LAND TRANSFORMATION- A BRIEF REVIEW AND IT’S STUDY IN

HYDERABAD PERIPHERAL REGION

Prof. S. Padmaja
Ms. Pratigna
Dept. of Geography, OU,Hyderabad.
Introduction:

Land transformation refers to radical changes in land use and cover,

usually over a long term (Nancy G etal) by man induced changes. Land transformation
attributed to both natural and human factors ,more due to natural processes is imminent
due to demand for land occupancy by rising human numbers followed by economic
development .However ,when there is an urgency in the population growth and economic
development factors ,there is an unwanted land transformation leading to
unsustainability affecting the environmental ecological balance. This is being evidenced
more avidly around city regions ,which need to be tackled firmly if urban growth process
needs to be harmonious –in the context of this, the dynamic land transformation around
rapidly growing Hyderabad region is evaluated to identity the positive and negative
impacts of such land transformation.

A Brief Review:

Richter H.G has attributed historical development and strong influences of

technological , social and political alterations during the last four decades over types and
pattern of land use in GDR. Though land use alteration is a basic feature of land
transformation but land intensification is the main type of land transformation in all
sections of regional development ,leading to by effects like pollution, contamination,
blocking and devastating of renewable natural resources .Therefore according to him
.land transformation must be accompanied by development of a dense network of
protective measures and reservation areas and in addition by different types for multiple
utilization of renewable natural resources .
Baldev Sahai in his presidential address has stated that natural causes transform
land slowly ,but what is assuming alarming proportions is the land transformation being
brought about by man ,especially due to agricultural and mining activities in rural scape
followed by built up activity in urban scape .
Wolman and Fournier have laid stress on various agricultural practices leading to
land transformation. According to him, the first type of land transformation was the
disturbance of natural vegetation. This is furthened by improvement in infrastructure like
laying of roads ,canals and railways. Use and management of pesticides and other
materials including adoption of integrated pest management system markedly influences
land and its transformation .Mechanisation in agriculture too seem to have contributed
siginificantly to land transformation . According to the another population change war,
technological revolutions and a variety of social changes throughout history have resulted

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in profound transformation of the land. Introduction of inorganic fertilizers to soils can
cause immense land transformation.
Bernhard Lucke etal explain the process of land transformation ,through drivers
of land transformation which all increase habitat loss and isolation yet impose their own
unique alterations on the landscape which include perforation, dissection,
fragmentation,shrinkage,and alteration.
Ayyad Mohammad talks about land transformation in western Mediterranean
desert of Egypt attributing the change mainly due to grazing, rain fed farming and
irrigated farming .Grazing led to lower soil stability and abundance of plants and above
soil in vertebrates. Irrigation resulted in water logging and salinisation formation of calcic
horizons, decrease in soil organic matter and soluble N2 and in increase of above and
below soil biota-A comparison of the distribution of vegetation and land use in one of the
sectors in 1964 and 1981 ,using maps based on aerial photographs and ground truth data
;indicated remarkable changes in areas of rain fed farming and in vegetation composition
due to over grazing.
Land transformation refers to radical changes in land use and cover, usually
over a long term (Nancy Golubeiwski 2008)has assumed unparalleled significance
because of its relevance to applied land use practices and management. Bryan
C.Pijanowski and others of Michigan state university have attempted a land
transformation model with a GIS tool. In their study on Saginaw bay watershed have
stated that land use changes is one of the most critical dynamic elements of ecosystem
due to human induced changes to the land resulting in changes to pattern and processes
in ecosystem such as alterations to the hydro geochemistry ,vegetation cover ,species
diversity and changes in the economies of a community . Land Transformation Model is
inclusive of socio economic driving variables comprising of population change
,economies of land ownership, transportation ,agriculture economics and locations of
employment environment driving variables include abiotic ,such as distribution of soil
types and elevation and biotic ,such as a locations of endangered and threatened species
,or the attractiveness of certain types of vegetation pattern in the landscape for
development.
Nancy Golubeiwski et al have undermined the importance of
Anthropogeny in land transformation. Frances Harris and chasea Twyman (2003) in an
editorial ;point out the adaptive management of the environment in response to external
area well as internal stimuli such as the role of state legacies of history ,market forces and
urbanization .These stimuli act as drivers of change and act alongside the need to secure
livelihoods.
Aggrey Daniel Maina Thuo, in a special issue on agriculture raises the
issue of community and social responses to land use transformations in the Nairobi rural
–urban Fringe of Kenya . According to him rapid urban population growth means an
increasing demand for urban land ,which is available in the rural-urban fringe ,partly due
to low land prices ,high rents at the core of the cities and legal flexibility in land use
planning in rural urban fringe .The conversion of agriculture land to residential uses is
leading to rapid transformations in the agricultural productivity ,spatial and social
structure land ownership and land market in these areas. Selling in parcels of land have
affected land holders and in most cases have made their families destitute.

