Lok Sabha Question No. 615 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-06
Subject: Barren Land
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Rama Devi

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 615 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.02.2024

## Barren land

## †615. SHRIMATI RAMA DEVI:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether 1/6 part of the total geographical area of the country is barren land and the said barren land is expanding every year and if so, the reasons therefor;
- (b) whether  any  study  has  been  conducted  with  regard  to  the  expansion  of  barren land;
- (c) if so, the details thereof, State-wise;
- (d) the measures taken by the Government to check the expansion of barren land;
- (e) whether any scheme is being already implemented or proposes to be implemented in this regard and if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) the names of States where such area of barren land has decreased or increased as compared to the previous year?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI FAGGAN SINGH KULASTE)

- (a) to (f) As per the information received from Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the State/UT-wise  details  of  barren  land  during  2017-18  to  2021-22,  as  per  'Land  Use Statistics-At a Glance  2012-13  to  2021-22  (latest)'  compiled on the basis of information received from the States, are given at Annexure.

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  transforming  barren  land  into  arable  land.  However,  Government  of  India supplements the efforts of State Government through various programmes.

Department  of  Land  Resources  has  been  implementing  Watershed  Development Component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC-PMKSY) erstwhile Integrated Watershed Management Programme for development of rainfed/ degraded areas.

The  Department  of  Land  Resources,  Ministry  of  Rural  Development  had  been implementing  an  area  development  programme,  namely  the  Integrated  Watershed Management  Programme  (IWMP)  with  effect  from  2009-10  for  development  of rainfed/degraded areas including wastelands in the country.   The major activities taken up under IWMP inter alia include  ridge  area  treatment,  drainage  line  treatment,  soil and  moisture  conservation, rain water  harvesting, nursery raising, afforestation, horticulture,  pasture  development  etc.  The  IWMP  has  been  amalgamated  as  the Watershed  Development  Component  of  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Krishi  Sinchai  Yojana (PMKSY) from 2015-16.  As per information received from States/UTs, total 7.64 lakh Water  Harvesting  Structures  have  been  created/  rejuvenated,  16.40  lakh  ha  of additional area brought under protective irrigation during 2014-15 to 2021-22. Further, 3.36 lakh ha area of culturable wasteland have been treated under WDC-PMKSY 1.0 during 2018-19 to 2021-22.

New  generation  of  watershed  scheme  i.e.  Watershed  Development  Component  of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana 2.0 (WDC-PMKSY 2.0) for the development of 4.95 million ha. of rainfed/ degraded areas has been approved by the Government on 15.12.2021 with an outlay of Rs. 8134.00 crore (Central Share) for a period of 2021-22 to 2025-26.

Under  WDC-PMKSY2.0,  total  1150  watershed  projects  covering  an  area  of  50.55 lakh  ha  at  a  total  project  cost  of  Rs.12388.58  crore  (Central  share  of  Rs.  8073.85 crore) have been sanctioned in the country during FY 2021-22 and 2022-23. As per information received from States/UTs, total 78,756 Water Harvesting Structures have been  created/  rejuvenated,  83,342  ha  of  additional  area  brought  under  protective irrigation  and  2.90  lakh  ha  of  degraded/rainfed  area  have  been  developed  under WDC-PMKSY 2.0 during 2022-23 and 2023-24 (upto 2 nd  Qtr).

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State- wise details of barren land during 2017-18 to 2021-22

(area in thousand hectares)

| S. No.   | States/UTs             | 2017-18                             | 2018-19                             |   2019-20 |   2020-21 |   2021-22 |
|----------|------------------------|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh         | 1345                                | 1345                                |      1336 |      1335 |      1335 |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh      | 37                                  | 37                                  |        37 |        37 |        37 |
| 3        | Assam                  | 1216                                | 1215                                |      1217 |      1209 |      1180 |
| 4        | Bihar                  | 432                                 | 432                                 |       432 |       432 |       432 |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh           | 287                                 | 288                                 |       287 |       288 |       294 |
| 6        | Gujarat                | 2069                                | 2077                                |      2077 |      2087 |      2080 |
| 7        | Haryana                | 117                                 | 289                                 |       199 |       171 |       171 |
| 8        | Himachal Pradesh       | 777                                 | 774                                 |       767 |       766 |       771 |
| 9        | Jharkhand              | 584                                 | 579                                 |       584 |       580 |       586 |
| 10       | Karnataka              | 793                                 | 769                                 |       752 |       743 |       742 |
| 11       | Kerala                 | 11                                  | 10                                  |        11 |        10 |        10 |
| 12       | Madhya Pradesh         | 1369                                | 1350                                |      1354 |      1314 |      1320 |
| 13       | Maharashtra            | 1835                                | 1849                                |      1882 |      1951 |      1975 |
| 14       | Manipur                | 1                                   | 1                                   |         1 |         1 |         1 |
| 15       | Meghalaya              | 129                                 | 129                                 |       129 |       129 |       126 |
| 16       | Mizoram                | 6                                   | 6                                   |         6 |         6 |         6 |
| 17       | Nagaland               | 2                                   | 2                                   |         2 |         2 |         2 |
| 18       | Odisha                 | 976                                 | 1016                                |       948 |      1109 |       978 |
| 19       | Punjab                 | 43                                  | 41                                  |        35 |        35 |        36 |
| 20       | Rajasthan              | 2383                                | 2383                                |      2372 |      2367 |      2366 |
| 21       | Tamil Nadu             | 458                                 | 458                                 |       457 |       457 |       457 |
| 22       | Telangana              | 607                                 | 607                                 |       607 |       607 |       607 |
| 23       | Tripura                | 8                                   | 8                                   |         8 |         8 |         8 |
| 24       | Uttarakhand            | 250                                 | 249                                 |       249 |       249 |       250 |
| 25       | Uttar Pradesh          | 444                                 | 442                                 |       438 |       438 |       392 |
| 26       | West Bengal            | 9                                   | 8                                   |         8 |         8 |         8 |
| 27       | A&N Island             | 2                                   | 2                                   |         2 |         2 |         2 |
| 28       | Dadra and Nagar Haveli | 0                                   | 0                                   |         0 |         0 |         0 |
| 29       | Delhi                  | 18                                  | 18                                  |        18 |        18 |        18 |
| 30       | Jammu &Kashmir         | 303                                 | 308                                 |       298 |       295 |       295 |
| 31       | Ladakh                 | UT was constituted in October, 2019 | UT was constituted in October, 2019 |        28 |        28 |        28 |
| 32       | Puducherry             | 0                                   | 0                                   |         0 |         0 |         0 |
|          | ALL INDIA              | 16510                               | 16693                               |     16542 |     16684 |     16515 |

Source:  Economics Statistics and Evaluation Division, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare