Population Growth and Urban Sprawl: A Case Study in Haryana, India Using Geospatial Technology

Urbanization is unavoidable phenomena in World. In India, 31.16 percent population lives in urban areas, as per 2011 Census. Rapid urbanization within rapid population growth through economic development causes unsystematic and unplanned growth of cities in developing countries. Rapid population growth, which is mainly due to the migration, in cities creates many problems to human being. Sonipat city is no exception in this view because of its prime setting on N.H.1 and its easy accessibility and connectivity to both National Capital of Delhi and Union Territory of Chandigarh. The pressure of a rapidly growing urban population in the city has a direct impact on the surrounding rural agricultural land. Sprawl is based on satellite imagery of Google Earth (2002 and 2011), Toposheet 1968 and town directory map, Haryana (1981 and 1991) obtained from census of India. Census data have been used to analyses the latest scenario of population growth and urban sprawl at different time periods. The paper also reveals the potential of Geospatial Technology to analyze the direction of urban growth and their consequences in surrounding rural area.