GeographyCBSE Class 12 · Land Resources and Agriculture

Land Use Categories, Land-Use Changes and Common Property Resources (Class 12 Geography, India: People and Economy, Chapter 3)

Updated 16 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Land revenue records divide the reporting area into nine land-use categories, from forests to net area sown. Between 1950-51 and 2019-20 five categories rose and four fell, with non-agricultural uses rising fastest. Common property resources are community-owned lands such as village pastures that give fodder and fuel, mainly to the landless and to women.

Learn the nine categories that make up the reporting area; non-farm uses keep rising, and pastures are common property resources.

Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.

Understand Land Use Categories and Common Property Resources

Why this topic matters. The nine categories, the reasons behind the changes in Fig. 3.1 and the idea of common property resources (CPRs) are the base of Chapter 3. Any question on a land-use table needs this vocabulary.

1. Reporting area and the nine categories.

Land-use records are kept by the land revenue department. The categories add up to the reporting area, which differs a little from the geographical area.
Geographical area is measured by the Survey of India and stays fixed; the reporting area changes somewhat with revenue-record estimates.
The nine categories: (i) forests, (ii) barren and wastelands, (iii) land put to non-agricultural uses, (iv) permanent pastures and grazing lands, (v) miscellaneous tree crops and groves (not in net sown area), (vi) culturable wasteland, (vii) current fallow, (viii) fallow other than current fallow, (ix) net area sown.

2. Points NCERT stresses within the categories.

Forests: area classified as forest (demarcated by the Government) is different from actual forest cover, so the category can rise without any rise in real tree cover.
Barren and wastelands: barren hilly terrain, deserts, ravines; cannot be cultivated with available technology.
Non-agricultural uses: settlements, roads, canals, industries, shops; rises with growth of secondary and tertiary activities.
Permanent pastures: mostly owned by the village panchayat or Government; the panchayat land is a CPR.
Tree crops and groves: orchards and fruit trees, mostly private.
The fallow ladder: current fallow = left uncultivated for one agricultural year or less (rest to recoup fertility); fallow other than current fallow = more than one year, less than five; culturable wasteland = more than five years, reclaimable.
Net area sown = physical extent of land on which crops are sown and harvested.

3. Why land-use changes. Land is fixed in area, but the economy changes in three ways:

The size of the economy grows (population, income, technology), so pressure on land rises and marginal lands come into use.
The composition changes: secondary and tertiary sectors grow faster than agriculture, so land shifts from agricultural to non-agricultural use, sharply around large urban areas.
Agriculture's share in GDP falls, but pressure on agricultural land does not fall: the share of people dependent on agriculture falls more slowly than its share in GDP, and the number to be fed keeps rising.

4. What Fig. 3.1 shows (1950-51 to 2019-20).

Percentages are of the reporting area, which is nearly constant, so a decline in one category usually means a rise in another.
Five rose: forests, non-agricultural uses, permanent pasture and grazing, current fallow, net area sown. Four fell: barren and wasteland, culturable wasteland, tree crops and groves, fallow other than current fallow.
Fastest rise: non-agricultural uses. Current fallow fluctuates with rainfall and cropping cycles, so two points cannot explain it. The rise in net sown area is recent, from putting culturable waste to use.

5. Table 3.1: composition of total cultivable land.

Total cultivable land = net sown area + all fallow lands + culturable wasteland.
Per cent of reporting area, 1950-51 and 2019-20: culturable waste 8.0 and 3.9; fallow other than current 6.1 and 3.7; current fallow 3.7 and 4.5; net area sown 41.7 and 45.6; total 59.5 and 57.7.
As a per cent of total cultivable land, net area sown rose from about 70.0 to 79.0.

6. Common property resources (CPRs).

By ownership, land is private (an individual or group) or CPR (owned by the state for the community).
CPR: the community's natural resource where every member has the right of access and use, with specified obligations, and nobody has property rights over it. Examples: community forests, pasture lands, village water bodies, other public spaces.
They give fodder, fuel and minor forest products (fruits, nuts, fibre, medicinal plants).
Vital for landless and marginal farmers who live partly on livestock, and for women, who collect most fodder and fuel and spend long hours on degraded CPRs.

