Remote sensing for analysis of ground water availability in an area with long unplanned mining history

Jharia coalfield, the chief storehouse of prime coking coal in India, has lost the original controls of ground water conditions. Here, ground water level is dependent mainly upon the presently existing topography, geomorphic features such as abandoned channels, confluence of channels, losing streams etc. and human-induced recharge conditions. These features are reflected by the soil moisture content and presence of vegetative cover. The ground water map of Jharia coalfield has been prepared from the aerial photographs using the grey tone and vegetation cover as the criteria. The observations are supported with field checks. The ground water map prepared will be very much useful to the society because some parts of the coalfield suffer from severe drought during summer.