Land Use Planning and Management:

People see land everywhere and get an impression that plenty of it  is available. Besides,  they do not care how  it is being used, unless of course,  it is their own property. Lack of concern on the part of the public and official agencies has led to widespread erosion. soil sickness and other damage to  land resources. Land is an exhaustible  resource and is very sensitive  to changes  in  climate and physical processes in nature like rain, sunshine,  vegetation, erosion, land slides etc. 

Land should be used according to its suitability and capability. As you have studied in earlier sections,  suitability and capability of  land is assessed  in terms of its load bearing ability  and fertility. Since  food for an  increasing population requires more land for cultivation, the encroachment of fertilsagricultural  lands for non-agricultural purposes like construction of roads and buildings should be  reduced  to the minimum.

Extreme care should Se  taken in selecting sites for development of  industries, construction of dams and water reservoirs etc., so  that the environment and socio-economic conditions  of  the people living in that area are not disturbed. In locating sites for the development of urban centres,  the need for housing, water supply, disposal of waste and garbage etc. should be taken into consideration. Hill areas, as far as possible, should be put under forest cover because forests serve as a resource for fuel, fodder, and timber, and provide space for animal farming. Besides, forests help in increasing the ground water, since they  impede the free surface run- off, thus allowing water to be absorbed by the ground. In this process, soil erosion is minimised and flooding can be avoided. Forests help to maintain a balance in  the ecosystem, that is, among animals, plants, air and water etc.