CHAPTER 3

REMOTE SENSING & GIS STUDIES

3.1 INTRODUCTION

Remote Sensing (RS) data can be considered an essential data source for the
appraisal of natural environments as it provides valuable information for interpreting
the landscape. This technology has already demonstrated its capabilities to provide
information on natural resources such as crop patterns, land use, soils, forest etc on
periodic basis. Multispectral characteristics of RS data provide an opportunity to
explore intricate details of the area which are not available by normal surveys.
Repeated coverage of RS data provides the capability to study both spatial and temporal
changes in a region. Similarly, Geographic Information System (GIS) is the latest tool
available to store, retrieve and analyze different types of data for management of
natural resources. It facilitates systematic handling of data to generate information in a
devised format. Thus, it plays an important role in evolving alternate scenarios for
natural resources management. Combination of RS and GIS provide multi-dimensional
information for mapping of an area.

The scope of work in the present study includes rectification and georeferencing
of satellite images pertaining to years 2000 and 2009-10, preparation of maps for the
area including maps of land use/ land cover, major streams and tributaries etc. using
satellite imageries and topographic maps, marking the location of hydropower projects,
their area of influence and other features in the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi basins.

RS and GIS based analysis has been carried out to provide vital inputs for
detailed assessment of cumulative impact of Hydropower Projects in Alaknanda and
Bhagirathi basins.

3.2 PROCUREMENT OF SURVEY OF INDIA TOPOSHEETS

Survey of India toposheets at the scale of 1:50,000 and 1:250,000 were also
used in the study. Toposheet nos. 53I, 53J , 53M, 53N, 62B (5 nos.) at 1:250,000 scale
and toposheet nos. 53I/12, 15, 16, 53J /1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 53M/
3, 4, 8, 12, 53N/1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 62B/1, 2, 3, 4 (41 nos.)
at 1:50,000 scale were used to collect spatial and topographical characteristics of the
area. Toposheets at 1:50,000 scale provided better details and information about the
area included in the catchment of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi. Although these toposheets
provided good planimetric controls and height information, but the available toposheets
were surveyed in different years quite some time back. Therefore, latest information
about roads and river courses were obtained using satellite images of latest available
dates to get the updated spatial data about the project areas.

3.3 PROCUREMENT OF SATELLITE DATA

Indian Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS) Linear Imaging and Self Scanning
Sensors (LISS-III and LISS-IV) images have been used for the study.

LISS-III sensor images at 23.5 m spatial resolution have been used for study of
the entire area of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi basins. LISS-III data has four multispectral
bands pertaining to green, red, near infrared (NIR) and short wave infrared (SWIR)
wavelengths, which are useful for preparation of land use land cover maps. LISS-III
satellite data from IRS P6 and IRS 1D satellites have been procured from National
Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad after browsing the NRSC website for
availability of satellite data for required sensor/ date/ area and verifying for minimum
cloud cover. Satellite images of two time periods of year 2000 and 2009 have been
procured for evaluating the impact of hydropower projects with respect to time. LISS-
III data procured and used in the present study is listed in Table 3.1. The spatial extent
(layout) of individual LISS-III images pertaining to years 2000 and 2009 are shown in
Figs 3.1 and 3.2, respectively.

Table 3.1 LISS-III data used for the present study.

S. No. Satellite Sensor Path-Row Date
1. 1 D L-3 096-049 28-Oct-2000
2. 1 D L-3 097-049 03-May-2000
3. 1 D L-3 097-050 30-Sep-2000
4. 1 D L-3 098-049 27-Sep-2000
5. 1 D L-3 098-050 27-Sep-2000
6. P 6 L-3 097-049 23-Oct-2009
7. P 6 L-3 097-050 23-Oct-2009
8. P 6 L-3 098-049 28-Oct-2009
9. P 6 L-3 098-050 28-Oct-2009

IRS P-6 LISS-IV data has also been procured for the year 2008-10 to study in
detail important hydropower projects. LISS-IV data has three multispectral bands
pertaining to green, red and near infrared (NIR) wavelengths, at a better spatial
resolution of 5.8 m. It is used for preparation of land use land cover maps for the areas
surrounding the HPs. It has relatively lesser swath of 23.5 km, therefore availability of
LISS-IV data is some what uncertain for a particular time period. Hence, in case good
quality cloud free LISS-IV data pertaining to year 2010 for a particular area was not
available, data for year 2009 or 2008 was procured. Area above 4000 m elevation, is
covered with snow and glaciers, hence it has not been considered for detailed study.
LISS-IV data procured for the present study is listed in Table 3.2. The year 2000 was
chosen as base line data as no big hydropower projects had been constructed in the area
by then and 2009 data was used for comparison purpose. These two data sets were
considered sufficient as the intervening period of 10 years is the period in which
construction has taken place on most hydropower projects in the area.

