© 2023 The Authors Water Supply Vol 23 No 11, 4800 doi: 10.2166/ws.2023.

300

Appraisal of irrigation land suitability of semi-arid climatic zone of Rajasthan, India

Leena Rani Mishraa,*, P. K. Singha, Mahesh Kotharia, S. R. Bhakara, K. K. Yadavb and S. S. Meenac
a
Department of Soil and Water Engineering, CTAE, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur, Rajasthan 313001, India
b
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, RCA, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur, Rajasthan 313001, India
c
Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, CTAE, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur, Rajasthan 313001, India
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Planning how to use the land resources that are available for irrigation is crucial for reducing the problem of food security. Analytical hier-
archy process methodologies were used to undertake an analysis of the appropriateness of land using the GIS approach. Each parameter’s
weight was assessed using a 6
6 pairwise comparison matrix because six parameters, including slope, distance to the nearest road, land
use land cover, population density, soil texture and rainfall deficit, are taken into account. After all, the weighted overlay approach of the GIS
application was used to create the ultimate land suitability map for irrigation. Using the natural break classification approach, the final map
was divided into land suitability classes. Of the entire region, 12.9% fell into the highly suitable (S1) class, 85.14% fell into the moderately
suitable (S2) class, and 2.57% fell into the least suitable (S3) class. The finding of the study will play a significant role in performing irrigation
taking into account the input parameters and ultimately defining suitable land classes and lands that may be used in accordance with current
irrigation technology.

Key words: AHP, GIS, irrigation, land suitability, weighted overlay

HIGHLIGHTS

• The study focuses on the importance of planning land use for irrigation to address food security challenges.
• AHP and GIS methodologies were employed for land appropriateness analysis.
• The final map was categorized into three classes: highly suitable (S1), moderately suitable (S2), and least suitable (S3), i.e., 12.9, 85.14, and
2.57%, respectively, of the entire study area.

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 Water Supply Vol 23 No 11, 4801

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background
Unplanned land use, resulting in land deterioration, a lack of water, and climate variability are major obstacles to the devel-
opment of agriculture in sub-humid regions impacted by drought (Akpoti et al. 2019; Ujoh et al. 2019). The health and
productivity of the world’s land resources diminish as a result of improper land and soil use. Thus, proper land use is the
world’s top priority right now (Vasu et al. 2018; Massawe et al. 2019). Now, the viability of agricultural systems may be
seriously threatened by land degradation brought on by land degradation (Keesstra et al. 2016). A serious obstacle to the
development of agriculture and food security is posed by the rise in popularity of such farmland degradation, which has
resulted in roughly 44% of land for agriculture in India degrading in the most recent decade (Naseer & Pandey 2018). By
identifying the inherent potentials and limitations of the land, land appropriateness evaluation is essential to reducing its irre-
sponsible use. Planning for land use benefits from land appraisal since it increases agricultural production efficiency and
investment sustainability. Integrated data from several scientific fields for multiple criteria, the procedures for determining
a site’s suitability, were created through the choice of a common framework (Vasu et al. 2018).

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 Water Supply Vol 23 No 11, 4802

