LAND USE ASPECTS
-J HARSHINI
7176 21 62 002
Land is a valuable natural resource utilized for cultivation of crops,
settlements of population, creation of Dams and reservoirs,
development of industries and maintaining forests, and Wildlife. Any
kind of permanent (or) cyclic intervention of land is called as landuse. It
is the surface utilization of a vacant or developed land for a clear
purpose, at a given time.
Population explosion, demand for increased production of
commodities, establishment of varieties of infrastructural facilities like
road networks, airports, layouts, motels, hotels, flyovers, hospitals
bridges and canals and such activities, force the people to sell their
lands or use them for conversions. Landuse planning is a separate
branch of study in geography, geology, town planning, architecture,
forestry, agriculture, civil and environmental engineering, and
development studies.
The utility value of a land depends on various geographic factors. The
type of landuse depend on the location, availability of water and soil,
moisture soil, fertility or proximity to other human activities. A large
number of landuse types and categories have been worked out by
various researchers of different disciplines. The classification of a land
into its various uses and how these uses change over a period of time
provide the background information needed for planning land resources.
Classification of Landuse:
At Continental Levels, Landuse classification is attempted based on the
agro-climatic conditions, topography and soil types. Another major
factor involved in this classification is the rainfall. Based on
meteorological parameters, Agro-meteorological regions are also
classified for analyzing the rainfall intensities and drought. The pattern
of landuse of a country at any time is determined by its physical,
economic and institutional framework.
In India, out of the total geographical area of 328.73 million hectares,
landuse statistics is available for roughly 305 million hectares,
contributing 93% of the total land. Till 1950, land area was classified into
five broad categories as
a. Forest Area
b. Area not available for cultivation
c. Permanent pastures and other grazing lands
d. Land under miscellaneous tree crops
e. Cultivable wasteland
Later, with the lead role played by the ministry of Food and Agriculture,
and many other ministries, including Science and Technology a nine-fold
classification was introduced as
1. Forestland 2.
2. Land not available for cultivation
a. Non-agricultural uses
b. Barren and uncultivable
3. Other cultivated land
a. Permanent pastures and other grazing land
b. Miscellaneous Tree Crops and Groves
c. Cultivable wasteland.
4. Fallow Land
a. Fallow land other than current fallows
b. Current fallows
5. Net Area Sown
6. Gross Cropped Land
7. Area Sown more than once
8. Net irrigated area
9. Gross irrigated area.
Urban Landuse is broadly classified into the following classes
1. BUILT-UP URBAN
a. Residential
b. Commercial
c. Industrial
d. Recreational
e. Public/Semi Public utility lands
2. RURAL BUILT-UP
3. RURAL -AGRICULTURAL
4. Vegetation-Forests & others
5. Transportation & Communication
6. Water bodies
7. Wastelands
8. Open spaces
MAJOR LANDUSE CATEGORIES:
1. Built-Up Land- Urban
a. Residential/ High Density/ Medium Density Residential/ Low Density
Residential
Examples:
High rise apartments/Flats Medium rise apartments/Flats Low rise
apartments/Flats Low rise row houses, Low rise Group houses
Slums/Clusters.
b. Commercial
Examples:
Retail & General Business, Community Centre, Wholesale & Ware
housing, Major Shopping Centres / Malls Major Hotels, Parking Area,
Market Yards, Exhibition halls, Petrol bunks, Banks.
c. Industrial:
Examples:
Service Industry, Light Industry, Extensive Industry, Heavy Industry,
Hazarders Industry.
d. Recreational:
Examples:
Parks/Gardens, Stadium, Playground, Gold Course/Race Course Zoo
Botanical Garden, Historical Monument/Fort Planetarium, Major
Fountain Hall, Swimming Pool, Major Cinema Halls/Theatres.
e. Public/and Semi- Public
Examples:
Major Education Institute, Cantonment, Major Hospitals,
Cremation/Buried Ground, Social/cultural Centre, Religious Places,
Major Government Offices, Petrol/Gas filling Stations, Police Station,
Fire Station, Circuit House, Electric Substation, Jail, Water treatment
Plant, Landfill / Dumping Ground, Electric Power Plant, Sewage
treatment Plant.
2. Rural Built-Up
Examples:
Huts and hamlets, Multistoried buildings, Godowns, Community Halls,
Cultural Complex, Temples, Library Schools.
3. Rural Agricultural
Examples:
Crop Land Fallow Land Plantation
4. Vegetation/Forest and others
Examples:
Dense Forest, Open Forest, Plantations, Mangroves, Grazing land.
5. Transportation and Communication
Examples:
Bus Terminus, Railway Station, Airport, Seaport-Harbour, Bridges, Flyovers,
Roads, Railway lines, Truck, Terminus, Jetties / Breakwaters, Post Offices,
Telephone Exchange, Telegraph, Office Radio / TV station.
6. Water bodies
Examples:
River, Canal, Lakes/Ponds, Reservoirs, Tanks, Cooling Ponds, Abandoned
Quarries with water.
7. Wastelands
Examples:
Salt affected Gullied/Ravines, Land with or without scrub, Barren/Rocky
Sandy Wetland, Marshy/Swampy Mudflats, Water logged Salt pans.
8. Open Spaces
Examples:
Others Quarry Brick Kilns, Dam/Barrage, Coral Reef / Atoll Reclaimed
Land - Vacant Land - Land is a finite resource, while one land is used for
a limited range of purposes, the other land can accommodate many
potentially competing uses.
