Site suitability analysis using remote sensing and GIS for proper selection of solid waste disposal ground within Rajarhat Gopalpur municipal area, Kolkata, West Bengal

Decadal population growth and the increasing demand of land in main city (Kolkata) have driven the population to setup Satellite Township around the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. These Satellite Townships are known as Urban Local Body (ULB) or Municipality, under Kolkata Metropolitan area, Rajarhat Gopalpur Municipality (RGM) is one of them. The municipal authority provides various facilities to its population but their sanitation and solid waste management system has not reached a satisfactory level. In present scenario urban solid waste management is considered as one of the most serious environmental problems confronting municipal authorities in urban areas. One of these impacts is due to improper location of dumping site without considering any environmental norms. This paper deals with determination of suitable site selection for disposing urban solid waste generated from Rajarhat Gopalpur Municipality area, using Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques. Multi-criteria analysis & weightage overlay analysis has been done for solid waste disposal site selection in this study. GIS can provide an opportunity to integrate field parameters with population and other relevant data with other associated features, which would in turn help in selection of suitable disposal sites.