CG Board Class 10 Social Science Chapter 2 Solutions: Land Resources (भूमि संसाधन) (2026-27)

Julia’s view is much more comprehensive and accurate from an environmental standpoint. While Seema highlights a localized, material shortage (lack of timber for furniture and houses), Julia points to a global planetary threat. Forests act as carbon sinks by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen during photosynthesis, thereby stabilizing atmospheric temperatures and maintaining ecological balance. Deforestation disrupts rainfall, accelerates global warming, causes climate change, and threatens the survival of all living organisms.

Chhattisgarh is environmentally crucial for India because 41.75% of its total geographical area is under forest cover, which is substantially higher than the national average (21.23%) and well above the recommended environmental benchmark of 33%. These dense forests act as a major green lung and carbon sink for the country, preserve regional biodiversity, protect soil from erosion, and conserve vital water sources.

Reasons:** Uttar Pradesh lies in the fertile Gangetic plain, where flat topography and fertile alluvial soil led to extensive clearing of natural forests over centuries to expand agriculture, build dense human settlements, and establish urban-industrial centers.

• Impact: The low forest cover (5.7%) results in environmental instability, severe air pollution, accelerated soil erosion, reduced groundwater recharge, frequent flooding, and extreme weather events in the region.

Difference:** Fallow land refers to potentially cultivable agricultural land left unplanted temporarily (current fallow for 1 year, old fallow for 1 to 5 years) so that the soil can regain its natural humus and fertility. Barren land includes land with negligible agricultural possibility (rocky hills, ravines, sand dunes) or severely degraded land unfit for farming.

• Relevance in Development Projects: Development projects (factories, highways, townships) should ideally be sited on barren or uncultivable non-agricultural land. Acquiring fallow or prime agricultural land harms food production and national food security. Utilizing barren land protects fertile soils while putting degraded land to productive non-agricultural use.

Decrease & Reasons:** Yes, pasture lands have continuously decreased. Key reasons include illegal encroachments by powerful individuals, conversion of common grazing land into crop fields, construction of houses, roads, and commercial complexes.

• Impact on Rural vs Urban Population: No, rural and urban populations are affected differently. Rural populations, especially poor landless villagers and small farmers, suffer severely because livestock rearing and common pastures provide their primary income, fodder, and fuelwood. Urban populations are affected indirectly through reduced supply and rising prices of milk, dairy products, and organic farm goods.

To prepare a bar diagram for village land use

1. Collect land classification data from the local Patwari or village Panchayat across standard categories: Agricultural Land, Forest Land, Pasture Land, Fallow Land, Barren Land, and Non-Agricultural Land.
2. Draw an X-axis representing the Land Use Categories and a Y-axis representing Area (in Hectares or Percentage).
3. Construct vertical rectangular bars corresponding to each category’s area.

(Sample Illustration for a Village):

• Agricultural Land: 50%
• Non-Agricultural Land: 15%
• Fallow Land: 10%
• Pasture Land: 10%
• Barren Land: 10%
• Forests/Trees: 5%

Main Provisions of Land Acquisition Act 2013:**

1. Consent Mandatory: Consent of at least 80% of displaced families is required for private projects, and 70% for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects.
2. Inclusion of Non-Landowners: Covers landowning farmers as well as landless laborers, sharecroppers, cattle grazers, and artisans dependent on the land for livelihood.
3. Protection of Irrigated Multi-Cropped Land: Multi-cropped, irrigated land can be acquired ONLY under exceptional, rare circumstances to protect national food security.
4. Social & Environmental Impact Assessment (SIA): Mandatory study prior to acquisition.
5. Fair Compensation & Rehabilitation: Provides fair market compensation, resettlement facilities, and alternative employment support.

• Recommended Approach for Neemganj Villagers:

1. Villagers should unite (landowners, landless laborers, and traders) and demand an immediate Social and Environmental Impact Assessment.
2. Since Neemganj consists of prime, irrigated, multi-cropped land, villagers should refuse consent and petition the government to shift the industrial hub to nearby barren or uncultivable land.
3. If acquisition remains unavoidable under special circumstances, they must invoke the 2013 Act to secure 4 times the market value for land and complete Rehabilitation & Resettlement (R&R) packages for landless laborers and traders.

