Temporal Changes in the Surrounding Areas of Wakad in the Proximity of Hinjewadi It Park

Pune has experienced rapid growth in the areas especially in the fringe of the city. This is mainly on account of the development of the Information Technology (IT) Parks. The tertiary sector has experienced a rapid growth especially during the last decade. The study area includes the suburban areas of Pimple Gurav, Pimple Nilakh, and Pimple Saudagar which are close to Wakad. These erstwhile villages were located adjacent to the Hinjewadi IT Park across the highway. Till the year 2001 these places were thinly populated. It is often argued that the process of economic liberalization and associated structural reform would accelerate rural–urban (RU) migration and boost the pace of urbanization. Linking of India with global economy would lead to massive inflow of foreign capital as also rise in indigenous investment resulting in an increase in employment opportunities within or around the existing urban centres [Kundu Amitabh (2001)].  By the year 2011 here has been a significant change in the land use particularly in the built up area. This paper attempts to study the changes in land use / land cover which has taken place in these suburban areas. The study of the land use changes in the urban areas can be done effectively with the help of remote sensing and GIS techniques. Using the digital image processing techniques, the satellite images are classified and land use / land cover is derived. The results show that the area under built-up land has increased by around 52.78% in the last 30 years. On the contrary, the land under agriculture, barren, pasture has decreased significantly.