Impact assessment of converting agricultural land into commercial land. Its a student level presentation for school and college

2. What is EIA?
 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a process which
ensures that all environmental matters are taken into account
quite early in the project at planning process itself.
 It takes into consideration not only technical and economic
considerations but also, traditional aspects like impact on local
people, biodiversity etc.
 EIA is intended to prevent or minimize potentially adverse
environmental impacts and enhance the overall quality of a
project.
 The main benefits and advantages of EIA are Lower project
costs in the long-term, Increased project acceptance, Improved
project design.

3. Which type of projects under go
EIA?
 Agriculture.
 Construction (Road networks, Malls, Townships, Dam etc) .
 Industries .
 Electrical projects .
 Waste disposal .
 Any developmental projects around Protected Areas /
Nature Preserves .
 Clean Development Mechanism CDM projects .

4.  The EIA Directive requires projects likely to have significant
effects on the Environment by virtue of their nature, size,
location to undergo an environmental assessment before the
competent authority in question grants consent.
 The EIA Directive defines a project as the execution of
construction works or schemes and other interventions in the
natural surroundings and landscape
 The EIA should identify, describe and assess the direct and
indirect effects of a project on Human beings , Fauna and
flora, Soil, Water & Air, Climate and the landscape, Material
Assets, Cultural Heritage , Interaction between these factors .
 EIA therefore should have a very strong social dimension.

5. Laws for converting agricultural
land
 one can change the use of their agricultural land but one
has to clarify the purpose for which a land is to be used
and get it converted into a residential or industrial
property
 One would also have to pay a fee for getting your land
converted.
 Once you have decided to change the land use, you are
required to file an application to the commissioner of the
land revenue department that comes under the city
authority with the purpose of conversion.

6.  The land is converted to some other purpose only when the
deputy commissioner or the assistant commissioner issues a
conversion order authorizing the jurisdiction. The order
mentions whether the land has been converted for residential,
commercial, industrial, public or semi-public use.
 Apart from that one will also be required to obtain a conversion
certificate issued by the tehsildar confirming the conversion
order and the conditions contained therein.
 If one want to convert the land into industrial land and the area
falls in a zone earmarked in the city’s master plan for
commercial uses, such conversion will not be allowed.
 The conversion can happen only after the settlement of all
kinds of dues and disputes like ongoing dispute over the title, or
pending tax to be paid.

7. Advantages of land conversion
 The rapid burst of population requires space to live and that can only
be fulfilled by taking over the land used for other purposes, this also
require conversion of agricultural land water bodies and other lands
surrounding the urban areas to be converted into habitats for people.
 The population growth also require a large amount of food for the
support which require food processing units and many more types of
industries in the suburbs.

8.  Many investors feel that buying agricultural land in the nearby districts
of tier-1 and tier-2 cities and rural areas, is the best investment
alternative in the prevalent market conditions.
 Although agricultural land has always been considered as one of the
best long-term investment options, it has become sought after now,
due to the slump in urban realty markets.
 One of the main reasons why India is a member of the BRICS
nation and is tipped to be the next global superpower is its rapid pace
of industrialization.
 The developing nation must have enough space for the industries for
the up growth in its GDP.
 Industrialization has a major contribution to India’s economic growth
rate in 2010-2011 which is measured at about an impressive 8.6%.
 The rate of investment in India has been found to have exceeded 36%
of the country’s GDP and this has happened because India is making
progress in the industrial sector by leaps and bounds.

9. Effects on land and agriculture
 Out of the total land mass of 328 million hectares, about 60% or 181.95
million hectares is cultivable. But in 1988-89, we had 185.142 million
hectares of cultivable land and what's worse is that only 45 percent of land
is under irrigation.
 Since 1995-96, the average size land holding has decreased from 1.41
hectares to 1.15 hectares which accounts for the decrease of 30,000 hectares
of cultivable land each year.

10.  In Delhi, India built-up area witnessed an overall increment of 16.86% of the
total city area of 1490 km during 1997 to 2008. This area mainly came from
agriculture land, waste land etc.
 Raichur City located in the state of Karnataka, India, revealed that the city is
under imminent threat from the rapid urbanization. As per the present trend,
by 2021, nearly 27% of the agricultural land would be converted to settlements
resulting in shortage of the surface and ground water resources which, in turn,
would further impact agriculture.