Irrigation is defined by the FAO (1997) as the deliberate water application to cropland, with the goal of giving water needed
to grow a range of crops. Irrigation is important in the stabilization of agricultural output in some nations through either sup-
plementing or substituting the requirement for the aim of producing food through natural precipitation. The land that might
be irrigated is based on the available physical resources, such as soil and water as well as the amount of water needed for
irrigation, which is influenced by cropping patterns and weather conditions. For the less experienced and less wealthy farm-
ers, irrigation on the open surface has many advantages. Taking advantage of irrigation has a significant effect on rural
inhabitants’ quality of life, food security, and decreased poverty. Surface irrigation is used by more than 90% of the global
population, even though local irrigators are least knowledgeable on strategies to manage and operate the system (Saymen
2005).
It is crucial to check the appropriateness of the land for irrigation in order to enhance irrigation-based agriculture and
reduce poverty. As was already said, the major objective of this research is to use the analytic hierarchy process (AHP)
approach based on geographic information systems (GIS) to assess the appropriateness for irrigation purposes of the area
within the research area (Khari River Basin). Applications utilizing remote sensing and GIS technology are increasingly
used in utilities, planning, and land surface data. GIS is a useful tool for locating acceptable irrigable land and mapping suit-
able areas for irrigation. Tools like remote sensing and GIS were frequently utilized for managing water resources (Sander
et al. 1996). The appropriateness of surface irrigation land data shows that 4.15% of the area is extremely suitable, 31.16%
of the area is fairly suitable, and 64.69% of the soil is just slightly suitable. Additionally, 12% of the research area’s slope
is slightly favorable, only 13.12% of the slope is exceptionally good for irrigation on the surface, while the remainder
65.58% is only moderately acceptable (Mandal et al. 2018). The estimated irrigation potential for Rajasthan is 5.1 m-ha, of
which 3.86 m-ha have already been irrigated. Rajasthan makes up 7.7% of the net irrigated land in the nation. In Rajasthan,
canal irrigation accounts for around 0.24–0.27 m-ha of the state’s total irrigated land, or about 30% of the state’s total area
(https://www.rajras.in/water-resources-rajasthan/). This study aims to use GIS and remote sensing techniques to assess
the suitability of land in the Khari River basin for irrigation.

2. METHODOLOGY
2.1. Study area description
The Khari River basin, which is located in the south-eastern and central portions of the state of Rajasthan, is the subject of the
investigation. Between 25°300 0″ and 26°300 0″ north latitudes and 73°00 0″ and 75°00 0″ east longitudes, it spans 6,361 km2 and
three districts, including Ajmer, Bhilwara, and Rajsamand. A Banas tributary, the Khari River serves as a significant source of
freshwater for the Bilaspur Dam, which is regarded as central Rajasthan’s lifeline. The study area is shown in Figure 1.
The semi-arid climate has annual average rainfall that ranges from 640 to 436 mm (Monsoon Report, 2022), summer highs
of up to 44 °C, and winter minimum temperatures of up to 3 °C. Only during the monsoon season does the basin receive rain.
In the months of April and May, the relative humidity is at its lowest, approximately 25%, and rises to about 75% in August,
when the monsoon season is strongest. The type of soil is red and yellow and is primarily found in the basin’s north and
centre, or in the western regions of Rajsamand, Ajmer, and Bhilwara. The western region of the basin area has soil that is
reddish-gravelly. With a modest slope of under 20, the majority of the basin area is plain. The highest slope is found in Raj-
samand district, which is more than 80. The average elevation of the range is more than 500 m above sea level.

2.2. Data collection

Rainfall data for the time period (1990–2020) were obtained from the Water Resource Department. The digital elevation
model (DEM) and land use land cover, i.e., Landsat-8 (OLI) of this area was downloaded from the open-source Earth
Explorer, United States Geological Survey (USGS). The soil data were collected by the National Bureau of Soil Survey &
Land Use Planning, Udaipur. Population density and road network data were collected from the www.worldpop.org and
Open Street map, respectively.

2.3. Data processing and analysis methodologies

The identification of prospective irrigation sites has been carried out using a variety of data processing and analysis tech-
niques, taking into account parameters including land use land cover, slope, soil texture, proximity to road network,
population density, rainfall shortfall, and potential command area. The research output was created by processing every
analysis and design, finding a literature review for the study, and analysing the data collected. To find acceptable irrigable

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Figure 1 | Location map of Khari River Basin.

areas, each factor’s specific applicability was first evaluated, and then its weight was determined. Eventually, an appropriate
land map for irrigation was created in accordance with the research’s goals using GIS analysis. The research methodology is
given as a flow chart in Figure 2.

