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1 At the threshold of 21st century it is an interesting question to ask ourselves , if 20th century belonged to technological advancement , then what will the major event of 21st century? Last century witnessed a trickle of urbanisation and emergence of metropolises. Never in the history of cities have been stakes related to the controlling the world ' s urban development been as crucial for the future of humanity. This is true not only in terms of quantity , as city dwellers are expected to account for roughly half the worlds population by the year 2000 , but also in terms of quality ,since the bulk of economic , social , scientific , technological and cultural development will take place in cities and in particular in largest conurbation known as Metropolises . The increasing urbanisation of the world's population is inescapable and irreversible . This goes to show that it is necessary and fundamental for policy makers to make technologies like GIS and Remote Sensing imperative for the urban planning .

2 Biggest challenge of 21st century will be to understand phenomenon of urban agglomeration . Most of the 20th centuries concept and visions about cities are being questioned. Traditional approaches and techniques designed for town and cities may turn out to be inadequate tools to deal with metropolises. New approaches needs invented , other actions/methods needs to be incorporated in the existing work methods . From the vast experience of the past , a solution for the future planning methods has to be derived.

3 The objective of this paper is to confine its search for new techniques to deal with large urban agglomeration and application of GIS and Remote sensing technique at the various stages of planning , implementation and monitoring of the urban projects. One of the established practice to search for new techniques is to identify the problems faced by the planners in the past. From the experience of last two decades in planning and development of large urban projects like Rohini , Dwarka and Narela Sub- City , it is learnt by the planners that transformation of paper plan on the ground takes much more than simply preparation of the plan . For example, the area of the each planned project is ranging between 2000 hact to 5000 hact. Identification of land for land acquisition , actual physical possession of land and development of roads etc. takes considerable time. During this incubation time ground realities have changed and planning proposals do suffer . Therefore , rate of implementation of the plans is below the desired level . One of the major lacuna identified by the planners is non-availability of base-maps ,absence of any method for updating the base maps and the absence of any monitoring mechanism . Broadly the problems can be described in the following manner :-

1. In most of the metropolitan areas Survey of India base maps are available . However , these maps are 5 to 10 years old which create problem for making accurate planning proposals and predictions
2. Even after the base maps are prepared and proposals are placed on it , the difficulty arises due to absence of any reliable method for updating available base maps .
3. The fringe area where most of urban development is taking place i.e. Urban Fringe area is very dynamic is terms of land development , so a device / method is required to detect changes on continuous basis , so that the planning proposals can be re-adjusted and re-shaped as per the ground realities .
4. Physical planning largely depends upon inputs from the physical survey , various social and physical requirements and site conditions. The planners based on his training and intuition , works out the planning proposals. However it has been observed that GIS and Remote Sensing can provide intelligence for formulation of the proposals.
5. The most important aspect which is generally overlooked is to co-relate or transfer planning proposals on revenue maps. The planners face difficulty in understanding the plans prepared, by revenue staff as these plans are on different scale and projection. Similarly revenue staff is unable to superimpose planning proposals on revenue maps manually . However it has been observed that superimposition of any two 'digital maps' is easy as digital maps are scale free . Thus an interface between planning basemap and revenue maps can be established.

4 Once problems faced by the planners while preparing basemaps etc. are identified , then search for solutions leads to mapping related technologies which are at our disposal . GIS and Remote Sensing are mapping related technologies and it is capable to overcome problems discussed in the foregoing paragraphs . Application of these technologies has given way to innovative methods in planning process -

1. Digitisation of planning basemaps and various layoutplan has facilitated updating of basemaps wherever changes have taken place in terms of land development etc . Digital maps provides flexibility as digital maps are scale free . Superimposition of any two digital maps which are on two different scales is feasible . This capability of digital maps facilitates insertion of fresh survey or modified maps into existing basemaps . Similarly superimposition of revenue maps on basemaps with reasonable accuracy is great advantage compared to manually done jobs .
2. Computerization within the planning department helps to disseminate information from one section to another section also . This may result in better horizontal co ordination between various sections and also remove redundant data from the database .
3. Experience shows that Remote Sensing techniques are extremely useful for change detection analysis and selection of sites/areas for specific purposes like land acquisition etc. The use of satellite imageries in Rohini Project has demonstrated systematic analysis of land available for acquisition and monitoring of areas which are prone to encroachment etc .
4. Since all this information/maps is available in digital format , co-relating various layers of information i.e. satellite imagery, planning maps and revenue maps on common feature is feasible, with the help of GIS & Image processing software available in the market . Such superimposed maps provides valuable information / inputs for planning , implementation and land management

5 Applications of GIS and Remote Sensing technology have been demonstrated in large urban projects like Rohini and Dwarka sub city of Delhi Development Authority . The Rohini Project in the north and Dwarka Project in the south west Delhi is having about one million population each Planning , implementation and land management of such large projects demands continuous . monitoring of plan proposals and vast tracts of acquired land . Experience shows that these techniques are useful to detect -

1. Large scale encroachments .
2. Large scale conversion of agriculture land into non agriculture land .
3. Vacant pockets of agriculture land for acquisition .
4. Identification of revenue boundaries of villages on satellite imageries .
5. Large scale change detection in status of terrain is possible with help of satellite imageries .

6 Conclusion
GIS and Remote Sensing technology have capability to provide necessary physical input and intelligence for preparation of basemaps , formulation of planning proposals and act as monitoring tool during implementation phase . Large scale urban development projects like Rohini and Dwarka takes decades to complete development . Satellite imageries helps to maintain truthful record of terrain during that period . Thus GIS and Remote Sensing are emerging as a powerful land related technologies for monitoring and management of land . Thus GIS and Remote Sensing has capability to provide FOURTH dimension to the city i.e.- TIME