question_answer 14)

Answer the following questions in about 120 words.   (i) Explain the land-use pattern in India and why has the land under forest not increased much since 1960-61?   (ii) How have technical and economic developments led to more consumption of resources?  

Answer:

(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 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.    (ii) (a) Technological development has led to industrialization 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 utilization of soil.   (c) The development of technology contributed to increased production of quality goods and provision of better services to the people.   (d) Technological development has also improved the process of mining.   (e) Economic development has led to increasing urbanization and modernization which demands more resources.