2.4. Preparation of multi-criteria maps

Data were gathered from a variety of sources in order to construct the multi-criteria by employing GIS tools. Based on their
importance and significance in terms of irrigation capacity, land use land cover, slope, soil texture, and proximity to road net-
work, population density, and rainfall deficit were selected as multiple criteria (Figures 3–8). The irrigation potential of the
areas was determined using these characteristics. The factors which are used to assess the land suitability for irrigation in the
basin are discussed below.
Landsat-8 OLI multispectral imagery data for the year 2020 were used to construct maps of land use/land cover (LULC).
The five sub-criteria for LULC were water bodies, vegetation, built-up area, barren land, and agriculture. These are the diverse
types of land. With a resolution of 30 m, the USGS Earth Explorer produced SRTM-DEM data (https://earthexplorer.usgs.
gov/). Slope can be quantified in terms of a percentage or a degree. The slope was calculated using the range from low to
high. The Water Resource Department in Rajasthan provided the annual rainfall data. There were five different categories:
very low, low, moderate, high, and very high levels. Evapotranspiration is determined by the FAO Penman–Monteith
equation. Using an Open Street map, the route was constructed. It was separated into five categories: buffer zones of less
than 500 m, between 500 and 1,000 m, between 1,000 and 1,500 m, between 1,500 and 2,000 m, and greater than 2,000 m.
The soil map was collected from National Bureau of Soil Survey & Land Use Planning. The soil type in the basin is clay
and clay loamy soil, loamy-sandy skeletal soil, fine loam, sandy soil, rocky soil. A population density map is prepared using
population data collected from the 2011 census and then divided with the area to find the population density.

2.5. Determination of weights using AHP

By determining the weighting of each criterion within the larger decision-making procedure, AHP is employed to create a
hierarchical framework for a set of criteria and sub-criteria. The weights must be carefully chosen because they represent

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 Water Supply Vol 23 No 11, 4804

Figure 2 | Flowchart outlining the procedures for determining an irrigation site’s suitability.

Figure 3 | Slope map.

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 Water Supply Vol 23 No 11, 4805

Figure 4 | Soil texture map.

Figure 5 | Land use land cover map.

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 Water Supply Vol 23 No 11, 4806

Figure 6 | Road network map.

Figure 7 | Population density map.

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 Water Supply Vol 23 No 11, 4807

Figure 8 | Rainfall deficit map.

the proportional relevance of each condition. Pairwise comparisons between the criteria can be made using AHP, which les-
sens the complexity (Saaty 1977). The relative weights of each criterion are compared pairwise and the weights are calculated
by comparing two criteria at a time. By using a matrix of pairwise comparisons and the eigenvector associated with the largest
eigenvalue of the matrix, the AHP calculates the weighting for each criterion, bringing the sum of the components to one
(Feizizadeh et al. 2014).
The AHP described above was used to produce a matrix of pairwise comparisons between the two criteria listed in Table 1
on a scale of 1–9, with 1 signifying equal significance and 9 denoting considerable importance (Wind & Saaty 1980;
Malczewski 1999). The comparison between the pairwise matrix’s reciprocity attribute is mathematically expressed as
n(n  1)/2 and is used to compare n numbers of elements (Akıncı et al. 2013). The eigenvectors and relative weights of
Saaty’s technique are computed once the pairwise matrix has been created. One of AHP’s advantages is that it acknowledges

Table 1 | Measurement scale of AHP

Intensity of importance Definition

1 Equal importance
2 Weak or slight
3 Moderate importance
4 Moderate plus
5 Strong importance
6 Strong plus
7 Very strong
8 Very-very strong
9 Extreme importance
Opposites (reciprocals) Used for inverse comparison
Source: Saaty (1988).

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 Water Supply Vol 23 No 11, 4808

and takes into account the decision-maker’s discrepancies (Saaty 1990; Garcia et al. 2014). The estimated consistency
relationship (CR) in Equation (1) is used to measure the AHP efficiency requirements.

