Utilisation of Land in Tamil Nadu 2018

Based on the data published in the Statistical Hand Book (SHB) -2018 by the Department of Economics and Statistics, Government of Tamil Nadu, the graph arrived, as shown below, clearly exhibits various Classification of Land use in Tamil Nadu during the Period of 2016-2017.

Total Area:

The Total Geographical area of the State is 1,30,33,116 hectares.   While the cultivated land (cultivated at least once in its entire span) consisting of net area sown, current fallow and other fallow lands covers an area of 75,55,416 hectares (which is 58% of the total geographical area), and the land not cultivated but available for cultivation (culturable waste) occupies  3,22,706 hectares  (which is  2.5% of the total geographical area).

Forest  Land:

Forest represents all actually forested area on the lands classed or administered as forest under any legal enactment dealing with forest, whether state owned or private. The Forest Land occupies an area of 21,56,574 hectares which is 16.5% of the total geographical area.

 Barren and Unculturable Land:

Land which cannot be brought under cultivation unless at a high cost whether such land is in isolated blocks or within cultivated holdings, such as mountains, deserts, hills etc. are classified as barren and unculturable land. Barren and Unculturable Land occupies an area of 4,57,671 hectares which is 3.5% of the total geographical area.

Land put to Non Agricultural Uses:

The land put to use for the purpose other than agriculture such as buildings, pathways, roads, social forests, bus stands, railway tracks, canals, rivers, local reservoirs, swamps, marshy and water logged areas, land under still water etc. are brought under this category. Land put to Non Agricultural Uses occupies an area of 22,01,305 hectares which is 16.9% of the total geographical area.

Culturable waste:

All lands available for cultivation whether not taken up for cultivation or taken up for cultivation once, but not cultivated during the current year and continuously for the last five years or more in succession for one reason or the other, are classified as Culturable Waste. Such lands may be either fallow or covered with shrubs and jungles which are not put to any use. The Culturable waste land occupies an area of 3,22,706 hectares which is 2.5% of the total geographical area.

Permanent Pastures and other Grazing Lands:

All grazing lands whether they are permanent pastures or meadows are considered as Permanent Pastures and other Grazing lands. Village common and grazing lands within forested area are included under this category. This type of land occupies an area of 1,07,768 hectares which is 0.8% of the total geographical area.

Misc. Tree Crops and groves not included In the Net Area Sown:

All cultivable lands, which is not included under net area sown, but is put to some agricultural use such as lands under casuarina, eucalyptus, teak, bamboo bushes, babul, thatching grass and other groves for fuel etc. which are not included under orchards and which bear yield only once in its whole life span are classified under this category. This type of land covers an area of 2,31,676 hectares which is 1.8% of the total geographical area.

Current Fallow Lands:

Lands that are kept fallow out of the net area sown during the previous year are classified as current fallow for the reporting year. This type of land covers an area of 13,60,867 hectares which is 10.4% of the total geographical area.

 Other Fallow Lands:

Land which were taken up for cultivation but have been temporarily put off cultivation for a period of not less than one year but not more than five years due to the poverty of the cultivators, in-adequate supply of water, silting of canals and rivers, etc. are treated as other fallow lands. This type of land covers an area of 18,47,525 hectares which is 14.2% of the total geographical area.

Net Area Sown:

The Net area sown represents the area sown under first crop during the fasli year. Out of the total geographical area, 43,47,024 hectares of land, which is  33.4% of the total geographical area, was cultivated once with various crops during the year 2016-17.

When compared to the previous year, the area under this category has been found decreased by 4,85,658 hectares (10.0%).

Gross Area Sown

The Gross area sown represents the total area cultivated under all food and non-food crops including the area sown more than once during the fasli year. The gross area sown during 2016-17 is 51,28,642 hectares as against 60,74,160 hectares during 2015-16, registering a decrease of 9,45,518 hectares (15.6%).

Area sown more than once

The area sown more than once represents the difference between the gross area sown under all crops and the net area sown during the fasli year. The Area sown more than once during 2016-17 was 7,81,618 hectares as against 12,41,478 hectares. in 2015-16, the decrease being 37.0%.

The area sown more than once is 15.2% of the gross area sown in the state during 2016-17.

Cropping Intensity

Cropping intensity refers to the ratio between the Gross area sown 51,28,642 hectares and the Net area sown 43,47,024 hectares. The cropping intensity for the State during 2016-17 is 1.180.

Resource Title: Land Utilisation : SHB 2018

Dataset URL:   https://tn.data.gov.in/resources/land-utilisation-shb-2018#web_catalog_tabs_block_10