Development and Sprawling Nature of Karnal City: A GIS Perspective

The sprawling nature of cities is a matter of concern for the researchers of spatial and social sciences like geography, sociology and urban studies. Urban sprawl of Karnal city within the last 44 years has been observed in the present study which is based on satellite images for the years 1972 and 1989 (LANDSAT TM) and LANDSAT ETM+ (2000), downloaded from www.glovis.usgs.gov/, Guide map of Karnal (1983), 2011 LISS-III images, acquired from Haryana Space Application Center (HARSAC), Hisar, and Google earth image 2016 have been downloaded from Google earth pro. In the study, the census statistics have been integrated to analyze the growth of population and built-up area during different time periods. ERDAS 9.0 is applied for image processing and image classification and ArcGIS 9.3 software is used for map design. It has been revealed that the establishment of planned residential sector by HUDA (Haryana Urban Development Authority) and private builders, pharmaceuticals companies, educational and research institutions, industrial and commercial sector in the city are responsible for the specific development and sprawl. The negative aspect of urban growth has been reflected as the emergence of illegal/unauthorized colonies and slums which degrade the quality of city environment.