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International Refereed
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(ISSN : 2229-7227)
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General Landuse Pattern in Jammu District of J&K:
A Geographical Analysis
Dr. Shashi Prabha
Assistant Professor
P.G. Department of Geography
University of Jammu, Jammu
Abstract
Landuse of a region is a combined result of the natural setup
and human dynamism within socio-economic setup and
technological development. Physical limitation of the site finds
a direct expression in landuse. Landuse pattern is studied to
understand the geographical adjustment of agriculture
resources. Landuse in special content is essential to understand
regional zonation of the areas of optimum landuse degraded
areas etc. The use of land constitutes a major item in national
and regional planning in India. This study of landuse is of vital
importance from the point of view of the planning and
development of the thre herrogeneous belts of the district
namely kandi, semi kandi and plain.
Key-Words : Landuse, Agricultural Region, Irrigated land Cultivation.
INTRODUCTION
Man plays a pivotal role in conditioning and transforming his physical
environment through its utilization. The two sets of limits which determine the
pattern of landuse are the absolute or outer limits which are set by nature and
relative limits set by cultural, human attitudes and actions which determine the
range of actual and probable use within limits which classifying land under different
heads its subsequent use by man for a particular purpose is taken into
consideration.
An analysis of rural land use becomes relatively more significant in the
geographical study of a predominantly rural and overwhelmingly agricultural
region. An analysis of spatial and temporal changes in rural land-use components
can help in explaining the spatial disharmonies in distribution and growth, in
understanding the socio-geographical environment, and in estimating the
development potentialities in agriculture and related activities. Land-use
components, such as the area not available for cultivation, cultivable waste and
net sown area as well as irrigated and double cropped area, have a tendency to
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show spatial and structural changes in response to variations in physio-economic
and spatio cultural factors and the process of rural development. In a tradition
bound, small-scale subsistence agriculture, area not available for cultivation
remains high because of several physical factors, and gradually declines with
increasing population and developing agriculture but rises again with the
development of physical infrastructure, social overheads and other agriculture
based non-farm activities, services and institutions. Cultivable waste is influenced
by the rural population pressure, marginal productivity and ecological awareness,
level of technology as well as land and water management practices. Net area
sown may decline during the process of agricultural and rural development.
Expansion in double cropped area with an increase in irrigational facilities will
ensure a large total cultivated area. Simultaneously, efficient land management
and agricultural operations will result in a large farm output and a higher level of
rural income. As per the heterogeneous nature of the study area the selected
samples for the study have been collected from the three varied physiographic
belts namely kandi, semi kandi and plain. The data related to the different
components of the land use have been collected from the census records, District
hand book and through personal survey of the sample villages.
OBJECTIVES
·
To categorized general landuse over the three diversified physiographic
zones in the study area.
·
To study the general landuse change over the kandi, semi kandi and plain
belt of Jammu district.
·
To find out scope for extention of cultivation area infuture.
STUDY AREA
The District Jammu is situated in the southern part of the J&K State. It
lies between 32°-37’N to 33°-05’ North latitude and 74°-19’ East, 75°-20’ East of
longitude. The district extends over an area of 3097 sq. km. The district consists
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of four tehsils (i) Jammu, (ii) Akhnoor, (iii) R.S. Pura and (iv) Bishnah. The district
on the north and north east in surrounded by Udhampur district, on its east lies
Samba district. In the west its boundaries touch the Rajouri district while ion its
south and south east it shares territorial limits with Pakistan. The line of actual
control exists to separate area of Chammb from the Pakistan occupied parts of
the States of J&K. The location of Jammu district is therefore, strategically very
significant.
METHODOLOGY
The present study has been done on the data generated from the field
study. Fifty sample villages covering the heterogeneous terrain of Jammu district
has been selected and the proportional allocation method was used to obtain the
different sample sizes from the different blocks of the study region.
EXPLANATION
The investigation of the study have been recorded over the different landuse
components which are explained in the following lines:
Size of Cultivable land:
The table 1 reveals that there are perceptible variations with respect to the
size of cultivable land. The plain belt of the study area has recorded the highest
percentage of area under this category (51.4%). It has been followed by the semi
kandi belt which has registered 4866.09 hectare of area which account for 37.7%
to the total area. The kandi belt of the district has the lowest share of cultivable
land it has 1027.53 ha of area which contribute 10.8% to the total area in the
study region Table 1.
Size of Uncultivable Land
About 2.3 ha of land under this category has been recorded in the semi
kandi belt which account for 5.4% of area in the study region. The plain belt has
shown a highest trend in the percentage share of uncultivable land which has
recorded 39.65 ha which comprises 94.5% of land in the study region.
Area Under Forest
No share of land has been registered under this category in the plain belt.
The plain surface and good quality of soil in the plain area has put all the available
area under use and no share of land in the plain belt has been recorded under
forest cover. However, at the same time the kandi and semi kandi belts of the
study area has shown the highest composition of area under forest. Here, the
semi kandi belt has recorded the maximum share of forest, which has 71.5% to
the total area. Similarly, the kandi belt has also constituted 28.4% of area under
the forest cover in the study area. The rugged and dissected terrain has resulted,
the growth of thorny bushes and trees in these belts table 1.
Area not available for cultivation
Area under this landuse component has not shown the significant spatial
variations. All the three categories under the study have recorded more or less the
similar composition of area with least variations. The table 1 reveals that the
kandi belt has 32%, semi kandi has 33% and the plain belt has the maximum of
34.6% of area not available for cultivation. The significant share of area under
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this component is resulted because of the human settlements and the building of
physical infrastructure in the study area.
Size of Fellow Land
So far the spatial status of the fellow land is concerned, it has revealed
from the analysis of the study that no share of land has been found in this category.
However, the remaining two categories namely semi kandi and plain belts of the
study area are also having the lowest percentage of fellow land in Jammu district.
Table 1.
Size of Waste Land
This component indicates the potential for further expansion in the
cultivated area. It has been recorded that the kandi and semi kandi belts of the
study area has some percentage of area under this category which can be brought
under the cultivation. The plain belt of the district has registered no share of land
in this category.
Size of Irrigated Land
A remarkable spatial variation in the size of irrigated area has been seen
in the study region. The kandi belt of the district has the lowest proportion of
irrigated area by recording 96.84 ha of area to the total irrigated area in the
region. It has been followed by the semi kandi belt which has 947.96 hectare of
irrigated area out of 5257.8 hectare which stands at 18% to the total irrigated
area. The well established canal network and other private source of water for
crops has put the plain belt at the highest which has more than 80% of irrigated
area. It has 4213.0 ha of area out of the total 5257.8 ha of irrigated area in the
study region.
Table 1:
Salient Characteristics of General Landuse Patterns Jammu
District 2010-11.
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