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 In a study on ecological and socio-economic consequences of land
transformation in alpine regions and ancestral agriculture activities, ongoing transitions
in land use ,climatic changes ,air pollution and socio-economic processes (urbanization,
tourism )are affecting ecosystem goods and services of montane and alpine areas
(provision of clean water supply)Reduced farming activities have led to massive shrub
encroachment and forest expansion into formerly open habitats ,particularly ,at higher
elevations. Forest area increased underpinning the dynamics of present land cover
transformation. Land cover changes seem to affect ETP and runoff exerting hydrological
consequences for adjacent lowlands (Christian Komer,2006).
Nasreen Islam Khan (2000) has well brought out the land transformation
due to urbanization and its impact on surface water system in Dhaka Metropolitan area.
Arial expansion and population increase characterize land transformation process as well
as growth .Dhaka is facing the growing problems of urban sprawl in loss of natural
vegetation ,loss of open spaces and a general decline in the spatial extent and
connectivity of wet lands and wildlife habitat.
Urbanization is a process that always initiates the continual
transformation of land from one use to the other. Land transformation is presently being
experienced in and around fast growing towns. It is also firmly stated that spatial and
temporal changes in the unplanned growth of the built up area is impacting negatively on
the environment. Erosion, indiscriminate waste disposal, siltation and contamination are
on increase. (Ifatimehin etal 2009).The process of urbanization is one of the most
important drivers of economic ,social and physical change in developing countries. Rapid
urban population growth leads not only to an increasing demand for urban land
,particularly for housing but also for various other uses. Increasing demand for land is
affecting .peri urban areas where urban expansion is already encroaching into the
agriculture lands and small villages. Rural -urban fringes are characterized by diverse
land uses which often vary in relation to their functional linkages to urban and to rural
sectors. Due to diverse land uses, most population is heterogeneous .It is to be also noted
that haphazard development occurs due to urban sprawl and this results in non optimal
use of land with in the controlled areas. Land conversion leads to deterioration in quantity
and quality of land for farming in the small pieces of land where high value crops are
encouraged.
Hyderabad too is growing very fast. It is likely to attain a mega city
status .The growth has been phenomenal since 1970’s and especially so since 90’s due to
an increase in IT boom . In the wake of increasing population, it is but natural that built
up area too increases for residential ,commercial, transportation and other infrastructural
facilities. This urban sprawl activity transforms the land characters, thereby converting
one type to the other leading to either positive or negative changes in the development
process.
Hyderabad as a nodal center in telangana region of Andhra Pradesh ,has
assumed enormous importance ,not only as a growing city ,but also as a major sustaining
city . The growth is calculated based on spatio temporal analysis of different data sets of
basically toposheets of 56k series on 1:250,000 and 1:50,000 scale (1971),and IRS
1C.1D LISS III imageries of 1998,2000 and 2006(path 99 and 100 and row 60).Change
detection or transformation of land use is detected through image analysis using software
of Erdas 8.7 version and Arc GIS 9.2 version.

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Study area: Hyderabad is one the fastest growing mega cities in India. The growth has
been phenomenal since 1971. Hyderabad Urban Agglomeration region recorded 5.75
million population in 2001.Whereas Hyderabad Urban Development Authority(Inclusive
of Secunderabad) accounted for 6.38 million population in 2001.The region bounded by a
50 km radius from Hussain Sagar as city center with 16˚-17˚ N 78˚-79˚ E extension can
broadly be categorized as city center(0-5 km) urban belt(5-10 km), Rural belt (10-25 km)
and Ruralarea(25-50km). (map 1)

Zone-wise LCC in Hyderabad Urban Agglomeration

1971 2001

Built-up area
0-5 km 5-10 km Water body 0-5 km 5-10 km
Agriculture
Vegetation
Other land

10-25 km 25-50 km 10-25 km 25-50 km

.
Map 1

The pockets of concentrated activity from city center dwindles

down to more open scope towards the margins of the region. The region in general is an
undulating plateau terrain with a general elevation around 560 mts. The region can be
termed as hot moist semi-arid eco-sub region(Velayatam et al 1999).Mean annual
temperature varies from 25˚ to 29˚ C and mean annual rainfall is around 760 mm, which
is mainly due to south-west monsoon.

