IAPRS & SIS, Vol.34, Part 7, “Resource and Environmental Monitoring”, Hyderabad, India, 2002 
  
LANDUSE/LAND COVER MAPPING USING IRS-1C, PAN DATA IN THE VICINITY OF 
PROPOSED ROAD AND RAIL ALIGNMENT SITES IN PARTS OF DIBRUGARH, 
DHEMAJI AND SIBSAGAR DISTRICTS OF ASSAM, INDIA 
P.N.Shah **, P. K. Goswami ? & A. Uniyal ^ 
“Remote Sensing Applications Centre, Uttar Pradesh 
Sector-G, Jankipuram, Kursi Road, Lucknow - 226 021, India E-mail : rsacup@yahoo.com 
®Disaster Management & Mitigation Centre, Academy Of Administration, Dehradun, Uttaranchal, India 
KEY WORDS : IRS-1C, LISS-III, PAN, Brahmaputra River, Braided River, Road & Rail Alignment, Land use/land cover 
ABSTRACT: 
The development of road and railway are of great importance in the movement of men and material. Transportation and communication 
facilities are the means by which distant areas can be made more useful for human purposes. In view of the proposed construction of a 
road cum rail bridge across Brahmaputra river near Bogibilgaon in Dibrugarh district of Assam, a need for mapping of Landuse/Land 
cover pattern in the vicinity of proposed road and rail alignment sites has been felt by Rail India Technical & Economic Services Ltd. 
(RITES). IRS-1C, PAN data on 1:25,000 scale and IRS-1C, LISS-III data of February, 1997 have been used for delineating different 
categories of built-up land, agricultural land, forest land, wetland, wasteland, grass/grazing land, transportation network etc in parts of 
Dhemaji, Dibrugarh and Sibsagar districts of Assam. Most part of the study area is flat, gently slopping alluvial terrain mainly being used 
for agricultural purposes. Single crop practice is most common in the area. Some of the areas are cultivated during Rabi season mainly for 
paddy. A vast alluvial land is being used for the tea gardens which is becoming more and more popular among inhabitants of the area as is 
evident from the drastic increase in the tea garden area over the last 30 years. A large part of cropland as well as forest land has been 
converted into tea gardens. The landuse/land cover maps prepared on 1:25,000 scale would help the decision makers and design engineers 
in taking appropriate measures for designing suitable structures, land acquisition planning and implementation of rehabilitation 
  
  
programme. 
1. INTRODUCTION 
Land is our most precious resource, which is vital for the well 
being and sustainable development without disturbing the 
ecological balance. The development of road and railway are of 
great importance in the movement of men and material. At 
present the pathway across the mighty Brahmaputra river has been 
through ferry services in the upper Assam. It is proposed to 
construct a road cum rail bridge across Brahmaputra river near 
Bogibilgaon to connect Dhemaji district with Dibrugarh district 
through road and railway networks. The ever growing population 
and limited availability of land necessitates proper utilization of 
available land resources through scientific landuse planning. 
Information on the existing landuse/land cover, its spatial 
distribution and changes are essential for making developmental 
plans (Dhinwa et.al., 1992). Remote Sensing techniques helped in 
efficient selection of potential route than could have been possible 
by conventional ground techniques alone (Jha V.K. et.al., 1998) 
which would be of immense use to construction engineer. A need 
for mapping of landuse/land cover pattern in the vicinity of 
proposed road and railway alignment networks in parts of 
Dibrugarh, Dhemaji and Sibsagar districts of Assam has been felt 
by the Rail India Technical & Economic Services Ltd. for 
understanding the land utilization aspects, environmental 
processes and related problems. In order to use land optimally, it 
is necessary to have first hand information about existing 
landuse/landcover pattern in the vicinity of proposed road cum 
railway alignment sites. IRS-1C, Panchromatic data (PAN) and 
LISS-III data have been used for preparing Landuse/Land cover 
maps on 1:25,000 scale which would provide landscape details 
alongwith braiding river channels & braid bar patterns of the 
Brahmaputra river which would in turn help RITES to determine 
the feasibility of alignment sites and in taking appropriate remedial 
measures for designing suitable structures, acquisition of land, 
planning and implementation of rehabilitation programme. 
2. STUDY AREA 
A multi purpose rail cum road bridge is proposed to be constructed 
across Brahmaputra river near Bogibilgaon which will connect 
with existing railway and road networks in Dhemaji, Dibrugarh 
and Sibsagar districts of upper Assam(Figure-1). It is located 
between 27°0' and 27°37'30"N latitudes and 94°37'30" and 95°0'E 
longitudes & covered in Survey of India toposheet No. 
831/10,11,14,15 & 16 on 1:50,000 scale. The Brahmaputra river 
has braided river channel pattern with braid bars. The tributaries 
of Brahmaputra river draining the study area include Dibru, Burhi 
Dihing, Sesa, Diroi, Dimow, Disang, Burhi Suti, Tangani, Sisi, 
Diksam, Simen etc. The climate of he study area is humid to sub 
tropical. The total annual rainfall varies from 1350 to 2405 mm. 
The soils of the area are sandy loam-loam silty, loam-silty clay in 
texture. 
3. DATA USED AND METHODOLOGY 
Survey of India topographical maps on 1:50,000 scale covering 
sheet No. 831/10,11,14,15 & 16 surveyed in 1963-64/1963-70 
have been enlarged to 1:25,000 scale using Plan Variograph for 
preparing base maps showing existing road and railway, 
embankment, canal, settlement etc. IRS-1C, Panchromatic (PAN) 
data having spatial resolution of 5.8 m covering quadrant No. 
831/10 SE; 831/11 NE & SE; 831/14 SE & SW; 83I/15NE, NW, 
SW, SE; 831/16 NE, NW & SW on 1:25,000 scale and IRS-1C, 
LISS-IH geocoded false colour composite on 1:50,000 scale 
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