ENVIRONMENTAL ZONING ATLAS FOR INDUSTRIALIZATION OF DISTRICT HARIDWAR USING GIS

Abstract

For sustainable industrial development, the need of the hour is judicious, reasonable and planned use of the finite resources of land according to their natural environmental properties. To cater to this need, the preparation of Zoning Atlas for siting of industries, based on environmental considerations has been conceived. The Zoning Atlas is not only the solution for all the problems caused by haphazard industrial siting, but tackles the cause of the problem itself. The Zoning Atlas identifies suitable sites for siting of industries based on environmental considerations. The environmental parameters and conditions are evaluated and qualified and the suitability of sites is determined based on their sensitivity to air, water and land pollution. Economic development and industrialization have become synonymous and are integral part of regional planning of a country. There is a need that apart from preventive measures, proper siting of industries/industrial estates should be done, especially in countries like India where the process of planned industrialization is still in its initial stage. Thus, environmental planning is a proven tool for achieving sustainable development. Proper siting of newly planned industries and industrial estates is a strong pollution prevention instrument that ensures environmental soundness of the industrial development. Site selection based on environmental criteria with the objective of minimizing adverse environmental impacts is, therefore, a vital prerequisite. Haridwar district has been taken as the study area for the present work. Sensitivity of the study area has been checked in terms of air pollution, surface water pollution and groundwater pollution. The study relies upon the database procured for this purpose form Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The database mainly comprises of topographic maps, thematic maps and groundwater information. Buffering and overlaying of thematic maps have been carried out as per the guidelines of CPCB.