Grasslands in India have long been treated as 'wastelands'. Analyse the ecological consequences of this framing and suggest policy correctives.

India's official Wastelands Atlas (DoLR–NRSC) still counts "degraded pastures/grazing land" as a category of wasteland [1]. It treats open grassland as idle land waiting to be "reclaimed". This label helps explain why the Great Indian Bustard (GIB), a grassland flagship species, has disappeared from about 90% of its habitat [2].

Ecological consequences of the 'wasteland' framing

• Habitat conversion: The Atlas is meant to guide reclamation and afforestation [1]. Grasslands are therefore turned into farms or tree plantations, and the native grasses, insects and ground-nesting birds that depend on them are lost.
• Fragmentation into "islands": The GIB survives only in parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat [2]. IUCN estimates that only 50–249 birds remain [3].
• Infrastructure dumping: Land that is seen as "empty" attracts solar parks, wind farms and power lines. A WII survey of 80 km of lines found 289 bird carcasses around Desert National Park. The GIB lacks frontal vision, so it cannot see and avoid wires in time [2].
• Extinction risk for more than one species: The Lesser Florican, another grassland bustard, is also near extinction [2].
• Weak legal protection: Grasslands do not get the same legal protection as forests. Their protection has depended on the Supreme Court, which ordered power lines underground in 2021 [2] and narrowed that order in 2024 [3].

Policy correctives

• Reclassify grasslands: Grasslands should be recorded as natural ecosystems in land records and the Atlas. India's pledge to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 [4] should restore grassland as grassland, not plant trees on it.
• Plan renewable energy around habitat: Extend the December 2025 model: 14,013 sq km (Rajasthan) and 740 sq km (Gujarat) of priority areas, no new turbines or solar parks above 2 MW, and a single power corridor [5].
• Adopt an ecocentric approach: The Court has stressed ecocentrism [2] and recognised a right against the adverse effects of climate change (Articles 14 and 21) [3]. Together, these mean clean energy and conservation must be balanced; neither should simply override the other.
• Involve communities and science: Use controlled grazing and predator-proof enclosures [2]. Link captive-bred releases to areas where power lines are already safe, and publish monitoring data every year.

Seeing grasslands as wasteland has cost India both its grasslands and the species that live in them. If grasslands are valued as ecosystems, planned on the map, and protected by courts and communities together, clean energy can grow without wiping them out. This would serve Article 48A and SDG 15.