7. Why land matters more in agriculture. Agriculture is purely land-based; land quality directly decides productivity; land ownership also gives social status and security for credit and hazards.

Graph checklist. Draw paired bars for the four Table 3.1 categories (1950-51 and 2019-20) to show net sown area rising and the others shrinking.

Key quotations

Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.

CPRs can be defined as community's natural resource, where every member has the right of access and usage with specified obligations, without anybody having property rights over them.
NCERT, India: People and Economy, Chapter 3: Definition in the section 'Common Property Resources'.
Gives the three tests of a CPR: community resource, right of use with obligations, no individual property rights.

Land Use Categories and Common Property Resources: key facts

Total cultivable land: Net area sown + all fallow lands + culturable wasteland; Table 3.1: 59.5 per cent of reporting area in 1950-51, 57.7 in 2019-20.
Fallow ladder: Current fallow 1 year or less
Fallow other than current more than 1, less than 5 years
Culturable wasteland more than 5 years; Years left uncultivated decide the category.
Simple growth rate of a category: $R a t e = (t er mina l y e a r v a l u e - ba sey e a r v a l u e) / ba sey e a r v a l u e x 100$; NCERT's note for teachers; the base is 1950-51.
Cropping intensity: $C I ($; Higher CI means fuller use of limited land.

Current fallow	1 year or less
Fallow other than current	more than 1, less than 5 years
Culturable wasteland	more than 5 years

How to answer Land Use Categories and Common Property Resources questions

Land-use questions test the exact definitions, the reasons behind Fig. 3.1 and arithmetic on Table 3.1. Define first, then argue from the table.

1Place a land case on the fallow ladder by counting years left uncultivated, or by its use (orchard, ravine, road).
2For a change in a category, give the NCERT reason: pressure on land, rise of secondary and tertiary activities, or demarcation rather than actual cover.
3In Table 3.1 sums, work in percentage points of reporting area; use the growth-rate formula only when asked for a rate.
4Check that percentages are of reporting area (Fig. 3.1) or of total cultivable land (last two columns), not mixed.
5For CPR answers, name the resource, who may use it, who depends on it, and the burden on women.

Land Use Categories and Common Property Resources in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Fallow ladder

Suppose a family leaves one of its fields unploughed after a bad harvest. In year 1 they say it is resting; by year 3 weeds cover it; by year 7 nobody remembers its boundary.

How does the land-use category of the field change as the years pass?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Up to one agricultural year of rest: current fallow, a cultural practice to recoup fertility.
More than one year but less than five: fallow other than current fallow, still cultivable.
More than five years: culturable wasteland, which needs reclamation before it is ploughed again.

Answer: It moves from current fallow (year 1) to fallow other than current fallow (year 3) to culturable wasteland (year 7).

Memory hook: One, five, then waste.

CPR and the landless

Suppose a village pond and grazing ground are fenced and sold for a warehouse. A landless household with two goats and a woman who collects fuel each morning now find the gate locked.

Which land-use categories change, and who loses most, according to NCERT?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Permanent pasture shrinks and non-agricultural use rises.
CPRs give fodder and fuel to those with limited access to land, so livestock income of the landless falls.
Women, who collect fodder and fuel, must walk longer.

Answer: Permanent pasture falls and non-agricultural use rises; the landless and women lose most because they depend on CPRs for fodder and fuel.

Memory hook: The commons feed those without fields.

