Which of the following types of wasteland is NOT primarily caused by human action?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Barren rocky areas and steep sloping land.
Option (1) Degraded land under plantation crops. — Caused by human action (Incorrect). Plantations are planted and worked by people, so when such land is degraded the cause is human use; with degraded shifting cultivation areas, it is part of the wastelands caused by human action.
Option (2) Degraded forests and pastures. — Caused by human action (Incorrect). When trees are cut and grass is grazed faster than they can grow back, the cover thins out and the land degrades; forests and pastures are spoilt by human use, not by nature.
Option (3) Mining and industrial wastelands. — Caused by human action (Incorrect). Mines leave pits and heaps of waste rock, and industries dump their waste on land; the land turns waste because of human activity, so these are wastelands created by human beings.
Option (4) Barren rocky areas and steep sloping land. — Not caused by human action (Correct). Gullied land, desert or coastal sands, barren rocky areas, steep sloping land and glacial areas are primarily caused by natural agents. Bare rock and steep slopes cannot hold soil whether or not people use them, so such land stays waste through nature’s own processes.
NCERT: India - People and Economy — Chapter 9: Geographical Perspective on Selected Issues and Problems, Wastelands (the paragraph continues on the next page past a case-study box) (2025-26)
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