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Table 3.2 LISS-IV data used for the present study.

S.
No.
Satellite Sensor Path-Row Date
1. P 6 L-4 102-020 16-Nov-2008
2. P 6 L-4 202-027 15-Dec-2008
3. P 6 L-4 102-017 08-J an-2009
4. P 6 L-4 101-005 19-Apr-2009
5. P 6 L-4 101-006 19-Apr-2009
6. P 6 L-4 102-003 16-Nov-2009
7. P 6 L-4 202-021 23-Apr-2010
8. P 6 L-4 102-016 28-Apr-2010

3.4 GEOREFERENCING AND MOSAICING OF SATELLITE DATA

Satellite data has been checked for radiometric errors and basic corrections for
radiometry for line dropout and striping have been applied. Individual scenes of the
satellite data are georeferenced with respect to the Survey of India topographic maps
and limited control points from GPS (Global Positioning System). 2
nd
order polynomial
transformation was used to achieve higher accuracy in georeferencing. This polynomial
requires 6 or more ground control points (GCPs) for geometric rectification of satellite
data. To ensure better geometric fidelity of the images minimum twenty GCPs, well
distributed spatially, have been used for each satellite image. Lambert Conforma1
Conic (LCC) projection system and Modified Everest datum have been used for
georeferencing satellite images. LCC is a conical projection, which has good
compatibility with polyconic projection of topographic maps, therefore seamless
images are obtained after georeferencing and mosaicing. The georeferenced satellite
images have been mosaiced using the histogram matching technique for radiometric
balancing among the various satellite images. Also, feathering option has been used
while mosaicing to get the seamless boundaries between different satellite images.

3.5 PREPARATION OF DEM, SLOPE AND ASPECT MAPS

The area under study being an intricate hilly area, DEM (Digital Elevation
Model) from ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection
Radiometer) at 30 m planimetric resolution has been used. This DEM has good
resolution for overlaying and viewing the geographical features over 3-D to have a
better visualisation for the terrain for analysts and decision makers.

DEM helps in delineating the different slope values with respect to individual
cell/pixel of the DEM image. A slope angle or slope percentage has been calculated for
each pixel in the raster DEM map, as shown in the figure below:







h o
d
Slope angle in percentage = |
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|

\
|

d
h
100
Slope angle in degree (o) = |
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|

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|

d
h
1
tan
Profile

where, h is the height difference between two points and d is the distance between them
on the map. The slope map has been prepared using ArcMap software. A 3 x 3 pixel
window (each pixel being 30 m square) is used to calculate the slope at each pixel. For
a pixel, at location (x,y) the elevations around it are used to calculate the slope. The
slopes are calculated for x and y directions, then average slope is calculated for that
pixel.

Aspect (slope direction) map is an image file that is coded according to the
prevailing direction of the slope at each pixel. Aspect is expressed in degrees from
North direction, clockwise, from 0 to 360. A value of -1
o
or 361 is used to identify
flat surfaces such as water bodies. Calculation of aspect value has been performed by
using a 3 x 3 window around each pixel of the slope map to calculate the prevailing
direction it faces. Aspect values are recoded as continuous values from 0 to 360,
where 0 aspect denotes the North direction, 90 aspect denotes the East direction, 180
aspect denotes the South direction, and 270 aspect denotes the West direction. The
other aspect angles are the values in between these prominent directions. For
understanding, the aspect values of 338360 and 122 can be assigned as North
direction. Similarly aspect values of 2367, 68112, 113157, 158202, 203
247, 248292, 293337 can be assigned as North-East, East, South-East, South,
South-West, West, North-West directions, respectively. The relief, slope and aspect
maps of the study area are given as Figs. 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5, respectively.