Tricks to remember Land Use Categories and Common Property Resources

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

Nine categories 'F B N P M C C F N'
Forests, Barren, Non-agricultural, Pasture, Miscellaneous trees, Culturable waste, Current fallow, Fallow other, Net sown.
Use it when: Recall the list of nine.
One, five, waste
1 year = current fallow; 1 to 5 = other fallow; beyond 5 = culturable wasteland.
Use it when: Fallow classification.
5 up, 4 down
Up: forests, non-agri, pasture, current fallow, net sown. Down: barren, culturable waste, groves, other fallow.
Use it when: Fig. 3.1 trend.
CPR = community, not owner
Right to use, duty to manage, no title deed.
Use it when: Defining CPR.

Land Use Categories and Common Property Resources: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: Reporting area vs geographical area · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

Consider the statements:
I. Geographical area is measured by the Survey of India and stays fixed.
II. Reporting area is the sum of land-use categories in revenue records and can change somewhat with estimates.
III. The two figures are always identical.
Which are correct?
(A) I and II
(B) II and III
(C) I and III
(D) I only

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

NCERT: the categories add up to reporting area, which differs somewhat from geographical area; the latter stays fixed. So I and II are true, III false (1 mark).

Answer: (A) I and II

Example 2: Pressure on agricultural land · 1 mark · MCQHarder board level

Which one of the following is NOT a reason given by NCERT for continued pressure on agricultural land even as agriculture's contribution to GDP falls?
(A) The share of population dependent on agriculture declines much more slowly than the sector's share in GDP.
(B) The number of people the agricultural sector has to feed is increasing day by day.
(C) The share of agriculture in GDP is rising faster than that of industry and services.
(D) Both (A) and (B) are reasons given by NCERT.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

NCERT gives (A) and (B) as the two reasons.
(C) is the opposite of what NCERT says: secondary and tertiary sectors usually grow much faster than agriculture (1 mark).

Answer: (C) The share of agriculture in GDP is rising faster than that of industry and services.

Example 3: Assertion and reason on ownership · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level

Assertion (A): Permanent pastures are mostly owned by the village panchayat or Government, whereas land under tree crops and groves is mostly private.
Reason (R): Land owned by the village panchayat comes under common property resources.
(A) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(B) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(C) (A) is true but (R) is false.
(D) (A) is false but (R) is true.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

NCERT states both facts, so both are true.
R tells us what panchayat land is called; it does not explain why pastures are public and groves private (1 mark).

Answer: (B) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).

Example 4: Source-based: land-use data of a district · 3 marks · Source-basedHarder board level

Study the land-use data of a district (per cent of reporting area; figures written for this page): net area sown 52.0; current fallow 6.0; fallow other than current fallow 4.0; culturable wasteland 3.0; forests 20.0; others 15.0.
(i) Calculate the total cultivable land of the district. (1)
(ii) What share of the total cultivable land is net area sown? (1)
(iii) A field in the district has not been ploughed for three years. Under which category will it be recorded? (1)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

(i) Total cultivable land = net area sown + all fallow lands + culturable wasteland = 52.0 + 6.0 + 4.0 + 3.0 = 65.0 per cent of reporting area. Forests and other categories are not added (1 mark).
(ii) 52.0 / 65.0 x 100 = 80.0 per cent of total cultivable land (1 mark).
(iii) More than one year but less than five years uncultivated: fallow other than current fallow (1 mark).

Answer: (i) 65.0 per cent of reporting area. (ii) 80.0 per cent of total cultivable land. (iii) Fallow other than current fallow.

Example 5: Private land versus CPR · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

Distinguish between private land and common property resources on ownership and use, giving two examples of CPRs. (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Private land is owned by an individual or a group of individuals (1 mark).
A CPR is owned by the state and meant for use of the community; every member has the right of access with specified obligations, and nobody holds property rights over it (1 mark).
Examples: community forests, pasture lands, village water bodies (1 mark).

Answer: Private land is owned by an individual or a group of individuals, who decide its use. A common property resource is the community's natural resource, owned by the state for community use: every member may use it with specified obligations, but nobody has property rights over it. Examples are community forests and village pastures or water bodies.

