Explain land use pattern in India …

(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.

Land resources in India are primarily divided into agricultural land, forest land, land meant for pasture and grazing, land for other non-agricultural use and waste land. Waste land includes rocky, arid and desert areas. Land is also used for other non-agricultural purposes such as housing, roads and industry. According to the data for 2002-03, about 54% of the total land area is cultivable or fallow, 22.5% is covered by forests and 3.5% is used for grazing. The rest is waste land, with traces of miscellaneous cultivation. The improper use of forest land has degraded the available land area, and has 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% since 1960-61.