Impact of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana Watershed Projects on Cultivable Lands in East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh, India

Aim: This study was taken up to investigate the usefulness of Remote Sensing & GIS tools for the evaluation of fourteen watershed projects implemented under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) project in East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh.

Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted by Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Department, Andhra Pradesh 2009 to 2022.

Methodology: High-resolution data like Resourcesat-2, Linear Imaging and Self Scanning-IV (LISS-IV) of 2011 (pre-treatment) and 2016 (post-treatment) were used in this project to measure the changes in land use/land cover and biomass during the project period (2011-16). Due to the implementation of the watershed developmental activities, an additional area of 11417 ha has been brought under cultivation.

Results: The fallow land area decreased by 3686.12 Ha (24.12%) which is attributed to dense and open vegetation categories. The output of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index classification indicates the increase in dense vegetation by 9804.05 ha, which indicates there is an improvement in the open vegetation category due to the reclamation of fallow land.

Conclusion: This study reveals that an additional area of 126.88 ha (12.80%) increased under water bodies and 3686.12 ha wasteland converted to cultivable land due to the construction of farm ponds, percolation tanks and check dams. This area is attributed to cropland and plantations.