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IAPRS & SIS, Vol.34, Part 7, “Resource and Environmental Monitoring", Hyderabad, India, 2002 
  
villages and 2,475 survey numbers. The selection was made 
based on “probability proportional to net area sown” (NRSA, 
1903). 
The results of the sample survey carried during 1992 —93 year 
had indicated that the area under NAS shown in the village 
records is under reported to the extent of 10 — 15 per cent. The 
survey also showed that the area under “non-agricultural use” 
derived from remote sensing is less by 3 to 5 per cent 
compared to the reported area by BES. This is due to the 
omission of small water bodies and transport network (small 
scale of mapping and resolution of satellite data used) and 
commission of their area under dominant land use class, i.e., 
agriculture. Hence, 5 per cent of area from agriculture land 
has been added to the area under non-agriculture use for 
comparison. The pasture land was non-existent on ground, 
may be due to conversion of such areas to agriculture over a 
period of time. 
4.0 PROPOSED LAND USE / LAND COVER 
INVENTORY UNDER NR CENSUS 
As the land use / cover maps statistics generated were 
evaluated by Planning Commission, DES, MRD etc., a need 
for large scale national wide land use / land cover analysis on 5 
year cycle was felt as part of "Natural Resources Data 
Infrastructure". Under this it is proposed to bring out "Status 
of NR Census" report at national level every five years 
considering the 2000 — 2001 as the base year, which covers the 
Land Use/ Cover information as one of the important theme. It 
will address the issues related to irrigated and rain fed areas, 
current fallows, forest types and canopy density information at 
various administrative levels, human settlement areas and their 
dimensional changes with respect to urban, town and rural 
settlements. The periodic data on changes of waterbodies 
serve as an indicator for the drought prevalence in parts of the 
country. The dynamics of waterlogged / wetlands information 
serve as vital environmental parameters. 
5.0 NATIONAL WASTELANDS INVENTORY 
PROJECT (NWIP) 
Until recently, no attempt had been made to prepare a 
comprehensive map on any scale showing the distribution of 
different types of wastelands in India. A number of 
organizations and agencies commenced the collection and 
collation of data on the type and extent of wastelands. The 
area reported by various government agencies is shown in 
Table 5. The considerable variation in the area underscores 
the need to prepare a reliable database using the latest 
techniques of satellite remote sensing and geomatics. 
In 1985, the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) of the 
Department of Space prepared wasteland maps of all the 
Indian states and union territories at a 1:1 million scale. The 
total area 
Table — 5: Area of wastelands in India as reported by different 
agencies 
  
  
Organization Millio % of 
; n ha land 
area 
National Commission of Agriculture, 45.0 13.7 
Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, 
Government of India, New Delhi, 1976 
  
  
  
  
  
  
Directorate of Economics and 38.4 11:7 
Statistics, Government of India, New 
Delhi, 1978-79 
  
Directorate of Economics and 39.9 11.2 
Statistics, Government of India, 1985- 
86 
  
Department of Environment, 95.0 28.9 
Government of India (Vohra, 1980) 
  
Ministry of Agriculture and 175.0 33.2 
Cooperation, New Delhi, 
1984-85 
  
Society for Promotion of Wastelands 93.7 28.5 
Development, 1984 
  
NWDB, Ministry of Environment and 123.0 37.5 
Forest, New Delhi, 1985 (NWDB, 
1987) 
  
NRSA, Department of Space, $3.3 16.2 
Government of India, Hyderabad, 1985 
(NRSA, 1985) 
  
  
  
  
  
of wastelands in 1980 — 1982 estimated through this study was 
about 53.3 million ha or 16.2 per cent of the area of the 
country. 
The 1:1 million scale wasteland maps of the states and union 
territories of India provided only a gross estimate of wasteland 
area. Due to the small scale and relatively poor resolution of 
the MSS imagery, wasteland areas of less than 100 ha could 
not be mapped. Further more, it was found that the maps were 
of little use in reclamation planning at the local level. 
In 1985, the then Prime Minister of India set up a National 
Wastelands Development Board (NWDB) with the objective 
of rehabilitating 5 million ha of land each year for fuelwood 
and fodder production through a massive programme of 
seeding and afforestation. This programme required a very 
reliable database that provided details on the type, extent, 
location and ownership of wastelands. 
5.1 WASTELAND CLASSIFICATION 
Confronted by varying estimates of the extent of wasteland, 
including the NRSA figure based on remote sensing, it became 
evident that the NWDB had to provide precise definitions of 
the various categories of wasteland. The Technical Task Force 
established by the NWDB proposed a classification system 
consisting of thirteen categories of wasteland, as follows: 
Gullied and/or ravinous land 
Land with or without scrub 
Waterlogged and marshy land 
Land affected by salinity/alkalinity coastal/inland 
Shifting Cultivation area 
Under utilised/degraded notified forest land 
Degraded pastures/grazing land. 
Degraded land under plantation crops 
. Sands - Desertic /coastal 
10. Mining/industrial wastelands 
11. Barren Rocky/Stony waste/sheet rock area 
12. Steep sloping area 
© 00 NOUR WN