Land suitability assessment for potential surface irrigation of river catchment for irrigation development in Kansai watershed, Purulia, West Bengal, India

Abstract

Assessing available land resources for irrigation is important for planning their use. This study was initiated with the objective of assessing the land resources potential of river catchments of Kangsabati in Purulia district for irrigation development and generating geo-referenced map of these resources using geographic information system. To identify potential irrigable land, irrigation suitability factors such as soil type, slope, land cover/use, and distance from water supply were taken into account. The irrigation suability analysis of these factors indicates that 4.15, 31.16, and 64.69% of soil are highly, moderately, and marginally suitable for surface irrigation, respectively. In addition, 51.82% of slope in the study area is highly suitable for surface irrigation system. In terms of land cover/use, 68.62% of land cover/use is highly suitable, whereas 31.38% restricted from irrigation development. Overall, the weighted overlay analysis of these factors gave the 34020.1 ha land which is highly suitable for potential surface irrigation of the river catchment. In conclusion, irrigation potential from this figure can be increased using Sprinkler or Drip irrigation system. GIS and Remote Sensing offer a convenient and powerful platform to integrate spatially complex land attributes for performing land suitability analysis. Integration of GIS and weighted overlay approach for land suitability analysis proves to be a useful methodology for further research in the entire state of West Bengal, India.