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OBJECTIVES 
The prime objective of the study was to prepare "Development Plan of AUDA for the year 2011" using both 
RS and GIS techniques. The detailed objectives were a) to carry out demographic analysis for identifying areas 
required for future urban development, b) to prepare urban land use maps on 1:12,500 scale using IRS-1C merged 
products depicting level-II urban land use information, c) to prepare urban sprawl map on 1:25,000 scale using multi- 
date satellite data for the purpose of urban growth trend analysis, d) to prepare thematic maps viz. surface water bodies 
map, hydrogeomorphological map, ground water prospect map, slope map, flood and erosion hazard maps and 
transportation network maps for urban land use suitability and to develop a menu driven package in GIS environment 
for easy accessibility of data. 
STUDY AREA 
The Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority area has been carved out from the areas of four districts viz. 
Ahmedabad, Kheda, Mehsana and Gandhinagar, admeasuring about 1300 sq. km. The AUDA area is located in the 
centre of the eastern part of the State of Gujarat and is bounded by 23°00' N & 23°30' N latitudes and 72°00' E to 
72°35' E longitudes. The AUDA area includes one municipal corporation, six nagar panchayats and 143 Village 
Panchayats with a population of about 4.6 million (based on 1996 data). In addition to this, 5 km buffer area along the 
AUDA boundary has also been selected for study. Physiographically, it has a flat terrain with gentle to very gentle 
slopes. The most significant physiographic features in this area are the tekras (undulating mounds) with an elevation of 
upto 80 m above MSL. The Sabarmati river cuts Ahmedabad city in two parts viz. East Ahmedabad and West 
Ahmedabad and is flanked by low sandy banks on either side. The soil in this region is generally a light sandy loam and 
lends itself well to agricultural pursuits..It has a tropical monsoon type climate which is hot and dry except the rainy 
season. The summer days are very hot with mean maximum temperature of 41.3° C while nights are pleasant with 
mean minimum temperature of 26..3°C. The mean maximum and minimum temperatures in winter are 30°C and 
15.4°C respectively. The average annual rain fall of the area is 782 mm. The average relative humidity is 60 % while it 
1s 80 to 90 % in rainy season. 
DATA USED 
IRS-1C (launched on December 29, 1995) Panchromatic (about 6m spatia! resolution) and LISS-III data 
(23m spatial resolution) of January-February 1996 have been used. The data has been primarily used for the preparation 
of land use/cover, surface water bodies, hydrogeomorphology, ground water prospects, transportation network, flood 
hazard and erosion hazard thematic maps. Multidate satellite data (Landsat MSS, TM, SPOT and IRS-1A) have been 
used for the preparation of urban sprawl map. 
METHODOLOGY 
The overall methodology adopted for this study is presented in F igure-1. Population data pertaining to 1971, 
1981 and 1991 census have been collected and population projections for the AUDA area upto the year 2011 have 
been made by adopting standard statistical techniques such as Ratio method, exponential and conversion methods. 
Further, the entire area is divided into different groups of villages envisaging high, medium and low growth rates. 
Population projections under each scenario are made by analysing the observed trends from the year 1971, 1981 and 
1991. The projections obtained under the medium growth scenario are adopted in this study. 
IRS-1C LISS-III image to Panchromatic image registration has been done by identifying common ground 
control points (GCP's) from both the images. Three separate channels for LISS-III data have been created and 
converted to red, green and blue channels of LISS-III data into Intensity, hue and saturation channels. Finally merged 
(LISS-III with PAN) data products were generated by taking intensity from Panchromatic data, hue and saturation 
from LISS-III data. Various enhanced techniques have been applied to improve the contrast between the features on 
this merged data. The products generated using Laplacian filtering technique (edge enhancement operation) were 
selected for the study employing visual interpretation techniques. Visual interpretation techniques have been used to 
study digitally enhanced products on the basis of the image characteristics such as tone, texture, shape, size, shadow, 
pattern as well as the associated elements viz. location and association. These elements of interpretation helped in 
identifying and delineating various types of features present in the urban environment and judge their significance in 
delineating thematic information related to urban land use/cover, hydrogeomorphology, surface water bodies, 
flood/erosion hazard etc. 
International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXII, Part 7, Budapest, 1998 
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