32. Assessment of Topographic Complexity Zone of a Drainage Basin Using Geographic Information System

River basin characterization is an important parameter to understand the hydrogeological behavior of a particular area. The river basin quantification in terms of various morphometric analyses is the main theme of this work, to give an overview of the interrelationship between the physiography and morphological aspects of that region. Kuya River is an important tributary of the Mayurakshi River that has been selected for this study, which passes through a varying topography of the Chhotonagpur plateau to the lower alluvial tract of the Bengal. Using advanced remote sensing and GIS techniques an assessment has been made on different aspects of morphometric parameters such as linear, areal, and relief, which indicates that all the parameters are very much influenced by each other and affect the physiography of that region. To analyze the physiographic heterogeneity, Relative relief, Slope, Drainage Density, Ruggedness Index, Dissection Index, and Length of Overland Flow have been selected to explore the nature of the topographic complexity of the study area which shows five distinct zonations of the physiographic complexity. Such a kind of physiographic asymmetry has also imposed an effect on land use and land cover practices of the region. This kind of output represents asymmetric response among the morphometric variables resultant difficulties in land-use practices of that particular region, affecting the natural riverine ecosystem of the watershed mainly within the higher complexity zones. Therefore, to achieve maximum resource utilization and stabilize the river basin area as a whole sustainable land management plan is necessary.