Example 6: HOTS: shrinking farm sector, unshrinking pressure · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

"As the economy develops, agriculture contributes less to output, yet pressure on agricultural land does not decline." Explain this statement using NCERT's three changes in the economy and the reasons given. (5 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Size of the economy grows with population, income and technology, so pressure rises and marginal lands are used (1 mark).
Composition changes: secondary and tertiary sectors grow faster, land shifts to non-agricultural use, sharply near large cities (1 mark).
Agriculture's contribution falls, but pressure does not (1 mark).
Reason (a): share of people dependent on agriculture falls much more slowly than its share in GDP (1 mark).
Reason (b): number to be fed increases daily (1 mark).

Answer: Land is fixed in area, but the economy changes in three ways. First, its size grows with population, income levels and technology, so pressure on land increases and marginal lands come under use. Second, its composition changes: the secondary and tertiary sectors grow much faster than agriculture, common in developing countries like India, so land moves from agricultural to non-agricultural use, especially around large urban areas.

Third, though agriculture contributes less over time, pressure on agricultural land does not decline. In developing countries the share of population dependent on agriculture falls much more slowly than the sector's share in GDP, and the number of people the sector must feed rises every day.

So land loses to buildings and roads at the margin while the farm sector still has to support many people and feed a growing population.

Where students lose marks in Land Use Categories and Common Property Resources

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Confusing classified forest with forest cover
Both are called forest in everyday speech.
Wrong working
Forest share has risen, so forest cover has risen.
Right working
Revenue records count area demarcated for forest growth, so the category can rise without actual forest cover rising.
Do this: Write 'classified' or 'demarcated' area.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Mixing up the fallow categories
All three involve land left uncultivated.
Wrong working
Land unploughed for three years is current fallow.
Right working
Current fallow is one year or less; three years is fallow other than current fallow; over five years is culturable wasteland.
Do this: Count the years on the ladder.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Using the wrong base in Table 3.1
Two sets of percentages sit side by side.
Wrong working
Net area sown was 79.0 per cent of reporting area in 2019-20.
Right working
45.6 per cent of reporting area; 79.0 per cent of total cultivable land.
Do this: State the base after each percentage.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Defining a CPR as government land only
NCERT says the state owns it, so students stop there.
Wrong working
CPR is land owned by the Government.
Right working
A CPR is a community's resource where every member has the right of use with obligations and no one has property rights.
Do this: Add the right-of-use and obligation parts.
Usually costs: Half to 1 mark.

Exam tips

Define reporting area and geographical area in one line each before using either; examiners reward the Survey of India versus land revenue contrast.
In any Table 3.1 question, write the base of every percentage (reporting area or total cultivable land).
Give two reasons for each change you describe in Fig. 3.1: pressure on land and the rise of non-agricultural activities are the main ones.
The questions on this page are our own and are checked by meaning against the chapter page; they are not copies of past board items.

Practice questions on Land Use Categories and Common Property Resources

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
Land under orchards and fruit trees that is not included in net sown area belongs to which category?
(A) Culturable wasteland
(B) Area under miscellaneous tree crops and groves
(C) Permanent pastures and grazing lands
(D) Forests
Hint
Mostly privately owned.
Answer
(B) Area under miscellaneous tree crops and groves.
Q2 · 1 mark · Very short answerHarder board level
In Fig. 3.1, the percentages of land-use categories are calculated with respect to which area? (1 mark)
Hint
Not the Survey of India figure.
Answer
The reporting area.
Q3 · 1 mark · MCQHarder board level
Which pair of land-use categories both declined as a share of reporting area between 1950-51 and 2019-20?
(A) Forests and current fallow
(B) Culturable wasteland and area under tree crops and groves
(C) Permanent pastures and net area sown
(D) Non-agricultural uses and barren and wasteland
Hint
Five rose, four fell.
Answer
(B) Culturable wasteland and area under tree crops and groves. The four that fell are barren and wasteland, culturable wasteland, tree crops and groves, and fallow other than current fallow.
Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Using Table 3.1, find the fall in culturable wasteland (8.0 to 3.9 per cent of reporting area) as a per cent of its 1950-51 share, and state which other change in the table balances it. (3 marks)
Hint
(8.0 - 3.9) / 8.0 x 100; look at net area sown.
Answer
(8.0 - 3.9) / 8.0 x 100 = 4.1 / 8.0 x 100 = about 51.3 per cent. This land has largely been put to use for agriculture: net area sown rose from 41.7 to 45.6 per cent of reporting area, a rise of 3.9 percentage points (NCERT: the recent rise in net sown area is due to use of culturable wasteland for agriculture).
Q5 · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level
Why is lack of access to land directly linked with the incidence of poverty in rural areas? (3 marks)
Hint
Think of agriculture as land-based activity.
Answer
Agriculture is a purely land-based activity, unlike secondary and tertiary activities; land contributes more to agricultural output than to output in other sectors. Quality of land also directly affects productivity. In rural areas, land ownership further serves as security for credit, natural hazards and life contingencies and adds to social status. So those without land lack the main means of production and security, and poverty is more likely.
Q6 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
A district report says: "Over the decade our net area sown rose and culturable wasteland fell, so the district no longer needs land-saving technologies." Evaluate this conclusion using NCERT. (3 marks)
Hint
What does using up culturable wasteland mean for future expansion?
Answer
The conclusion is the reverse of NCERT's. Net area sown rose because culturable wasteland was brought under the plough, so the reserve of land that can still be added is shrinking; NCERT concludes that the scope for bringing more land under net sown area is limited. That is exactly why NCERT says there is an urgent need for land-saving technologies: those that raise the yield of a crop per unit area, and those that raise total output per unit area over the year by increasing land-use intensity (cropping intensity). So the district needs them more, not less.
Q7 · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
Classify each case under NCERT's land-use categories: (a) a ravine; (b) a field left unploughed for three years; (c) a mango orchard; (d) a field resting this agricultural year; (e) a bus depot; (f) a field unploughed for seven years; (g) a panchayat-owned grazing ground; (h) land that was sown and harvested this year. Name one case that is a CPR. (5 marks)
Hint
Use the fallow ladder and the use of the land.
Answer
(a) Barren and wasteland. (b) Fallow other than current fallow (more than one, less than five years). (c) Miscellaneous tree crops and groves. (d) Current fallow. (e) Land put to non-agricultural uses. (f) Culturable wasteland (more than five years). (g) Permanent pastures and grazing lands, a CPR because it is owned by the village panchayat. (h) Net area sown.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.Which land-use category is mostly owned by the village panchayat or the Government?Show answer
Permanent pastures and grazing lands (the panchayat-owned part is a CPR).
2.For how long must land stay uncultivated before it is recorded as culturable wasteland?Show answer
More than five years.
3.Culturable wasteland as a per cent of reporting area in 2019-20?Show answer
3.9 per cent.
4.Who measures the geographical area, and who keeps the land-use records?Show answer
The Survey of India measures the geographical area; the land revenue department keeps the land-use records.
5.Name two examples of CPRs.Show answer
Any two of community forests, pasture lands, village water bodies and other public spaces.

Land Use Categories and Common Property Resources: frequently asked questions

How many land-use categories does NCERT list?

Nine: forests, barren and wastelands, land put to non-agricultural uses, permanent pastures and grazing lands, miscellaneous tree crops and groves, culturable wasteland, current fallow, fallow other than current fallow and net area sown.

Why is the reporting area different from the geographical area?

Reporting area is the sum of land-use categories in revenue records and changes somewhat with estimates; geographical area is measured by the Survey of India and stays fixed.

Why do land-use changes appear sharply around large cities?

Because secondary and tertiary sectors grow faster than agriculture, and agricultural land near large urban areas is used for building purposes.

Does the syllabus include land-use changes and CPRs?

Yes. The 2026-27 syllabus lists general land use, land use categories, land-use changes in India, common property resources and agricultural land use in India under Chapter 3.