Question

The state with the most important area under the wasteland is _____.
A) Gujarat
B) Madhya Pradesh
C) Jammu and Kashmir
D) Rajasthan

Answer 1

Hint: It is the largest state in India and the Tropic of Cancer passes through the southernmost tip of the state. It was formed on 30th March 1949 and is currently the second-largest state economy in our country. The literal meaning of the name of the state is ‘the Land of Kings’.

Complete answer:
India's total acreage is around 329 million hectares. Out of this, the government classifies 90 million hectares as “wasteland” — that's, non-productive land. Even though these lands are technically called ‘wasteland’, about 40 percent of our 1.3 billion population depends on this land for livelihood.

Now let us look into the given options:
Option A) Gujarat – It is the fifth-largest state in India with an area of 1.9 lakh square km of land. Out of all the land, 98 thousand square km is used for agriculture, 20 thousand square km is barren, 14 thousand square km is a wasteland and the remaining portion accounts for non-agricultural purposes. The wastelands make up 10% of its total area. Thus, it is not the correct answer.
Option B) Madhya Pradesh – It is the second-largest state in India with an area of 3 lakh square kilometres. Out of this total land, 39 thousand square kilometres is declared as wastelands. It accounts for 12.83% of the total are. This option is also incorrect.
Option C) Jammu and Kashmir – Jammu and Kashmir have an area of 2.2 lakh square kilometres and 1.7 lakh square km of it is wastelands. This accounts for 79% of the total area of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir have the maximum area of wasteland in India. But it is a Union Territory and not a State. Therefore, this option is incorrect.
Option D) Rajasthan – Rajasthan is the largest state in India with an area of 3.4 lakh square kilometres. Rajasthan has around 78 thousand square kilometres of land that is classified as wasteland. That is 23% of the total land in the state. Though it less than half when compared to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, when we consider only the states, it is the maximum. Therefore, this is the correct option.

Thus, the correct answer is Option (C) i.e, The state with the most important area under the wasteland is Rajasthan.

Note: Wastelands are barren or desert or uncultivated land. This could be due to naturally harsh conditions or due to destruction by humans. Wastelands formed by water include Sheet erosion, rill erosion, gully erosion, ravenous or marshy land, saline or alkali soil. Wastelands caused by wind are sand dunes, sandbar, coastal, sand etc. Those caused by humans include Mile spoils, shifting cultivation, and industrial wastelands.