Evaluation of Watershed Development Programme in Prakasam District of Andhra Pradesh Using Remote Sensing and GIS Technology

Abstract

Aim: This study was taken up to investigate the usefulness of Remote Sensing & GIS tools for the evaluation of fourteen watershed projects implemented under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) project in the Prakasam District of Andhra Pradesh. Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted by Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Department, Andhra Pradesh2009 to 2022. Methodology: Remote Sensing based methodology is adopted through temporal satellite data for monitoring the watersheds. This research study was investigated using high-resolution data like Resourcesat-2, and LISS-IV of 2011 (pre-treatment) and 2016 (post-treatment)to assess the changes in land use/land cover and biomass that have changed within a period of five years (2011-16). Results: There is a significant reduction in fallow land area from 31727 ha to 23893 ha, which is attributed to dense and open vegetation categories in 2016. The output of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index classification indicates the increase in dense vegetation from 16955 ha to 23256 ha, which indicates there is an improvement in the open vegetation category due to the reclamation of fallow land. Conclusion: This study reveals that an additional area of 419ha (07.53%) increased under water bodies and 2792ha of wasteland converted to cultivable land due to the construction of farm ponds, percolation tanks and check dams. This area is attributed to cropland and plantations.