The zone city center with 5 km radius is completely built up with

Hussain Sagar lake at the center. It is located at 540 mts above sea level. This region with
a densely built Central Business District(CBD) exhibits a dense network of roads. Of late,
a number of recreation parks form a part of land use of this region. Thus flood plain lies
in the center, accompanied by high raising elevation to the north and south

Urban belt zone extending from 5-10 km radius from the center
depicts city sprawl, the tentacles’ of urban growth being witnessed along highway

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corridors. Kukatpally and Tirmulgiry are northern extents of urban belt, stretching across
the pediment zone. This region is drained by Musi river and its confluents that have
mostly turned into urban drains. Mean elevation is slightly higher than at center with
residual hills, Inselbergs and Tors standing out as outliers amidst the expanding city.
Natural vegetation is stunted and sparse with Musi river bed is characterized by dense
weed cover. Open spaces provide cooler conditions. Radial road network inclusive of
national highways to Bangalore and Mumbai are prominent.

Farther, the radius of 25 km marks a zone of actual transformation

from urban to rural sector. This zone is an amalgamation of open ground, isolated
hillocks with open scrubs and vast pediplan studded with two major fresh water body
supplying water to city. This zone includes the settlements of Rajendranagar and
Himayathsagar to the South, Hayathnagar to the East, Banjara Hills to the west and
Shamirpet to the North. Mean elevation is higher in the north-west with an approximate
elevation of 620 m. Degraded scrubs characterize vegetation in the region with pockets
of agriculture near the reservoirs that act as feeders to city center.

Further away, the region grades down into an open space studded
with isolated stony waste along linear road network. Numerous dry tanks dot the region
with a majority of them located in NW. Open scrub and bare topography interspersed by
agriculture fields are predominant.

Hyderabad region as per 2001 census has 3.1 million population in

which 1.6 are male and the remaining females. Within this, Charminar’s share of
population is one million, followed by Golkonda and Musheerabad with 0.7 million each
and lastly Secunderabad with a close 0.66 million. Urban belt as the second study zone
has a spread of approximately 300 km2. It includes not only Hyderabad with 3.1 million,
but also a part of Ranga Reddy district. The male, female ratio is more or less the same
for the entire region. Rural belt with a stretch over Saroornagar, Hayathnagar,Ghatkesar,
Shamshabad, Medchal, etc shows a decline in total numbers. Qutubullapur with 0.28 m,
Moinabad with 0.5 m cover the area. Rural areas in the region have the largest number.
The region covers Chevella, Shankarpally, Patancheru, Jinnaram, Bibinagar,
Pochampally, Sangareddy and Kandukur to name a few. Sangareddy and Patancheru
have 0.1million population. Bhuvanagiri has 0.09 million , Hayathnagar with 0.08 million
are the close 2nd and 3rd. Keesara wih 0.19 million is in the region with 0,1 million males
and 0.9 ,million females. The population in general decreases from densely settled centre
to scattered rural areas. (MAP 2)

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Map 2: Population distribution - male & female ratio in parts of 1- Rangareddy,
2-Hyderabad, 3- Nalgonda, 4- Medak, 5- Mahabubnagar & 6 – HUA area.
In view of increasing urban growth and urban expansive process an attempt is
made in this paper to highlight the spatio temporal process of land transformation due to
urban sprawl which in turn is leading to social vulnerability in the study region.

Land use| Land cover 1971- 2000:

1971-2000: (Map 1) For the city region ,the growth in built up area was 167.89% with
variations in difference zones analysis of built up area over 30 year period indicated
maximum increase by 428.8% in 10-25 km zone or rural belt .in rural area ,i.e 25-50 km
belt built up area increased by 305.5% where as in 5-10 km zone or urban belt this
increase was 37.8% and was marginal in city center with 1.02%.A change detection for
the entire area was performed which indicated that ,while there was no change in 3903.4
km2 of study area ,extent of built up area, other land and vegetational cover increased by
355.6km2.351.6 km2 and about 1210.8km2. However, area under water body and
agriculture are decreased by 248.5 km2 and 1474.5 km2 respectively .Much change was
noticed in case of agricultural land that shifted to the category of “other lands”(Map 3). A
primary reason for this shift is owing to rapid urbanization in the region. Another reason
for this shift is the recurrent drought forcing the farmers to optimum for long fallow.
Apart from this ,many socio –economic factors have fuelled the change in land use .Such
as large scale migration of farming families to urban centers in search of livelihood
,recurrent crop failure high value of land ,credit facility decreasing water resources,

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education ,market economy etc. In peri urban area or rural belt ,a number of fruit
orchards and tree plantations have been established which led to increase in area under
vegitational cover .Area under water body decreased as tank bottom and river beds were
encroached for cultivation using conserved moisture .A few tank beds have been
encroached upon to set up colonies- a most undesirable trend ,compounding the problem
of water shortage in the region.

Map 3
Agricultural area that changed to built up (1971 - 2006 )

Conclusion: Land transformation is an unsustainable land use practice leading to

social vulnerability. Land transformation identified through image analysis for the
present study area up holds the dictum that land transformation leads to land degradation
of one type or the other impacting the rural marginal farmers due to deterioration in
agriculture and loss of sources of livelihood in rural area.

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19-29.

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