Land Use and Land Cover Change Detection in Medinipur Division, West Bengal, India

This study aims to analyze land use changes in Medinipur Division between 2000 and 2020 using satellite images. The objective is to create land use/land cover maps for three time points (2000, 2010, and 2020) and detect changes that have occurred over the past two decades. Five land use/land cover classes were identified: vegetation, waterbody, cultivated land, sand deposit, and built-up areas. The study utilized image processing techniques in ArcGIS 10.3 to identify land use changes. The results show significant changes in land use patterns over the 20-year period, with 3534.33 sq/km of land converted to built-up areas. Conversely, vegetation and cultivated land decreased by 3684.7 sq/km, indicating a notable shift in land use patterns.