3.6 PREPARATION OF DATA LAYERS

Different spatial layers (thematic maps) for topographic and man-made features
were prepared in the GIS environment using satellite images and ancillary data. The
non-spatial database is also created for these layers by inserting the related attribute
information. The following major thematic maps are prepared. Some of these maps are
given in the relevant chapters.

3.6.1 Preparation of Soil map

Soil maps at the scale of 1:500,000 prepared by National Bureau of Soil Survey
and Land Use Planning (NBSSLUP), Nagpur have been used. The maps have been
georeferenced with respect to LISS-III satellite image and the relevant soil classes
pertaining to the catchment area have been digitized.

3.6.2 Preparation of Drainage map

Drainage map has been prepared using the LISS-III satellite data of year 2009.
At some places, where the drainage is not clearly identified due to shadow and relief
effect on the satellite image, the drainages were modified by using the information
available in topographic maps. The drainages are also available in topographic maps,
but these maps were prepared in years 1965 to 1975, therefore in order to get the
updated river network, the drainages are marked over satellite image of 2009 (Fig. 3.6).

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3.6.3 Delineation of catchment and sub-catchments of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi
Basins

Alaknanda and Bhagirathi are the two major tributaries of Ganga river. Their
catchment has been delineated using the ASTER DEM and the drainage map by Arc
GIS software. Initially, the sink or depression areas in the DEM raster have been filled
to remove small imperfections in the data. Then on the basis of relative slopes between
the cells/pixels, flow direction is determined. Flow accumulation grid and feature pour
point raster have been prepared using these data. Now the location of catchment outlet
has been decided for the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers, which is Devprayag in the
current study. Using the above data, output map watershed is delineated in raster
format, which is converted into vector to make the catchment boundary. The catchment
boundary of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi basin has been overlaid on all the major
thematic maps.

Similarly, sub-catchments have also been delineated for other tributaries of
Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers eg. Bhilangna, Mandakini, Dhauliganga, Birahi
Ganga, Nandakini and Pinder (Fig. 3.6).

3.6.4 Preparation of other spatial maps

Other features like road network (Fig. 3.7), hydropower project sites, district
headquarters and towns, transmission line network are plotted over the satellite images
and topographic maps. A GIS database has been created for all these layers.

3.6.5 Preparation of base map

A base map has been prepared using topographic maps and satellite images, by
including the information about major roads, major rivers, location of major towns and
hydropower projects etc. This map has necessary information for the use of other team
members, which have analysed various aspects of impact of hydropower projects in this
region. This map has also been useful for various teams who have carried field visits
for collecting ground data related to the study.

3.6.6 Preparation of land use land cover map

The satellite images have been processed for the preparation of land use land
cover map. Supervised classification has been performed on LISS-III data of year 2000
and 2009, using the training samples collected from limited ground truth data. Major
classes delineated are dense forest, open forest, water bodies (including rivers, lakes
etc.), sand, other vegetation/ agriculture, snow, settlement etc. The digital classified
map has been verified for the accuracy assessment for major land use classes present in
the area and land use land cover map has been finalized. A land use land cover map has
also been prepared by supervised classification of LISS-IV data of year 2008-10 for the
above mentioned classes. This map has more details to facilitate the in-depth analysis
of the chosen large hydropower project sites. The land use land cover maps for year
2000 and 2009 are shown in Fig. 3.8 and 3.9, respectively.

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3.6.7 Change Detection for year 2000 and 2009

The new state of Uttarakhand came into existence on 9
th
November 2001, as the
27
th
state of the union of India. Creation of the new state resulted in tremendous growth
in infrastructure and economy. New districts have been created with increase of
administrative setup. Road network has been enhanced causing larger inflow of tourists
and migrant labour. Therefore, change in land use is a cumulative effect of all these
developments as well as coming up of hydropower projects. During the period of 2000
to 2009, three major hydropower projects have been completed and work on about ten
projects have been taken up.

Satellite images of year 2000 and 2009 have provided extensive information on
land use land cover changes in the span of ten years. Prominent change in this decadal
period is the formation of huge reservoir of Tehri dam. A few other hydropower
projects have been commissioned before 2009. The forest areas have encountered only
marginal changes. However, statistical comparison of land use in 2000 and 2009 could
not be made due to constraints of satellite data. Since the satellite data procured was of
different seasons (May to October for year 2000 and October for year 2009), hence
results of comparison should be viewed with this limitation in mind.

