Question

explain any four reasons of land degradation in India

Answer 1

Ans. (i) Mining : Mining is one of the major factorsresponsible for land degradation. In states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, deforestation due to mining have caused severe land degradation.

Answer 2

1. Excessive Population Pressure on Land:

India’s population of over 1000 million people is more than that of the whole world prior to the Industrial Revolution.

2. Deforestation:

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India loses 1.3 million hectares of forests per year. One of the major causes of desertification is the cutting down of trees. According to the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), India had less than 11.4% of area under forest as per the 1992 observation. But the more recent satellite pictures show that the forest cover is now less than 10%.

3. Erosion:

Loss of vegetative cover has made land more susceptible to erosion. Agents of erosion like wind and water have left vast tracts of land barren. Water erodes top soil to an extent of around 12,000 million tonnes (mt) per annum. The loss of top soil represents a permanent depletion of the resource base. The annual loss caused by the erosion of top soil through water comes to Rs.12,000 Crores.

4. Over-Irrigation:

Big irrigation projects no doubt have brought prosperity to millions of farmers. But, due to over-enthusiasm, many farmers have resorted to successive cropping and over-irrigation, thereby leading to water-logging and consequent salinisation and alkalinisation. This situation mainly arises due to poor drainage.