Assessing Urban Growth Patterns of Agroha Town of Hisar, Haryana Using Directional and Geostatistical Approaches

This study investigates the spatiotemporal dynamics, direction and intensity of urban expansion in Agroha Town, a historically significant and rapidly urbanizing peri-urban center in the Hisar district of Western Haryana, India. Employing multi-temporal high-resolution satellite imagery from Google Earth (2015 and 2024), administrative boundary data from the Bhuvan platform and spatial benchmarks from the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Haryana Agroha Draft Development Plan 2031, land use and land cover (LULC) transformations across a 15.10 sq. km municipal boundary were systematically quantified within an ArcGIS 10.8 geospatial framework. The empirical findings reveal pronounced, corridor-dominated urban growth driven by ribbon development along the Delhi-Sirsa National Highway (NH-9) axis. Over the nine-year evaluation period (2015-2024), compact settlement built-up area expanded by 188.5 percent (from 0.87 km2 to 2.51 km2), while planned residential zones grew from 0.72 km2 to 0.96 km2 , representing a net built-up proliferation of 1.88 km2. Conversely, this unchecked peripheral sprawl directly precipitated a complete depletion of contiguous open spaces (decreasing from 1.69 km2 to 0.00 km2) and a net contraction of fertile agricultural land by 0.25 km2 (from 9.96 km2 to 9.71 km2 ). Geostatistical cross-tabulation change matrix analysis confirms that 1.25 km2 of erstwhile open spaces were absorbed directly into dense settlements, while 0.39 km2 of productive agrarian acreage was encroached upon by built surfaces. The emerging unguided spatial patterns highlight acute pressures on civic utilities, transportation arteries and natural resource systems. The paper underscores the imperative of integrating Earth observation datasets and spatial statistics into statutory regional development plans to guide sustainable land management, mitigate haphazard peri-urban sprawl and safeguard vital agrarian and ecological buffers.