The 23.5 m spatial resolution of LISS-III sensor data is optimum for this work,
as ground details at this level will be clear for delineating and mapping ground features.
However, the swath (width of one scene of the satellite data) of LISS-III data is 141
km, while the catchment area is quite large in comparison to the size (141 km x 141
km) of a single scene of LISS-III. Therefore, a mosaic of different scenes of LISS-III
data needs to be generated. Himalayan region is normally full of clouds for major part
of the year and since optical (visible and near infrared) wavelengths cant penetrate
clouds; it becomes difficult to get good quality cloud free satellite scenes for the entire
area of interest with minimum time gap. Thus the LISS-III scenes procured for the
study have considerable time gap, which has induced the change in dynamic land cover
e.g. snow etc. It has created a statistical imbalance in the extent of the features
delineated and the change detection could not be carried out effectively. Also,
scientifically it is not appropriate to compare scenes of different season for different
years, since there is a seasonal variation in land use land cover of the same year.

3.7 URBAN SPRAWL ANALYSIS OF MAJOR CITIES LYING IN THE BASIN
AREA

It has been observed that major cities of Uttarakhand lying in the basin area of
Alaknanda-Bhagirathi have expanded considerably during the past decade, especially
after the formation of Uttarakhand state. A brief account of growth of a few cities on
the basis of analysis of satellite images of year 2000 and 2009-10 given below.

3.7.1 Srinagar

Considerable change in the urban area has been observed in Srinagar town. It
has become an education hub. Chouras campus of HNB University has also come up in
the last decade. Urban areas have expanded for almost the entire city, with increase in
density of built-up area for all parts of the city. There has been a decrease in vegetated
areas in the vicinity of the city. Agricultural areas have also been reduced. A few minor

landslides have been witnessed in the surroundings of the city, which may be triggered
by natural factors.
3.7.2 Tehri

Tehri area has witnessed maximum change in the last decade of the twentieth
century. With the commissioning of the Tehri Hydropower project in year 2006, the
formation of reservoir on Bhagirathi river was started which has become a large lake
with an area of 42 sq.km. by year 2010. Only marginal change has been observed in the
New Tehri town (from the year 2000 onwards since major construction activity had
already been completed by that time) in terms of enhancement in the built-up area.
Density of vegetation has appeared to be slightly on the lower side. No major landslide
has been witnessed in the surroundings of the city.

3.7.3 Uttarkashi

Appreciable changes have been observed in Uttarkashi town, with considerable
increase in settlements along the Uttarkashi - Chinyalisaur road and Uttarkashi -
Gangotri road. Density of built-up area has also increased. The Maneri-Bhali Phase-II
project has been completed and there is a remarkable increase in settlements and other
activities in that area. There has been a reduction in agricultural areas, while a marginal
decrease in vegetated area has also been observed. A major landslide is visible on the
Varunavart hill.

3.7.4 Gopeshwar

Gopeshwar is the district headquarters of Chamoli. It has gone through marginal
changes. It is observed that most of the urban sprawl has taken place towards the
southern side or towards the Gopeshwar - Chamoli road, although density of the built-
up area has increased for almost the entire town. There is an appreciable change in
areas covered with vegetation, while areas under agriculture appeared to have
marginally increased. No major landslide is visible in the vicinity of the town due to
natural or developmental activities.

3.7.5 Joshimath

J oshimath is an important town, as it is considered as the first halt for pilgrims
of Char Dham Yatra who are heading towards the Badrinath shrine. It is also the
gateway of Hemkunt Sahib, one of the most important religious places for Sikhs.
J oshimath has also seen only a marginal change in terms of development of the town.
Density of the built-up area has not increased much. The town has witnessed some
expansion towards the northern side, in the direction of J oshimath - Vishnuprayag road
(one reason may be due to commissioning of the Vishnuprayag Hydropower project)
and towards the eastern side in the direction of J oshimath - Tapovan road. There isn't
any appreciable change in the vegetated area in and around the town. A few minor
landslides are visible towards the eastern side of the town towards Tapovan, which may
be trigged due to widening of the J oshimath-Tapovan road.

