Reports of the Committees of the Panel on Land Reforms

Abstract

The bulk of the area for which the information is not available consists of hills and forests. The cultivated area thus comprises about 403 million acres (items 5, 6 and 7). The cultivated area and the irrigated area together determine the capacity of land to stand population pressure. A study undertaken in the Planning Commission some time back indicates that the cultivated area has not shown any appreciable increase during the last four decades. Irrigated area has increased by about 10 per cent. During the same period the population has increased by 44 per cent. The expansion of employment opportunities in other sectors of the economy has also not kept pace with the rapidly increasing population.