Impact of Agricultural Land Conversion : A Socio Economic Analysis in Union Territory of Puducherry

The study examined the impact of agricultural land conversion in union territory of Puducherry. Karaikal district formed the universe of the study. The total sample constituted 120 households. The sampling design followed was mixed sampling design. The method of data collection was by personal interview, using a separate pretested schedule. The secondary data collected from different sources.In UT of Puducherry, for the period I, majority of the crops showed a declining trend in area. The total food grain production in the UT of Puducherry has fallen mainly due to the reduction in area under food grains rather than decrease in productivity.The changes in land use pattern in the UT of Puducherry, the land put to non-agricultural use had increased by 43.44 percent and NSA had declined by 54.46 percent. The analysis of changes in the composition of TCA at state level shows that the TCA had declined by 15.06 percent. Whereas in Karaikal district, land put to non-agricultural use (NAU) increased by 15.04 percent, the net area sown (NSA) had declined by 33.97 percent. Whereas the current fallows (CF) and other fallows (OF) had increased by 3.39 and 9.89 percent.