3.8 ASSESSMENT OF LAND USE LAND COVER CHANGES IN THE VICINITY
OF SELECTED HYDROPOWER PROJECTS

Area of influence of hydropower projects has been delineated along the river on
the basis of subjective assessment of the possible impact of HP on the surroundings. A
rectangular region covering an area approximately 5 km upstream (U/S) and 5 km
downstream (D/S) of the river in the buffer of about 1 to 2 km on either side of the
river, has been considered for the study of impact of HPs. However, for a few large
HPs, e.g. Tehri HP, Srinagar HP etc., a larger region has been covered as the area of
influence for that particular project. At the same time, if appreciable impact is not
visible on the U/S and D/S side, a smaller area has been considered. An index map of
areas of LISS IV images is given in Fig. 3.10.

3.8.1 Bhilangna Hydropower Project

Assessment of land use land cover changes has been carried out for the area
surrounding the Bhilangna Hydropower Project using the IRS 1D LISS-III image of
September 2000 and IRS P6 LISS-IV image of April 2010. 12.32 sq.km. area
surrounding the hydropower project, 3.5 km U/S and 5 km D/S, has been taken as the
approximate influence area of the HP. Both images have been georeferenced. Their
geometric fidelity with respect to each other is also checked. Since the spatial
resolution of LISS-III image is 23.5 m, this image has been resampled to 5 m pixel size
in order to get pixel by pixel comparison of LISS-III of year 2000 and LISS-IV image
of 2010 and to obtain a difference image for the land use land cover changes. A brief
account of the land use land cover classes surrounding the Bhilangna Hydropower
Project in year 2000 and 2010 has been given in Table 3.3.

Table 3.3 Comparison of area under various land use land cover classes
surrounding the Bhilangna Hydropower Project for year 2000 and 2010

Class
Area (%)
Sep. 2000 Apr. 2010
Dense Forest 5.36 3.33
Open Forest 65.01 68.09
Scrub 25.97 20.85
Water Body 2.46 2.36
River Bed 1.22 5.36
Total 100.00 100.00

Land use land cover map of the area surrounding the Bhilangna Hydropower
Project prepared by using LISS-IV image of year 2010, is shown in Fig. 3.10(a).

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3.8.2 Maneri Bhali - I and Maneri Bhali - II Hydropower Projects

Land use land cover change assessment for the area surrounding the Maneri
Bhali - I and Maneri Bhali - II hydropower projects using the LISS-III image of
October 2000 and LISS-IV image of November 2008 has been carried out. 9.49 sq km
area surrounding the Maneri - I hydropower project and 11.05 sq.km. area surrounding
the Maneri - II hydropower project have been taken as the approximate influence areas
of the HPs. Satellite images for both projects have been georeferenced. Their geometric
fidelity with respect to each other is also checked. Since spatial resolution of LISS-III
image is 23.5 m, this image has been resampled at 5 m pixel size in order to get pixel
by pixel comparison of LISS-III of year 2000 and LISS-IV image of 2008 and to obtain
a difference image for the land use land cover changes. A brief account of land use land
cover classes surrounding the Maneri Bhali - I and Maneri Bhali - II Hydropower
Projects in year 2000 and 2008 has been given in Tables 3.4a and 3.4b.


Table 3.4a Comparison of area under various land use land cover classes
surrounding the Maneri Bhali - I Hydropower Project for year 2000 and 2008.

Class
Area (%)
Oct. 2000 Nov. 2008
Dense Forest 7.68 10.67
Open Forest 63.89 53.09
Scrub 20.64 22.44
Water Body 0.78 2.99
River Bed 7.06 10.82
Total 100.00 100.00


Table 3.4b. Comparison of area under various land use land cover classes
surrounding the Maneri Bhali - II Hydropower Project for year 2000 and 2008.

Class
Area (%)
Oct. 2000 Nov. 2008
Dense Forest 19.19 27.32
Open Forest 64.80 44.69
Scrub 12.40 19.27
Water Body 2.00 2.57
River Bed 1.60 6.15
Total 100.00 100.00

Land use land cover map of the area, surrounding the Maneri Bhali I and
Maneri Bhali - II Hydropower Projects prepared using LISS-IV image of year 2008,
has been shown in Fig. 3.10(b).

