How much land is degraded in India at present? Explain any four human activities which are mainly responsible for land degradation in India.

The man has started depleting the nature for his own benefits. Deforestation, overgrazing, construction and mining are some human activities that have resulted in land degradation.

In India, nearly 130 million hectares of land is being degraded.

1. Fifty-six per cent of the land is degraded because of water.

2. Twenty-eight per cent of the land is degraded because of deforestation.

3. Ten per cent of the land is degraded because of wind erosion.

4. Six per cent of the land is degraded because of agriculture, modern form inputs and chemical waste.

Some of the factors which are responsible for land degradation in India are:

1. Mining is the primary factor of land degradation.

2. Deforestation in the states of Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh etc., due to mining has resulted in land degradation.

3. Overgrazing is the reason for land degradation in states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

4. Industrial effluents also contribute a major part of the land pollution.

5. Over-irrigation causes waterlogging leading to an increase in salinity and alkalinity in the soil. This can be seen in states like Punjab, Haryana and parts of western Uttar Pradesh.

6. Mining sites which are abandoned leave traces of over-burdening.

Thus, many factors including human activities cause degradation.