Systematic study of wasteland allocations, conversions, land conflicts and their impact on key stakeholders

Abstract

Between 2008-09 and 2015-16, India converted more than 14,000 square kilometres of "wasteland" — mostly dense scrub, glacial areas, sands, or marshland — into productive use, and the government's target of restoring 26 million hectares of wasteland and degraded land by 2030 affects the livelihoods of pastoralists, fishermen, and nomadic farmers who rely on these traditional "common" lands. The government has promoted wasteland conversion, pointing out that, despite having 18% of the world's population, India only has 2.4 percent of the land area. “It is critical to boost the productivity of existing cultivated areas and to bring more land under cultivation in order to achieve food security. “Unused wastelands with the ability to produce food grain and offer vegetative cover could play a crucial role in this effort,” the agency stated in the Atlas. Apart from farmland conversion, reclamation and afforestation activities, infrastructure, and renewable energy projects are all viable options for converting wasteland to productive use. Apart from government-led initiatives, mere encroachment by local inhabitants could result in wastelands being converted. However, such conversions may have an influence on people's lives. Pastoral tribes rely on shared grazing space, gatherers and nomadic farmers rely on scrub forest and open scrubland for shifting agriculture, and fishers rely on waterlogged and marshy places to make a living. These regions can sometimes conserve rare biological resources that might otherwise be lost if development took place. The notion that wastelands are useless is unsustainable. Several countries, including India, rely heavily on wastelands for their economies, lives, and ecosystems. The term "wasteland" is a nebulous political construct, and its ongoing use is destroying a critical link in the natural chain. In this report, we have explored the different dimensions of wasteland and its definitions to understand the reasons of conflicts arising on these land parcels, the methods of wasteland classification to understand how the government is identifying and distinguishing between a normal land parcel and wasteland. We then have focused our research on the state of Gujarat to understand the wastland allocation and conversions in the state, its land allocation policies and identified some land confict case studies involving wastelands and identified the impact on the various stakeholders involved.