How is the land use pattern …

(i) Land resources in India are primarily divided into agricultural land, forest land, land meant for pasture and grazing, land for other non-agricultural use(such as housing, roads and industry) and waste land (rocky, arid and desert areas). In 2002-03, 54 per cent of the total land area was cultivable or fallow, 22.5 per cent was covered by forests and 3.5 per cent was used for grazing. The rest was waste land, with traces of miscellaneous cultivation.
Improper use of forest land has degraded the available land area and made conservation of forests difficult. Human activities such as deforestation, mining and quarrying have contributed to the slow growth rate of forests. Thus, land ’ under forest has increased by only about 4 per cent since 1960-61.
(ii) The following technical and economic development have led to more consumption of resources
(a) Technological development has led to industrialisation which has increased the use of natural resources.
(b) Technological development has converted the subsistence agriculture to commercial agriculture and this has led to the over-utilisation of soil.
© Technological development has also improved the process of mining.
(d) The development of technology contributed to increase in production of quality goods and provision of better services to the people.
(e) Economic development has led to increasing urbanisation and modernisation which demands more resources.