Land Use Categories

India has a total geographical area of 329 million hectares (reporting area). Of this, statistics are available from 305 million hectares (reporting area).

If we go into details of Land categories, it can be seen that there were five fold classification being used till 1949-1950. 

The fivefold categories are:

• Forest  
• Area not available for cultivation  
• Other uncultivated lands excluding Current Fallows  
• Fallow lands  
• Net area sown  

After 1950-51, the classification was revised and since then, a nine-fold classification of land has been used. Except for West Bengal, all states follow this nine-fold classification. West Bengal still follows the Five-Fold Classification. 

Land use statistics are compiled from the village land records maintained by the patwari. The information is made available from each survey number and recorded under nine categories: 

While some areas, to the extent of 7% of the total 329 million hectares of land, have not been covered or classifiable under the nine-fold classification. 

The reporting area is classified into nine categories, including, 

Forests 

Lands classed as forest under any legal enactment dealing with forests or administered as forests, whether state-owned or private, and whether wooded or maintained as potential forest land falls under this category. The area of crops raised in the forest and grazing lands or areas open for grazing within the forests also remain under the forest area.

Area under Non-agricultural Uses

This category includes all lands occupied by buildings, roads and railways or underwater, e.g. rivers and canals and other lands put to uses other than agriculture.

Barren and Un-culturable Land

This classification of land includes all barren and unculturable land like mountains, deserts, etc. Simply, the land that cannot be brought under cultivation except at an exorbitant cost should be classed as unculturable whether such land is in isolated blocks or within cultivated holdings.

Permanent Pastures and other Grazing Lands

This land category includes all grazing lands, whether they are permanent pastures and meadows or not. Village common grazing land is included under this head.

Land under Miscellaneous Tree Crops, etc.

This includes all cultivable land not included in ‘Net area sown’ but is put to some agricultural uses. Lands under Casurina trees, thatching grasses, bamboo bushes and other groves for fuel, etc., which are not included under ‘Orchards’, should be classed under this category.

Culturable Waste Land

Culturable Waste Land comprises land available for cultivation, either taken up or just not taken up once for harvesting, but not harvested over the last five years more than in sequence, including that of the current year.

Fallow Lands other than Current Fallows

This includes all lands, which were once used for cultivation but are temporarily out of cultivation for a period of not less than one year and not more than five years.

Current Fallows

This represents the cropped area, which is kept fallow during the current year. For example, if any farming area is not cropped against the same year, it may be treated as current fallow.

Net area Sown: 

This represents the total area sown with crops and orchards. Area sown more than once in the same year is counted only once.

Nationwide land use or cover mapping by the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) helps to get land-use statistics. According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the Government of India, though these categories are much more detailed and provide useful information for land development programmes, details are still not available at the local block and panchayat levels.  

There are certain drawbacks to this nine-fold classification of land use based on village records. It does not provide information on such characteristics as social forestry, marshy and waterlogged land, built-up land, etc., which are important for local development plans. On the other hand, introducing the 22-fold classification in the village records is out of the question. The patwari cannot, in most cases, identify the characteristics of various categories, not to speak of the heavy burden this work imposes.  

The nine-fold classification can be slightly enlarged to cover two or three categories of land use that have a common interest to the Centre and States and can be easily identified by the patwari through visual observation. Such addition increases his/her workload only marginally. The categories to be added can be decided by joint consultation between the Centre and the States. Initially, there was a consensus in the Conference of Central and State Statistical Organisations on the addition of social forestry, marshy and waterlogged land, and land under still waters.  

Conclusion

It is important to consider the question of rationalization and simplification of the Village Crop Register (Khasra Register) and other records maintained by patwari. The records have remained almost the same since the mid-50s. There are also marked differences in the content and format of the records among the States. Cropping practices have also changed over time, and new crops, especially short duration, are sown and harvested. The list of crops covered by the Village Crop Abstract (Jinswar) needs a review that may also result in some changes in the manual of instructions for the girdawari. The Commission appointed an Expert to suggest changes after undertaking a review of the land records system in different parts of the country. On examination of the Report of the Expert, the Commission is of the view that the system of land records being different in different States, it would be appropriate if the State Governments review the systems by appointing experts in the field.  

Computerization of land records is another major effort in progress to modernize the land record system. Under this programme, plot-wise ownership details are to be maintained in the computer and periodically updated so that each owner can obtain his ownership record readily. Incidentally, computerization reduces the workload of the patwari to the extent that he does not have to record the permanent columns of the Khasra Register. Many States have reported substantial progress in implementing the programme. It should be ensured that this is completed expeditiously.