Land

Land Use Concept paper with focus on Rajasthan

Introduction

Following the work done by
SPWD in Rajasthan on various aspects of Land use, Forest,
Water and Pastureland development, a State wide forum was initiated
at the initiative of Prayas and SPWD. In consultation with a number of
agencies, it was felt that an appropriate forum was required to hear the
voice of the grass roots. Since at that time only a limited number of
organisations had got together (around 10), it was thought that the first step
was to expand the base by holding meetings at the divisional level, followed by
a State level meeting covering the themes of water, forestry , pastureland
and common land development (including orans) and mining. Over the last two
years, in consultation with 125 agencies and farmer organisations, Divisional
and State level perspectives have been formed on various aspects of natural
resources. In response to the initiatives of State governments to hand
over common lands to industry for jatropha and other purposes, SPWD
conducted a national study on the issue covering the states of Rajasthan
Gujarat, Chattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh. The
findings of this study, led SPWD to the conclusion that the major issue is
land use. Following this a Perspective Paper on Land Use has been prepared
and circulated widely. The concept note below highlights the issues
emerging from the discussions and consultations on the paper at various levels.

Apart from drinking
water, the issue of food security, predominates all other
necessities. Early land use by man was governed by this consideration, be
it hunter gatherer, nomad or settled life based on agriculture. The
development of society and with it the development of needs meant that
other uses were found for the land. The advancement of technology also led man
to make modifications in the environment. One instance of a major
modification was the swamps around Bharatpur, which were trained by a
series of structures designed to retain water temporarily, while providing
fertile land for cultivation in the winter. The trees were also cut down
in the process, to make way for an agricultural livelihood. Jodhpur
for instance is famous for the extensive catchment area developed to supply
drinking water to the town of Jodhpur.
Agreements between Princely states like that between Bharatpur and Alwar or
between Jodhpur and Ajmer , governed the use and flow of water in the
rivers and consequently the nature and level of agricultural and livestock
development .

Multidimensional issues in land use

The peculiar combination
of sunlight, rainfall, pattern, soil type, soil depth, soil
structure, underlying geomorpology etc determines the
way the vegetation will develop. Colonisation by man on this type of
vegetation can be divided into three basic categories agriculture (grains,
pulses, oilseeds and cultivated fodder), pastures (different types of
animals), forests (fuel wood, NTFP, timber). The nature of land use
and in particular the relation of particular kinds of animals to this land use,
determined its further development, with certain kinds of species being favour
over others and a nutrient recycling process being set into motion. In feudal
times a lot of the produce was for self consumption, however the nature of exchange
process between different castes and with the feudal lords, also leads to
a differential dependence on the landscape and planning thereof. For
instance strategic considerations led to kings locating thier palaces in
forts on hill tops or as in Udaipur,
in the centre of the bowl, with the construction of Udaisagar lake designed to
cut off the open space between the valley and the palace.

It is not an accident that in
Rajasthan, livelihood patterns revolve around various combinations of
agriculture and animal husbandry. In the context of poor rainfall, soil with
low moisture retention capacity as in the desert for instance, the best
vegetation is grass, hardy acacia species and other species adapted to the
desert climate predominate. While the pastoralists have been the primary
colonisers of these regions, later it was possible to modify the environment to
take agricultural crops as well. The Khadins developed by the Paliwals in
Jaisalmer is a case in point. In Udaipur
for instance, animal husbandry was adapted to suit the hilly conditions of the
region, while agriculture developed in the plains and valley bottom.

Subsequent to independence there have been some major upheavals as
follows

1.

The introduction of industry,
development of industrial townships and the consequent demand on natural
resources like water, minerals etc. This large scale demand from a point
source, has led to localised destruction of the environment and without
concrete plans for its restoration, the natural resource base has been slowly
eroded.

2.

The large scale privatisation of the
natural resources at the village level. This has led to destruction of the
natural resource base for livestock and a consequent alteration of its
composition in favour of centralisation.

3.

The pauperisation of a section
of the countryside, forcing them to look for employment outside the village.
With limited absorbtion, they now depend on agriculture, animal husbandry and
wage labour in different proportions. However due to the fact of their
inability to invest labour in agriculture and animal husbandry, the methods
followed by them lead to destruction of the natural resource base on which they
live .

The breakdown of the natural cycles, and
the increasing dependence on market forces for a major portion of the produce,
has meant that more and more energy is being used in manufacturing (instead
of natural energy) and transportation (fuel miles). Instead of
examining the whole process of development critically, to understand where the
anomalies arise and where energy saving could be made by understanding the
system as a whole, an artificial market based solution has been found in the
form of jatropha. Earlier experiences with Eucalyptus, Safed Meusli and
even with a self consumption item like Prosopis indicate that the one size fits
all models will not work. Then why are we reinventing the wheel. A close look
at the International whose who with respect to companies interested in
Biofuel, show the increasing interest of Multinationals in land grab on
the one hand and seizing the opportunity for expanding their base in the agro-processing
industry on the other . The recent developments with respect to the land laws
in various States show how the State is increasingly aligning with
industry to facilitate a conducive atmosphere for them to acquire the
land. The farce in Niyamgiri with Vedanta, Sterlite is a case in point. The
brutal and in human repression of opposition in Nandigram has shocked the
entire world. Recent development in Rajasthan, indicate that the State is ready
to hand over prime land to industry on a platter in the name of development.

Apart from these developments, the
agricultural policy, seed bill, introduction of contract farming and increasing
cost of cultivation in agriculture, have led to a schism as far as farming
goes. On the one hand, with the aid of high tech, genetic engineering and
modification of existing laws, a segment of the industrial/ farming community
is able to earn super profits. On the other agriculture has been rendered
unviable for 40% of the farmers (going by the report of the National Commission
on Farmers). What greater tragedy can their be when farmers have been
converted into net purchasers, and perhaps at one stage might even have to
depend on ITC or Reliance to feed them. (Quite the reverse of the days of
the green revolution, when farmers were required to fill the FCI godowns
to feed the hungry industrial population !!!!

The palliatives offered to the rural
population in terms of the Forest Rights Act 2006 for instance and the
concerns reflected in the Biodiversity Act 2002 for instance need to be viewed
in this light. Who benefits from Land distribution/ redistribution/ Land lease
etc and who has to pay the price?

Viren Lobo

Programme Director

SPWD