3.8.3 Alaknanda Hydropower Project

Assessment of land use land cover changes has been carried out for the area
surrounding the Alaknanda Hydropower Project from the LISS-III image of September
2000 and LISS-IV image of April 2009. An area of 8.12 sq km surrounding the
hydropower project has been taken as the approximate influence area of the HP. Both
images have been georeferenced. Their geometric fidelity with respect to each other is
also checked. Since the spatial resolution of LISS-III image is 23.5 m, this image has
been resampled to 5 m pixel size in order to get pixel by pixel comparison of LISS-III
of year 2000 and LISS-IV image of 2009 and to obtain a difference image for the land
use land cover changes. A brief account of land use land cover classes surrounding the
Alaknanda Hydropower Project in year 2000 and 2009 has been given in Table 3.5.

Table 3.5 Comparison of area under various land use land cover classes
surrounding the Alaknanda Hydropower Project for year 2000 and 2009.
Class
Area (%)
Sep. 2000 Apr. 2009
Dense Forest 13.79 12.46
Open Forest 20.92 22.93
Scrub 48.75 49.93
Water Body 2.75 3.93
River Bed 0.08 0.12
Snow 13.80 10.63
Total 100.00 100.00

Land use land cover map of the area, prepared using LISS-IV image of year
2009, surrounding the Alaknanda Hydropower Project has been shown in Fig. 3.10(c).

3.8.4 Tehri Stage - I and Tehri Stage - II Hydropower Projects

Land use land cover change assessment has been carried out for the area
surrounding the Tehri Stage - I and Tehri Stage - II Hydropower Projects from the
LISS-III image of September 2000 and LISS-IV image of April 2010. Tehri
Hydropower project has a large reservoir, therefore its influence area is covered in two
LISS-IV images dated 23 Apil 2010 and 28 April 2010. Thus a mosaic of two images
of year 2010 has been taken in the analysis. 217.50 sq.km. area surrounding the
hydropower project, (16 km U/S for river Bhagirathi and 19 km U/S for river
Bhilangna; 4 km D/S after the confluence of Bhagirathi and Bhilangna rivers) has been
taken as the approximate influence area of the HP. Both images have been
georeferenced. Their geometric fidelity with respect to each other is also checked.
Since the spatial resolution of LISS-III image is 23.5 m, this image has been resampled
to 5 m pixel size in order to get pixel by pixel comparison of LISS-III of year 2000 and
LISS-IV image of 2010 and to obtain a difference image for land use land cover

changes. A brief account of land use land cover classes surrounding the Tehri Stage - I
and Tehri Stage - II Hydropower Projects in year 2000 and 2010 has been given in
Table 3.6.




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Table 3.6 Comparison of area under various land use land cover classes
surrounding the Tehri Stage-I and Tehri Stage - II Hydropower Projects
for year 2000 and 2010.

Class
Area (%)
Sep. 2000 Apr. 2010
Dense Forest 17.75 5.35
Open Forest 59.65 71.55
Scrub 21.30 13.78
Water Body 1.21 8.19
River Bed 0.09 1.14
Total 100.00 100.00

It has been observed that there is a manifold increase in the area under water
body. It is due to the formation of reservoir of Tehri dam, which did not exist in year
2000. Land use land cover map of the area, prepared using LISS-IV image of year
2010, surrounding the Tehri - I and Tehri - II Hydropower Projects has been shown in
Fig. 3.10(a).

3.8.5 Srinagar Hydropower Project

Assessment of land use land cover changes has been carried out for the area
surrounding the Srinagar Hydropower Project from the LISS-III image of September
2000 and LISS-IV image of J anuary 2009. An area of 50.10 sq.km. surrounding the
hydropower project, 2.5 km U/S and 13.5 km D/S has been taken as the approximate
influence area of the HP. Both images have been georeferenced. Their geometric
fidelity with respect to each other is also checked. Since spatial resolution of LISS-III
image is 23.5 m, this image has been resampled to 5 m pixel size in order to get pixel
by pixel comparison of LISS-III of year 2000 and LISS-IV image of 2009 and to obtain
a difference image for land use land cover changes. A brief account of land use land
cover classes surrounding the Srinagar Hydropower Project in year 2000 and 2009 has
been given in Table 3.7. Land use land cover map of the area, prepared using LISS-IV
image of year 2009, surrounding the Srinagar Hydropower Project has been shown in
Fig. 3.10(d).

Table 3.7. Comparison of area under various land use land cover classes
surrounding the Srinagar Hydropower Project for year 2000 and 2009.

