IAPRS & SIS, Vol.34, Part 7, “Resource and Environmental Monitoring”, Hyderabad, India, 2002 
APPLICATION OF SATELLITE REMOTE SENSING AND GIS TECHNIQUES 
FOR STUDY OF SUBMERGENCE OF LAND USE / LAND COVER AND VILLAGES 
UNDER SARDAR SAROVAR RESERVOIR ON RIVER NARMADA IN PARTS OF 
NORTHWESTERN INDIA 
Satish C Jayanthi and Raghavswamy V 
Urban Studies Division 
National Remote Sensing Agency, 
Hyderabad — 500037; 
jayanthi_c@nrsa.gov.in 
KEY WORDS: Submergence, Homestead, Elevation level, DEM, Sardar Sarovar. 
ABSTRACT: 
Applications of Remote Sensing and GIS techniques have gained importance during last two decades for deciding many an issue 
related to natural resources mapping, monitoring and.utilization. In this paper, an attempt is made to apply these techniques for 
“mapping submergence areas under different land use / land cover and villages for the purpose of planning rehabilitation of affected 
people and their lands” in the catchment area of Sardar Sarovar Reservoir across river Narmada in parts of Gujarat and Madhya 
Pradesh States in Northwestern India. 
For this, the input data comprised of — IRS-1D (LISS-HI) satellite data (Feb-Mar 2000) for delineating the land use / land cover. 
Further, PAN sharpened LISS-III image generated using Intensity-Hue-Saturation (I) method was used for identification of 
perceivable villages (with dwelling clusters) through visual interpretation techniques. The interpreted details were verified using 
sample ground checks and the final outputs are generated. 
Further, using the contour information provided by the Dam authorities, DEM was generated with available GIS software. Full 
Reservoir Level (FRL) and Maximum Reservoir Level (MRL) contours were interpolated from the DEM was overlain onto the land 
use / land cover and villages to identify the submergence lands and villages in both areal extent and spatial spread. The study has 
observed that nearly 23% of the study area or about 2200 ha. (out of the total area of 9475 ha.) is likely to be submerged at Full 
Reservoir Level (FRL) contour of 140 m level. The areas likely to be submerged are: - agriculture (565 ha. Or 41% of the 
submergence); - forests (431 ha. Or 32% of the submergence); and wasteland (363 ha. Or 27% of the submergence). The number of 
villages (with dwelling clusters) likely to be submerged is 14 out of 16 villages as reported by the authorities. Also, the study 
suggested new sites for rehabilitation of villages beyond the MRL contour of 140 m. 
The results indicated the applicability of these two technologies in tandem for such studies; one, suitability of Multispectral LISS-III 
data for mapping land use / land cover; and, second, the need for higher (5.8 m and better spatial resolution) data of for mapping 
finer details of land use / land cover and dwelling clusters alongwith hutments. 
  
1. INTRODUCTION 
The Narmada, the largest west flowing river in India, is the fifth 
largest river. The total length of the river from source to sea is 
1312 km. The utilization of Narmada River basin today is 
hardly about 1096; and thus its waters continue to flow into the 
sea unused. A concrete masonry dam (known as Sardar Sarovar 
Dam) is being built across river Narmada near Kevadia in 
Nandod taluq of Narmada district of Gujarat to meet the 
irrigation needs of three states, viz. Madhya Pradesh, 
Maharastra and Gujarat. 
The Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of the Sardar Sarovar Dam is 
fixed at RL 138.68 m (455 ft). The submergence at Full 
Reservoir Level (FRL) is 37,690 ha (86,088 acres) which 
comprises of 11,279 Ha. Agricultural land, 13,542 Ha. Forest 
and 12,869 Ha. Riverbed and wasteland. In al, 245 villages of 
three states viz., 193 villages of Madhya Pradesh, 33 villages of 
Maharastra and 19 villages of Gujarat are affected. Only 3 
villages of Gujarat are full while remaining 242 villages are 
608 
partly affected. In Madhya Pradesh out of 193 villages more 
than 10% agricultural land will be submerged only in 79 
villages, in 89 villages less than 10% agricultural land or only 
houses will be submerged under FRL due to back water of 1 in 
100 years flood. The submergence area lies in between latitude 
21° 40’ to 22° 32’ N and longitude 73° 30’ to 75° 40’ E. The 
reservoir water spread, from the dam on the Narmada river 
forms a narrow strip about 170 km long and 2 km wide. 
M/s Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL), the 
lead agency for this project require information on present land 
utilization, likely to be affected villages and their neighboring 
landscapes, potential submergence areas and their spatial 
distribution etc. for settling many project related issues. 
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