11. In the pictures we can see the land use expansion
of indore

12. Impact of urbanization
 driveways, highways, parking lots associated with urban sprawl lead to
a significant increase in runoff, resulting in increased flooding and
erosion of stream banks.
 Water quality is degraded by the runoff of fertilizer, pesticides, oil that
drips from engines, etc. This may lead to an increase in local
ordinances designed to force farmers to pay for some of the negative
impacts generated by agriculture.

13.  Urban development has been linked to many environmental
problems, including air pollution, water pollution, and loss of
wildlife habitat.
 Urban runoff often contains nutrients, sediment and toxic
contaminants, and can cause not only water pollution but also
large variation in stream flow and temperatures.
 As the number of cars on the road increases, a number of
harmful pollutants are emitted as vehicular exhausts. These
pollutants include carbon monoxide gas, nitric oxide,
hydrocarbons and particulates.
 the government knows that unplanned industrialization will
lead to chaos but in order to woo corporate houses and get them
to make maximum investments in the country, they take away
the lands of these farmers.

14. IMPACT
 Deforestation, urban development, agriculture, and other human
activities have substantially altered the Earth’s landscape.
 The agro ecosystems of Central Himalayan villages are under
enormous pressure due to industrialization and commercialization of
agriculture. The production and suitable management of resources is
necessary to save these natural ecosystems from further decline.
Number of Rural and Urban Settlements and their Population in India

15.  The irrational land transformation process has disrupted the ecological
balance of the Himalayan watersheds through reduced groundwater,
increased run-off and soil erosion, but has also affected the economy
and ecology of the Indo-Gangetic plains by frequent floods and
reduced irrigation potential.
 Land use changes result from population growth and migration of poor
rural people to urban areas for economic opportunities.
 Changes in land use directly influence the regional air quality, energy
consumption and climate at global, regional and local scales.
 It is essential to know the natural characteristics, extent and location,
its quality, productivity, suitability and limitations of various land uses
for sustainable utilization of the land ecosystems.
 in 2001, almost 57 percent of India’s total work force was employed in
agriculture sector whereas in 2011, 54.61 percent is employed in this
sector. This is a serious matter as with the increase in population the
food demand increases but the workforce is decreasing.

16.  Conversions of wetlands and water diversions have brought many
wildlife species to the verge of extinction.
 The agricultural space is used, connected agricultural land is
destroyed, natural potential of soils is indirectly lost and the
endangered animals and plants are eliminated (Ecological
Impacts).
 The urban expansion of the city (both built-up and non-built-up)
has destroyed fertile agricultural land which cannot be recovered,
and the study area is losing agrarian characteristics. Canals and
their tributaries which used to flow through agricultural fields are
now encroached upon and are used for the disposal of garbage and
wastes.
 Achieving these targets is even more challenging since agricultural
scientists have already suggested a decline in crop yields, and there
is not much scope for further expansion in the agricultural area.

18.  In 1998, the food grain demand in the country was 193 million
tonnes, which was barely achieved due to favourable monsoons.
By the year 2015, the demand was around 350 million tonnes.
 To meet such food requirements, production needs to increase
at a rate of 3 per cent per annum; but in the last five years, the
growth rate in food grain production was only 1.6 per cent.
 The total estimated loss of food grain production due to urban
expansion in the saharanpur district(UP), was about 50,490
quintals between 1988 and 1998. The city was expanding by
about 168 hectares annually, and future projections suggest that
this will continue or even increase.
 As predicted if the global demand for food doubles by the year
2030 there will be threat to food security globally. To meet the
future demands of increasing food production more land under
agriculture is required.

19.  Urbanization presents many challenges for farmers on the urban
fringe. Conflicts with nonfarm neighbours and vandalism, such
as destruction of crops and damage to farm equipment, are
major concerns of farmers at the urban fringe.
 Neighbouring farmers often cooperate in production activities,
including equipment sharing, land renting, custom work, and
irrigation system development. These benefits will disappear
when neighbouring farms are converted to development.
 Farmers may no longer be able to benefit from information
sharing and formal and informal business relationships among
neighbouring farms.
 Urbanization may also cause the “impermanence syndrome”
(i.e., a lack of confidence in the stability and long–run
profitability of farming), leading to a reduction in investment in
new technology or machinery, or idling of farmland.