Class
Area (%)
Sep. 2000 Jan. 2009
Dense Forest 28.52 25.20
Open Forest 62.02 55.83
Scrub 8.64 11.74
Water Body 0.32 0.51
River Bed 0.50 6.74
Total 100.00 100.00

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3.8.6 Rajwakti Hydropower Project

Land use land cover change assessment for the area surrounding the Rajwakti
Hydropower Project from the LISS-III image of September 2000 and LISS-IV image of
April 2009 has been carried out. 47.89 sq.km. area surrounding the hydropower project
has been taken as the approximate influence area of the HP. Both images have been
georeferenced. Their geometric fidelity with respect to each other is also checked.
Since spatial resolution of LISS-III image is 23.5 m, this image has been resampled to 5
m pixel size in order to get pixel by pixel comparison of LISS-III of year 2000 and
LISS-IV image of 2009 and to obtain a difference image for the land use land cover
changes. A brief account of land use land cover classes surrounding the Rajwakti
Hydropower Project in year 2000 and 2009 has been given in Table 3.8.


Table 3.8. Comparison of area under various land use land cover classes
surrounding the Rajwakti Hydropower Project for year 2000 and 2009.

Class
Area (%)
Sep. 2000 Apr. 2009
Dense Forest 40.37 46.76
Open Forest 38.00 36.95
Scrub 18.21 13.43
Water Body 0.78 0.91
River Bed 2.63 1.96
Total 100.00 100.00

Land use land cover map of the area, prepared using LISS-IV image of year
2009, surrounding the Rajwakti Hydropower Project has been shown in Fig. 3.10(e).

3.8.7 Phata-Bhyang Hydropower Project

Assessment of land use land cover changes for the area surrounding the Phata-
Bhyang Hydropower Project from the LISS-III image of May 2000 and LISS-IV image
of December 2008 has been carried out. 40.50 sq.km. area surrounding the hydropower
project, 6.5 km U/S and 6.5 km D/S has been taken as the approximate influence area
of the HP. Both images have been georeferenced. Their geometric fidelity with respect
to each other is also checked. Since spatial resolution of LISS-III image is 23.5 m, this
image has been resampled to 5 m pixel size in order to get pixel by pixel comparison of
LISS-III of year 2000 and LISS-IV image of 2008 and to obtain a difference image for
land use land cover changes. A brief account of land use land cover classes surrounding
the Rajwakti Hydropower Project in year 2000 and 2008 has been given in Table 3.9.

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Table 3.9 Comparison of area under various land use land cover classes
surrounding the Phata-Bhyang Hydropower Project for year 2000 and 2008.

Area (%)
Class May 2000 Dec. 2008
Dense Forest 59.93 45.17
Open Forest 36.92 46.95
Scrub 2.73 5.23
Water Body 0.37 2.57
River Bed 0.05 0.08
Total 100.00 100.00

Land use land cover map of the area, prepared using LISS-IV image of year 2008, surrounding
the Phata-Bhyang Hydropower Project has been shown in Fig. 3.10(f).
3.8.8 Deval Hydropower Project


Land use land cover change assessment has been carried out for the area
surrounding the Deval Hydropower Project from the LISS-III image of September 2000
and LISS-IV image of November 2009. An area of 21.21 sq km surrounding the
hydropower project, 3.5 km U/S and 5 km D/S has been taken as the approximate
influence area of the HP. Both images have been georeferenced. Their geometric
fidelity with respect to each other is also checked. Since spatial resolution of LISS-III
image is 23.5 m, this image has been resampled to 5 m pixel size in order to get pixel
by pixel comparison of LISS-III of year 2000 and LISS-IV image of 2010 and to obtain
a difference image for the land use land cover changes. A brief account of the land use
land cover classes surrounding the Deval Hydropower Project in year 2000 and 2009
has been given in Table 3.10.

Table 3.10 Comparison of area under various land use land cover classes
surrounding the Deval Hydropower Project for year 2000 and 2009.

Class
Area (%)
Sep. 2000 Nov. 2009
Dense Forest 53.87 45.41
Open Forest 42.04 38.10
Scrub 1.22 13.88
Water Body 1.44 1.57
River Bed 1.41 1.04
Total 100.00 100.00

[Land use land cover map of the area, prepared using LISS-IV image of year
2009, surrounding the Deval Hydropower Project has been shown in Fig. 3.10(g)].

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