(a) whether the erosion of the soil is taking place at an alarming rate;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
(c) whether the high rate of soil erosion is adversely affecting the farm productivity;
(d) if so, whether any study/research has been conducted by the Government in this regard;
(e) if so, the details thereof; and
(f) the steps taken/proposed to be taken to check erosion of soil?
MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE (SHRI SHARAD PAWAR)
(a) to (f): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (f) OF LOK SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO. 81 DUE FOR REPLY ON 28TH NOVEMBER, 2005.
(a) to (f): Yes, Sir. The soil formation and erosion is a natural process occurring simultaneously to
maintain the equilibrium in eco-system. Due to over exploitation, unscientific use of natural resources
and other reasons, the land denudation is more than natural formation. As per available estimate, the
average rate of soil erosion in the country is 16.4 tonnes per hectare per year and over 5.3 billion tonnes
of soil is lost every year through water erosion, resulting in a loss of around 8 million tonnes of plant
nutrients annually. As per recent study conducted by National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use
Planning (NBSS&LUP), out of total geographical area of 328.60 million ha., about 146.82 million ha.
area (45%) is suffering from various kinds of land degradation as per break up given below:-
S.No. Type of Land Degradation Extent of Area in million ha. 1 Water erosion 93.68 2 Wind erosion 9.48 3 Water logging 14.30 4 Salinity/alkalinity 5.95 5 Soil acidity 16.03 6 Complex problem 7.38 Total Degraded area 146.82
S.No. Ministry/ Area treated Area treated Total area treated Scheme and and Expenditure and Expenditure and Expenditure year of start since inception in first 3 years since inception upto IX Plan of X Plan (2002-05) upto March, 2005 Area Expdr. Area Expdr. Area Expdr
(A) Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation
1 NWDPRA (1990-91) 69.79 1877.74 9.55 519.82 79.34 2397.56 2 RVP & FPR (1962 & 81) 54.88 1516.26 5.99 377.91 60.87 1894.17 3 WDPSCA (1974-75) 2.58 166.27 0.60 60.16 3.18 226.43 4 RAS (1985-86) 5.81 76.39 0.78 20.25 6.59 96.64 5 EAPs 15.00 2071.01 8.63 2685.25 23.63 4756.26 Sub Total 148.06 5707.67 25.55 3663.39 173.61 9371.06
1 DPAP (1973-74) 13.79 897.67 12.50 844.39 26.29 1742.06 2 DDP (1977-78) 6.70 686.02 8.00 614.99 14.70 1301.01 3 IWDP (1988-89) 37.36 461.26 24.60 848.94 61.96 1310.20 Sub Total 57.85 2044.45 45.10 2308.92 102.95 4353.37
1 NAEP (1989-90) 4.76 383.82 4.01 469.07 8.77 852.89 TOTAL (A+B+C) 210.67 8135.94 74.66 6441.38 285.33 14577.32