A GEOGRAPHICAL ASSESSMENT OF WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME WORKS AND CROPPED AREA IN SATARA DISTRICT
Keywords:
Watershed Development Programme, WDP Works, Cropped Area, Cropping Intensity, Z-Score, Spatial Analysis, GIS, Satara DistrictAbstract
Watershed Development Programmes (WDP) have become an effective approach for strengthening agriculture in regions where rainfall is uneven and water scarcity affects cultivation. Satara district of Maharashtra provides a suitable setting for such a study because it shows sharp contrasts in relief and climate—from the high-rainfall, forested Western Ghats to the semi-arid eastern plateau. These physical differences strongly influence both the distribution of watershed works (such as check dams, percolation tanks, contour bunding, nala deepening and farm ponds) and the pattern of cropped area across tahsils. The present study assesses the tahsil-wise distribution of WDP works and examines their interrelationship with cropped area and cropping intensity in Satara district. The study is based on secondary data collected from the Satara District Socio-Economic Abstract (2024), District Agricultural Statistics (2025), Census and district reports. Statistical techniques such as works per village, percentage share, Z-score classification, and supporting measures (LQ and IDI where required) were applied to identify spatial intensity and regional variation. GIS (ArcGIS 10.5) was used for thematic mapping and spatial interpretation. The results show a clear geographical linkage between watershed development intensity and agricultural land use. Semi-arid tahsils such as Khatav, Phaltan, Man, Koregaon and Karad exhibit higher concentration of watershed works and also contribute a large share of cropped area with comparatively higher cropping intensity. Khatav tahsil stands out with very high watershed work intensity and the highest share of cropped area, indicating strong effectiveness of decentralized watershed interventions in supporting cultivation. In contrast, Mahabaleshwar tahsil and parts of the western hilly zone record low cropped area and low relationship due to steep slopes, dense forest cover and limited cultivable land, despite high rainfall. Tahsils like Wai, Khandala, Patan and Satara show a moderate relationship where agricultural performance is influenced by mixed physical constraints, uneven implementation and varying land-use conditions.
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References
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