The 6 main soil types found in India are

States:** Forest soil is found in Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.

• Geographical Features: High mountain ranges, steep hilly slopes, snow-capped peaks, dense natural forest cover, cold temperate climate, and deep river valleys.

, (Arid Soil)

Among major classified soil zones, Laterite Soil and Arid Soil cover the least total acreage in India.

(Alluvial Soil) ,

The poor are primarily the victims of land degradation. Due to lack of financial resources and alternative livelihoods, marginal farmers and poor livestock rearers are forced to cultivate small plots of infertile, degraded land or overgraze depleted commons to survive. Lacking capital to invest in soil conservation, they get trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty and land degradation caused largely by commercial over-extraction, industrial waste dumping, and large-scale deforestation by affluent groups.

Land conservation directly reduces poverty by restoring soil health, improving crop productivity, recharging groundwater levels, and regenerating communal pastures. Restored land increases agricultural yields and fodder availability, directly raising the incomes of poor marginal farmers and livestock rearers, securing food supply, and breaking the vicious cycle of poverty.

(a) Agricultural land**

(c) O and A (Organic and Mineral Layer)**

(a) Organic layer**

(d) Barren land**

(a) essential**

Soil is the fundamental top layer of the earth that sustains all terrestrial ecosystems. The absence of soil would lead to the following catastrophic impacts

1. Collapse of Agriculture & Food Production: Crops, food grains, fruits, and vegetables cannot grow without soil, leading to immediate worldwide human and animal starvation.
2. Destruction of Plant Life & Oxygen Cycle: Forests and vegetation would cease to exist, halting photosynthesis. This would drastically drop atmospheric oxygen levels and increase carbon dioxide, worsening global warming.
3. Disruption of Water Sources: Soil acts as a natural sponge and filter for rainwater. Without soil, groundwater recharge would stop, drying up rivers and wells.
4. Loss of Raw Materials: Raw materials like clay for pottery, bricks, tiles, and rural housing would disappear.

If agricultural land continues to decrease due to urban sprawl, industrial acquisition, and land degradation, it will trigger severe socio-economic crises

1. Food Shortage & Inflation: Total food-grain production will decline, leading to acute food shortages, skyrocketing food prices, and a threat to national food security.
2. Rural Unemployment & Distress Migration: Small farmers and landless agricultural laborers will lose their primary livelihood, accelerating distress migration to overcrowded cities.
3. Import Dependence: The country will be forced to spend heavy foreign exchange to import essential food grains.
4. Shortage of Industrial Raw Materials: Agro-based industries (cotton textiles, sugar, jute) will face severe raw material shortages.

| | (Current Fallow) | (Old Fallow) |

Human activities significantly cause and accelerate land degradation through

1. Deforestation: Indiscriminate clearing of forests leaves topsoil exposed to severe water and wind erosion.
2. Overgrazing: Grazing livestock beyond the carrying capacity of pastures destroys root cover and compacts topsoil in dry regions (e.g. Gujarat, MP, Maharashtra).
3. Faulty Agricultural Practices: Over-use of chemical fertilizers and toxic pesticides damages the organic soil layer and beneficial organisms.
4. Over-Irrigation & Waterlogging: Flood irrigation in dry/semi-arid regions (e.g. Punjab, Haryana) causes waterlogging, bringing subterranean salts to the surface (salinization).
5. Open-Cast Mining & Quarrying: Leaving deep open mining pits and strewn overburden debris destroys land in forest states like Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Jharkhand.

Question 10: The table below lists the names of some professions. How is soil used by these professions? Fill the details in the table.

Completed Table:

10: ?

Orchards (decreased from 7% to 1%) and Barren land** (decreased from 21% to 10%) have steadily decreased over the years.

Maximum Share:** Agricultural land (46%).

• Least Share: Orchards (0%).