CR ¼ CI=RI (1)
CR evaluates how consistent or inconsistent the decision-making process is. The consistency index (CI) and random index
(RI) have an impact on the CR.

lmax
CI ¼ (2)
n1

Equation (2) reflects the CI, wherein max has become the total matrix of normalized weight for the independent criteria,
where there are n criteria applied. RI is the average of Saaty’s (1977) resultant CI, which is shown in Table 2 and depends on
how many criteria were used. A pairwise comparison matrix is permitted if CR is under 0.1. Sub-criteria may receive
additional weight after the normalized values of weight are verified. The CR in the present instance was 0.094, which is accep-
table. The fundamental idea for giving each sub-criteria a judgmental weight is the AHP weight overlaying analysis. Each sub-
criteria’s total weight is divided into equal parts, and each sub-criteria’s normalized weight is multiplied for each sub-criterion.

2.6. Generating land suitability using geospatial model

Utilizing the ArcGIS 10.3 model, the land suitability model was created by merging all of the criteria and layering their
weights. Every single criterion in this model has a number of sub-criteria that can be used to do AHP weighted overlay analy-
sis. This study needs to have the same spatial resolution as previous multi-criteria analyses in order to be standardized.
Standardization unifies measurement units, which results in the loss of dimension in scores. For these requirements, soil
and population were created as vector layers, while the rest of the four criteria were made into raster layers. Rasterization
of the vector layers used a 30 m spatial resolution. Further raster layers were reclassified using the values of the sub-criteria
in their features as weighted by AHP. An overlay study was done to construct the suitability map. The land suitability classi-
fication framework is given in Table 3.

2.7. Weighting of factors for surface irrigation suitability mapping

The factors were weighted using the pairwise comparison matrix and one-to-one comparisons between each of the major fac-
tors were performed in order to score them using a scale devised by Saaty (1977). The weights of each factor were determined
by normalizing the corresponding eigenvector by the cumulative vector, which was computed as the product of the row
matrix and the eigenvector. The most crucial elements in assessing whether a region was suitable for irrigation were slope
and rainfall deficiency, followed by population density and soil. Road proximity and land usage were ranked as less crucial.

Table 2 | Saaty’s ratio index for different values of ‘n’

n 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

RI 0 0 0.58 0.9 1.12 1.24 1.32 1.41 1.46 1.49

Table 3 | Framework of land suitability classification of FAO (FAO 1976; Worqlul et al. 2015)

Class Land description

Class S1: Highly suitable Land without much significant limitations. The best available land is being used, and it neither lowers
productivity nor necessitates more inputs.
Class S2: Moderately suitable Land that is obviously acceptable but has restrictions that either lower output or necessitate higher input
costs to maintain productivity compared to S1 land.
Class S3: Marginally suitable Land with strong restrictions that reduce advantages or necessitate increasing input costs in order to
sustain production, making this expense only slenderly justifiable.
Class S4 (N1): Currently not Land that is unable to sustain the specific land use or land where the benefits are insufficient to justify the
suitable inputs.

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 Water Supply Vol 23 No 11, 4809

Table 4 illustrates the significance of these factors. The pairwise comparison matrix findings and factor weights are shown in
Table 5. Utilizing the consistency ratio, it was determined whether the pairwise matrix consistency was reliable. A consistency
ratio of 0.075, which is less than 0.1, indicated that the outcome was reliable and condition satisfied.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1. Irrigation suitability factors
3.1.1. Slope suitability
The slope is one of the most influential factors in land suitability analysis for surface irrigation, which could also affect the
preparation of the irrigable land, irrigation operation, irrigation efficiency, erosion, land preparation cost, crop type,

Table 4 | Significance of factors for land suitability assessment in irrigation

Criteria Parameter Rank Weight (%)

