation, and about 31.94 lakh farmers  have been benefitted from  2015-16  to  2021-22.  Further,  during  2018-19  to  2021-22,  about  1.63  lakh  hectare area  has  been  brought  under  plantation  (Horticulture  /  Afforestation),  about  3.36  lakh hectare area of culturable wasteland has been treated in completed projects. Government of India has also approved continuation of WDC-PMKSY 2.0 with a physical target of 4.95 million hectare of rainfed / degraded areas in December, 2021.  Department has already sanctioned  1110  watershed  projects  (145  projects  in  Rajasthan)  for  meeting  the  target area.   The details of the amount released by DoLR  to various  States /  UTs  as  Central share funds under WDC- PMSKY 1.0 & 2.0 during each of the last three years and current year including Rajasthan is given at Annexure-II .

## Annexure in reference to Reply to part (a) to part (d) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred No. 1063 due for reply on 13.12.2022

State-wise details of the barren and unculturable land (latest available) (in '000' hectare)

| S.No.       | STATES/Uts        | 2018-19   |
|-------------|-------------------|-----------|
| 1           | ANDHRA PRADESH    | 1345      |
| 2           | ARUNACHAL PRADESH | 37        |
| 3           | ASSAM             | 1215      |
| 4           | BIHAR             | 432       |
| 5           | CHHATTISGARH      | 288       |
| 6           | GOA               |           |
| 7           | GUJARAT           | 2552      |
| 8           | HARYANA           | 289       |
| 9           | HIMACHAL PRADESH  | 774       |
| 10          | JAMMU & KASHMIR   | 308       |
| 11          | JHARKHAND         | 579       |
| 12          | KARNATAKA         | 769       |
| 13          | KERALA            | 10        |
| 14          | MADHYA PRADESH    | 1350      |
| 15          | MAHARASHTRA       | 1849      |
| 16          | MANIPUR           | 1         |
| 17          | MEGHALAYA         | 129       |
| 18          | MIZORAM           | 6         |
| 19          | NAGALAND          | 2         |
| 20          | ODISHA            | 1016      |
| 21          | PUNJAB            | 41        |
| 22          | RAJASTHAN         | 2383      |
| 23 24 TAMIL | SIKKIM NADU       | 458       |
| 25          | TELANGANA         | 607       |
| 26          | TRIPURA           | 8         |
| 27          | UTTARAKHAND       | 249       |
| 28          | UTTAR PRADESH     | 442       |
| 29          | WEST BENGAL       | 8         |
| 30          | A&N ISLAND        | 2         |
| 31 32 D & N | CHANDIGARH HAVELI | 0         |
| 33          | DAMAN & DIU       |           |
|             | DELHI             |           |
| 34          |                   | 18        |
| 35          | LAKSHADWEEP       |           |
| 36          | PUDUCHERRY        | 0         |
| ALL INDIA   |                   | 17168     |

Note: '0' indicates area less than 500 hectares, while blank space denotes no reporting of data from the States/UTs.

Source: Directorate of Economics & Statistics, DA&FW.

Annexure-II Details of Central funds released during last three years and current under the WDC-PMKSY Annexure in reference to Reply to part (a) to part (d) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred No.

## 1063 due for reply on 13.12.2022

| Sl. No   | State /UT             | Central share released   | Central share released   | (Rs. in crore)   | (Rs. in crore)            |
|----------|-----------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|------------------|---------------------------|
|          |                       | 2019-20                  | 2020-21                  | 2021-22          | 2022-23 (upto 30.11.2022) |
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh        | 144.39                   | 43.89                    | 45.74            |                           |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh     | 55.71                    | 5.80                     | 22.98            | 35.04                     |
| 3        | Assam                 | 49.03                    | 169.26                   | 16.48            | 27.01                     |
| 4        | Bihar                 | 88.37                    |                          | 112.94           |                           |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh          | 47.07                    |                          | 23.012           | 40.285                    |
| 6        | Gujarat               | 77.93                    |                          | 25.79            |                           |
| 7        | Goa*                  | -                        | -                        | 2.098            |                           |
| 8        | Haryana               | 7.13                     | 13.68                    | 3.022            |                           |
| 9        | Himachal Pradesh      | 66.87                    |                          | 8.505            | 6.43                      |
| 10       | Jharkhand             | 36.77                    | 41.91                    | 27.27            |                           |
| 11       | Karnataka             | 21.76                    | 6.162                    | 119.83           | 48.48                     |
| 12       | Kerala                | 48.77                    |                          | 13.24            |                           |
| 13       | Madhya Pradesh        | 221.28                   | 84.90                    | 75.03            | 172.62                    |
| 14       | Maharashtra           | 103.00                   |                          | 50.08            |                           |
| 15       | Manipur               | 1.46                     |                          | 9.24             |                           |
| 16       | Meghalaya             | 1.19                     |                          | 60.799           |                           |
| 17       | Mizoram               | 22.27                    |                          | 7.024            | 10.71                     |
| 18       | Nagaland              | 137.55                   | 3.53                     | 13.62            | 6.44                      |
| 19       | Odisha                | 83.11                    | 1.75                     | 123.18           |                           |
| 20       | Punjab                |                          |                          | 3.031            |                           |
| 21       | Rajasthan             | 119.43                   | 449.896                  | 282.56           |                           |
| 22       | Sikkim                | 2.13                     |                          | 3.15             |                           |
| 23       | Tamil Nadu            |                          |                          | 10.75            | 21.42                     |
| 24       | Telangana             | 33.50                    | 60.34                    | 27.60            |                           |
| 25       | Tripura               | 10.75                    | 11.74                    | 20.30            |                           |
| 26       | Uttarakhand           |                          |                          | 11.06            |                           |
| 27       | Uttar Pradesh         |                          |                          | 21.77            |                           |
| 28       | West Bengal           | 92.87                    |                          | 13.15            |                           |
| 29       | UT of Jammu & Kashmir |                          | 91.21                    | 11.87            |                           |
| 30       | UT of Ladakh          |                          | 6.147                    |                  |                           |
|          | Total                 | 1472.33                  | 990.22                   | 1165.17          | 372.24                    |

*No proposal received from State under WDC-PMKSY1.0

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