The Hindu : Kerala News : `Eye in the sky' for development

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Kerala

Kerala

`Eye in the sky' for development

T. Nandakumar

Tirurangadi to harness space technology for mapping

A digital elevation model of the Tirurangadi block in Malappuram district.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Tirurangadi block in Malappuram district will soon have access to a powerful development tool harnessing space technology. A remote sensing satellite hovering 681 km above the earth will provide the cluster of seven panchayats with inputs for micro-level resource management and development planning.

The `eye in the sky' will also enable the local bodies to monitor the environment and formulate action plans for disaster management. Taken up by the Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS), the ISRO-funded pilot project utilises high- resolution satellite imagery to prepare village maps. The digitised maps will supply the panchayats with accurate data on terrain characteristics as well as socio- economic conditions and climate in the target areas.

Utility sectors

The information will help analyse and monitor a range of parameters, including land use pattern, forest cover, soil quality, groundwater resources, population density, rainfall and crop yield. It will also assist the panchayats to prepare plans for watershed management, utilisation of wasteland, coastline protection, monitoring of drought and floods and disaster management.

Project managers are currently working on setting up a Panchayat Resource Information Centre (Prince) under a programme supported by the State Council for Science, Technology and Environment.

Extension of PRM

The High-resolution Remote Sensing data (HRRS) project is an extension of the Panchayat- level Resource Mapping (PRM) programme initiated by CESS in 1991. PRM failed to achieve its objectives, mainly due to the manual surveying method, which was laborious and time consuming.

The HRRS project uses advanced digital image processing software to convert the cadastral maps available with the Revenue Department into a digital format.

The information generated through this programme is collated into a Geographic Information System.

The CESS director, M. Baba, said: "The tremendous changes in land use have exposed the limitations in manual mapping.

The HRRS project is an attempt to demonstrate the potential of satellite data for local level planning. The Tirurangadi block was selected for the pilot project because it covers a wide terrain encompassing coastal to midland areas."

Data from the U.S.

The project uses one-metre resolution images generated by Ikonos, a satellite owned by a private commercial agency based in the U.S. The images are accessed by CESS through the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA). ISRO has allocated Rs.35 lakhs for procurement of the images which cost 28 $ per square km.

CESS has tied up with Centre for Management Development for the creation of a socio economic database.

Every individual in the target area is assigned an identification number and his name, panchayat, marital status, religion, economic condition, education and health status are plotted in the database.

The cartesian coordinates based on latitude and longitude are charted for each house. The mission team is working on a user-friendly search system for the database. Separate maps will be prepared for wards, contour features and land use.

Resource centre

The proposed resource information centre is to be equipped with a Linux-based computer system. The project Principal Investigator, K.K. Ramachandran, said the centre was expected to become functional by December.

"We are trying to get the project funded by a consortium of gram panchayats," he said.

The images generated by the Indian Cartosat satellite will be used to update the database on a regular basis. "The project has already demonstrated that satellite data can be integrated into the planning process for quick decision- making and timely intervention. We are sure it will be extended to other districts in due course," says Dr. Baba.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala