GIS BASED SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT - A CASE STUDY OF NAGERCOIL MUNICIPALITY, TAMIL NADU

Cities and towns are growing rapidly because of increasing population, which is not always contributing to the growth and prosperity of cities and towns, but also contribute to their associated problems, like waste generation and its management. This is directly questioning the sustainability of urbanization. On the other, the quantity of waste is increasing with increasing population, is a serious issue which requires proper planning. A number of processes are involved for management of solid waste, like siting, monitoring, collection, transportation, processing and disposing. However, foremost after collection of solid waste, a site is required for disposing and processing. The present study attempts to use Remote Sensing and GIS coupled with AHP method for analyzing and identifying a dumping Site for solid waste disposal in Nagercoil Municipality in Tamil Nadu. The different physical criteria: LU/LC, geomorphology, soil texture, settlement, road, surface water bodies, lineaments, groundwater depth, NDVI and slope are considered and are examined in relation to land fill site selection. Each criterion was identified and weighted by AHP score and mapped using GIS technique and suitable map is prepared by overlay analysis. The result indicates that a barren land of 57.8891 sq. km which is also proximity to Nagercoil city is the best site for disposal of solid waste.