Slope (%) 0–5 5 44

5–10 4 28
10–20 3 17
20–40 2 10
. 40 1 7
Soil texture Clay loam 6 3
Fine loam 5 4
Loamy-sandy skeletal 4 8
Rock 3 15
Clay 2 27
Sandy 1 44
Land use land cover Waterbodies 5 3
Agriculture land 1 6
Forest land 2 13
Waste land 1 26
Built up 5 51
Road (m) 0–500 5 55
500–1,000 4 34
1,000–1,500 3 18
1,500–2,000 2 13
. 2,000 1 5
Population density (1/km2) 200–300 4 7
300–400 3 14
400–500 2 27
. 500 1 52
Rainfall deficit (mm) (1,300) – (1,200) 4 5
(1,250) – (1,200) 3 8
(1,200) – (1,100) 2 13
. (1,100) 1 25

Table 5 | Pairwise comparison matrix and weights of factors

Factors Soil Land use/cover Population Road Slope Rainfall deficit Weight (%)

Soil 1 3 1/3 2 1/3 1/2 12

Land use/cover 1/3 1 1/4 2 1/4 1/4 6
Population 3 4 1 3 1/2 2 25
Road 1/2 1/2 1/3 1 1/3 1/5 6
Slope 3 4 2 3 1 1/2 25
Rainfall deficit 2 4 1/2 5 2 1 26

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 Water Supply Vol 23 No 11, 4810

production costs, and method of irrigation (USDIBR 2003; Hussien et al. 2019). The results show that a substantial portion,
approximately 70.35%, of the study area possesses slopes ranging from 0 to 5%. This indicates that a vast majority of the land
is characterized by gentle slopes, which are highly conducive to agriculture and suitable for the establishment of irrigation
infrastructure (Balew et al. 2021; Esa 2022). Conversely, only a mere 0.31% of the total area consists of slopes exceeding
40%. Due to the undulating land surface, water runoff, and difficulty in cultivating, these steep slopes, which make up a
very small portion of the land, are extremely unsuited for conventional irrigation practices (Ubaydullayevich et al. 2020). Sur-
face irrigation was preferred in low slope-to-flat locations, while steep slopes were found unsuitable for surface irrigation
(Hagos et al. 2022).

3.1.2. Soil texture suitability

The appropriateness of a region for irrigation in particular and agriculture in general is significantly influenced by the soil.
The water movement in the soil and the water holding capacity of the soil are reliant on the type of soil texture because
they govern soil opening space (Balew et al. 2021). To combine the strata soil textures, a weighted average was employed
indicating the area’s highest depth of 75–100 cm, which is appropriate for irrigation. Six classifications of soil texture were
made: clay, clay loamy, fine loamy, loamy-sandy skeleton, rock, and sandy as shown in Figure 4. According to the soil texture
map, the clay loam and sandy loam that are found across the basin have high infiltration rates and are largely composed of
nutrients and humus (15.67 and 0.34%, respectively). This indicates a high potential for irrigation. For soils with a clay or
loam texture, surface irrigation was found to be extremely and somewhat suited (Hagos et al. 2022). However, the clay
soil found in 10% of the research region is not suited for irrigation since it takes a long time for water to escape and it hardens
quickly, causing waterlogging. Many plants cannot withstand prolonged periods of waterlogging. It is possible to control soil
texture in order to control soil drainage, which may or may not be beneficial for surface irrigation (Wubalem 2023).

3.1.3. Land use land cover suitability

One of the crucial factors in deciding whether a piece of land is suitable for surface irrigation is land usage. The Landsat 8
satellite picture that was imported from the USGS website was used to create the land use map. The study region was divided
into five categories of land use/cover, including water bodies, development, vegetation, barren ground, and agricultural land
(Figure 5). Due to their significant potential for irrigation, water bodies like rivers, dams, ponds, and other depressions are
given the highest weightage, even though they only make up 8.15% of the study area. The basin’s predominately agricultural
terrain makes up 10% of the research area. Water bodies, settlement areas, and exposed rock surfaces with scattered shrubs or
barren lands are not suitable for surface irrigation. Due to local culture, forestlands are not suitable for irrigation because they
cannot be cultivated (Wubalem 2023). Marginally suitable lands, however, are barren lands that require high initial invest-
ments for land preparation. In contrast, forests/waterbodies/settlements (i.e., built-up areas) were reclassified as unsuitable
land uses (Worqlul et al. 2017; Yohannes & Soromessa 2018; Hagos et al. 2022).