20.  As the nearest input suppliers close because of insufficient
demand for farm inputs, a farmer may have to pay more for
inputs or spend more time to obtain equipment repairs.
 Competition for labour from non agricultural sectors may raise
farmers’ labour costs.

21. Why to save agricultural land Preserving farmland and promoting farmland best management
practices will have benefits both on the world market scale and for
local economies
 Agriculture has direct, positive effects on local economies through
product sales, job creation, the use of support services and businesses,
and the supply of lucrative secondary markets such as food processing.
 Agricultural land in Rural Area in India is not considered a capital
asset. Therefore any gains from its sale are not taxable under the head
Capital Gains.
 Distinctive agricultural landscapes in hilly areas of different regions
like assam, ooty etc brings tourism into communities.
 Farmland preservation paired with sustainable management practices
protects the provision of ecosystem services. Without this protection,
governments would have to pay to artificially replace the services
naturally provided by the farmland.

22. What can be done
 although urban expansion cannot be stopped, with proper
management and planning it can be restricted and directed in a
desirable and sustainable way, protecting fertile agricultural lands.
 There needs to be a stricter implementation of agricultural land
conversion laws and greater encouragement for farmers to remain
in farming activities, since this would reduce the incentive for rural
to urban migration.
 The farmers with productive agriculture land should be
economically compensated to keep their land agriculturally active
than selling it to developmental projects.
 Land use regulation can take many different forms. The traditional
command and control approach often involves zoning, density
regulation, and other direct land use controls.

23.  The basic objective of land use planning is to achieve the optimal
balance between competing interests. Naturally, every interest claims
that its demand is most important, and one of the first tasks of land
use planning is to strike a balance between these various interests.
 The multipurpose use of land should be taken into consideration
wherever possible and no piece of land should be allowed, as far as
possible, to remain vacant or as wasteland.
 Vertical construction should be promoted. The government should
ensure the developmental projects in certain areas other than
productive agriculture land, strengthen the zoning regulation and
enact policies to reduce agriculture land losses.
 the fallow land (agricultural land not being used) is a ray of hope in
terms of increasing the cultivable land. The current fallow land is 15.25
million hectares and another 11 million fallow land, which is not
cultivated for last five years, a total of 26 million hectares can be made
cultivable by improving irrigation facilities.

24.  the urban planning process must combine environmental
planning, transportation planning with land use and spatial
planning with socio-economic and financial planning.
 Planning should concentrate growth in selective city centres to
avoid urban sprawl. Smart growth advocates compact, transit-
oriented, walk-to-work, bicycle-friendly land use to the extent
possible, including neighbourhood schools, streets and
amenities that are suitable for everyone.
 the government seems to have forgotten, deliberately or
otherwise, that about 80% of our population is dependent on
agriculture for their livelihood. Recent figures have shown that
India’s agricultural growth rate in 2010 was a meager 5%. That
means unlike the industrial sector the agricultural
sector cannot satisfy the current market demands as the
government is keener to improve only industries.

25. Conclusion
 Land use regulation is a contentious issue in many communities,
particularly those facing rapid urbanization. Proponents argue that
land use planning protects farmland, forests, water quality, open space,
and wildlife habitat and, at the same time, increases property value and
human health.
 Conversely, uncontrolled development will destroy the natural
environment and long–term economic growth. Critics of land use
regulation call those fears overblown.
 Critics argue that urban development is an orderly market process that
allocates land from agriculture to urban use, and that governments
tend to over regulate because they rarely bear the costs of regulation.
 Any policy measures that aim at curbing urban development will
ultimately affect the way of life, that is, the ability to consume a large
amount of living space at affordable prices.

26.  Policymakers must resist the temptation to attribute all
“irregular” land use patterns to market failures and impose
stringent land use regulations that may hinder the function of
market forces.
 They should try to identify the sources of market failures that
cause "excessive development" and address problems at their
roots. Land use regulation must strike a balance between
private property rights and the public interest.
 Different laws can be made for the protection of environment
which also helps urban development hence maintaining the
balance between both . For example :- As automobiles will be
driven by an increasing number of users who live in urban
areas, so stricter emission standards will increase the demand
of auto-catalysts used in catalytic converter.