Identification and Evaluation of New Industrial Zones in Giridih District using Remote Sensing & GIS Techniques

This study was carried out to identify suitable sites for Industrial development at Giridih District in Jharkhand state using GIS-based multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) such as landuse/landcover, groundwater, geomorphology, slope, road proximity, rail proximity, river proximity factors. High resolution spatial data (Landsat7 ETM+) and seven thematic information layers were analyzed using ArcGIS 9.3 and ERDAS Imagine 9.2 softwares to identify suitable areas for establishing an industry in Giridhi District. The entire study focuses on GIS based Overlay Weight Ages. In this study landuse/landcover, groundwater, geomorphology, slope, road proximity, rail proximity, river proximity are the factors that were identified for the multi-criteria evaluation. Various thematic maps were generated using visual interpretation of Landsat7 ETM+ satellite data for every variable showing site suitability measured on a size of 1-10. Weights for every criterion are created by contrasting with one another based on their significance. The final suitability map was obtained using weighted overlay techniques and Spatial Analyst Tool. Outcome generated through the GIS analysis shows that 160.85 km2 areas is very highly suitable, 407.85 km2 area is moderately suitable; 4398.30 km2 area is less suitable, for industrial development.