Impact of Urbanisation on Land Use/Land Cover in Puducherry City, India

Abstract

The change of land use plays a major role in the developmental activity of a developing country. Due to rapid growth of urbanisation and dramatic increasing population, the fertile agricultural land has been converted to built- up area with respect to the demand for housing requirement and to the need for basic infrastructure facilities. The quantum of open space and surface water bodies has also been encroached. There has been a rapid growth of population in Puducherry city from 3.48 million in 1991 to 5.44 million in 2011. Hence the conservation of natural resources becomes one of the major challenges especially in small and medium town. This study was conducted to assess the effect of change on land use in urban agglomeration area of Puducherry city for the duration period from 1997 to 2017. There has been an increase in population in Puducherry city mainly attributed to higher scale of migration from adjoining rural areas and medium town for better education, job opportunities and quality life. Hence, it has been strongly recommended for stringent Development Control Regulations to quantify the urban sprawl and manage the impact of urbanisation of land use/land cover in Puducherry city.