3.1.4. Road network suitability

Market accessibility is represented by a major element called road proximity (Schmitter et al. 2018). From an available street
map, vector data with the study’s road network were retrieved (Figure 6). Using a 1-km grid and Euclidean distance, a dis-
tance map was generated. The Euclidean Road network has been divided into five categories: 0–500 m, 500–1,000 m,
1,000–1,500 m, 1,500–2,000 m, and .2,000 m, covering 36.66, 10.95, 13.80, 17.2, and 21.28% of the catchment, respectively.
A robust road network lowers transportation costs, speeds up the efficient delivery of farm supplies, and improves the devel-
opment and distribution of agricultural products. Furthermore, it facilitates the implementation of several irrigation
technologies, as well as being relatively easy to control in the event of crop diseases and pests or any other issues that
may arise (Getahun et al. 2023). To implement irrigation, farmers need to be able to buy the necessary inputs, such as
seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, and sell their produce in the market.

3.1.5. Population density suitability

Typically, larger populations and higher population densities are associated with larger irrigated areas (Boserup 1965, 1981),
and processes of extension and reduction of irrigated areas often coincide with demographic ups and downs (Puy et al. 2020).
The size of the population and the distance to the closest large paved road were used to reflect market access. The 2011
census provided the population density. According to the population density map, the highlands, which make up 72.52%

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 Water Supply Vol 23 No 11, 4811

of the landmass in the study region, are home to more than 3% of the inhabitants (Figure 7). For accessing agricultural inputs
and selling products, densely populated areas are particularly suitable for irrigation (Kassie et al. 2022).

3.1.6. Rainfall deficit suitability

The calculation for the acceptability of the monthly rainfall deficit for irrigation was done by determining the difference
between the precipitation and the evapotranspiration. In contrast to a negative result, a positive shortfall shows that irrigation
is required (Worqlul et al. 2015; Tolera et al. 2023). The annual average rainfall deficit was computed using daily rainfall, and
it was then classified into five suitability categories, as indicated in Figure 8. The results indicated that the moderate zone had
a rainfall deficiency of 1,200 mm which covers 36.69% of the area. The good zone had a rainfall deficiency of 1,100 mm
and covered 44.98% of the area. The area receiving 1,150 mm of rainfall deficiency covered 7.85% of the total area. The
poor zone had a rainfall deficiency of 1,300 mm, as a result, irrigation was needed for crop production in the area.

3.2. Suitable land for irrigation

The land suitability determinations for surface irrigation require an interdisciplinary approach which includes soils, LULC,
distance from water sources, and topography (Bojorquez et al. 2001). Coverage of the weighted area and percentage of the
river basin for each component used to determine the appropriateness of irrigation purposes in the research region of land are
shown in Table 6 and Figure 9. On the basis of all basin land suitability criteria, it can be demonstrated that 12.29% (782 km2)
of the basin’s total area was assessed to be exceptionally highly appropriate (S1) for an irrigation system. More than two-thirds
of the basin, i.e., 85.14%, or 5,415 km2, was determined to be moderately appropriate (S2) for irrigation. Additionally, 2.57%
of the land’s total surface area was categorized as having (S3) class (164 km2) of least suitable. This is often due to all the
degraded forest areas that must be covered for forest plantation, especially in Mandalgarh and Jahazpur blocks
(119.42 km2) of Bhilwara district, which is in line with the work of Iqbal (2022). It is probable that irrigation of all highly
suitable land will be challenging since adequate discharge cannot be collected at some parts of the basin. From the

Table 6 | Land suitability classes

Land suitability class Area (%) Area (km2)

Highly suitable (S1) 12.29 782

Moderately suitable (S2) 85.14 5,415
Least suitable (S3) 2.57 164
Total 100 6,361

Figure 9 | Land suitability for irrigation; 85% of the area is moderately appropriate for irrigation, while only 2% is least suitable terrain (area in
km2 and % in pie graph).

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 Water Supply Vol 23 No 11, 4812

Figure 10 | Standardized criteria maps for potential irrigation development.

perspective of land appropriateness, this conclusion can be drawn. Due to S1’s location in lower parts, land suitability classes
in the moderately appropriate (S2) range may experience increased discharge. A block-wise land suitability for the irrigation
map is shown in Figure 10.
A study of the Kangsabati River catchments in the Purulia district found that 4.15% of the soil is very suitable for surface
irrigation, 31.16% is moderately suitable, and 64.69% is marginally suitable. The slope of the catchments is also suitable for
surface irrigation, with 51.82% being ideally suited. In terms of land use and cover, 31.38% is off-limits to irrigation develop-
ment, while 68.62% is extremely suited (Mandal et al. 2018). Another study found that 11.7% of the watershed area in
Ethiopia is highly suitable for surface irrigation, while 36.3% is not suitable. The remaining 41.93% of the area is marginally
or moderately suitable for surface irrigation (Hussien et al. 2019). The Birbir River Watershed in western Ethiopia was also
studied to determine its suitability for surface irrigation. The study used the AHP to weigh different factors, such as slope, soil
type, and rainfall. The study found that 17% of the watershed is highly suitable for surface irrigation, 63% is moderately suit-
able, and 20% is marginally suitable. The study area did not have any land unsuitable for irrigation (Negasa & Wakjira 2021).

4. CONCLUSIONS
A suitability analysis revealed that 85% of the basin’s zone is moderately to somewhat suited to irrigation. The effectiveness of
the work that could be done as well as the cost of leveling the ground, constructing canals, and setting up pumping systems
were factors considered while making this decision. Since irrigation negatively impacts one-quarter of the river basin’s
environment, more than half of the basin can be irrigated, and even then, there are some restrictions that could increase
the cost of limiting the environment’s effects on land use and cover.
The established result can be taken into account when making decisions about agricultural production in the investigation’s
region since it gives guidance for selecting the most appropriate locations. If the methods and techniques were properly exam-
ined, the outcomes might be more accurate. Both the physical characteristics of irrigation and the social and economic
context should be considered in the analysis. The pairwise comparison technique used in the AHP is built using expert judg-
ments, which are frequently subjective in nature. With the use of extreme satellite imagery with a high resolution, smaller sites
could be assessed. Furthermore, before final implementation, additional local and regional parameters should be physically
documented in the chosen locations.

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 Water Supply Vol 23 No 11, 4813

The major aim of this study was to locate the best land suitable for irrigation in a largely vegetated area of the basin. The
assessment, for which six different factors were selected, was conducted using GIS. The final irrigation suitability map of the
research region was divided into three categories: highly suitable (12.29%), moderately suitable (85.14%), and least suitable
(2.57%). The findings revealed that 164 km2 of the research region fall under the least suitable category, requiring immediate
attention to sustainably manage irrigation.
The majority of high suitability area is spread over Ajmer, Deogarh, Mandal, Asind, and Bhim which has a high potential
for irrigation. Subsequently Bhilwara and some parts of Ajmer and Beawar fall under least suitable and needs to be devel-
oped. The rest of the area is moderately suitable for irrigation. More than half of the basin’s area falls under moderately
suitable area.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are very much thankful to Department of Soil and Water Engineering, MPUAT, Udaipur (Rajasthan), for provid-
ing all the necessary facilities for the study.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

All relevant data are included in the paper or its Supplementary Information.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare there is no conflict.

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First received 29 August 2023; accepted in revised form 16 October 2023. Available online 10 November 2023

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