Soil

What is Land?

It is a part of earth’s surface that is often referred to as ‘dry land’. Land is considered to be the “original and inexhaustible gift of nature”. It is of great importance to mankind, Land is rich in coal, water and petroleum, which are used for generating power.

The land use pattern in India is available for only about 305.69 million hectares. The types of land use in the country are:-

• Forests area – The forest covers 33.3% of the total land. The proportion of the forest area is not evenly distributed in the country.
• Land not available for cultivation – It accounts 12.11% of total land in India. The land used for human settlements, transport routes, canals, quarries, the mountains, deserts, marshes etc. come under this category.
• Cultivable wasteland – This category covers about 8.6 % of the country’s total reporting land. It includes permanent pasture and other grazing area, crops, groves and cultivable waste.
• Fallow land – It accounts for about 8.13 % of the India’s total land. The land which is not utilized for cultivation for last 3 to 5 years is considered as fallow land. It may be cultivated.
• Net area sown – India accounts for 46.2% of the total reporting land in India.Net sown area has reached its maximum level in Haryana.