Wasteland

Wasteland

Land, which does not give enough economic return or is otherwise useless, can broadly
be termed as wasteland. National Wasteland Development Board (NWDB) in the ministry
or Environment and Forest have defined wasteland as that land which is degraded and is presently lying unutilized. Further it has classified it into two categories as i) Culturally wasteland and ii) Non-cultural wasteland. Characteristics features of wasteland can be summarized as under:

• The land becomes ecologically unstable and unproductive.
• Land that has nearly or completely lost its topsoil.
• Land that has developed toxicity in the zone of roots for the growth of most plants.

Land Reclamation

It is a process of making an uncultivable land fit for cultivation which is then said to
have been reclaimed. Generally it is carried out either by temporary or permanent control.