DISTRICT SURVEY

REPORT OF MADURAI

PREFACE

In Compliance to the Notification Issued by the Ministry of Environment,

Forest and Climate change Dated 15.01.2016, the preparation of District

survey report of minor minerals is in accordance appendix 10 of the

notification. It is also mentioned here that the procedure of preparation of

District Survey Report is as per notification guidelines. Every effort have

been made to cover mining locations, areas & overview of Mining activity in

the district with all its relevant features pertaining to geology & mineral

wealth in replenishable and non-replenishable areas. This report will be a

model and guiding document which is a compendium of available mineral

resources, geographical set up, environmental and ecological set up of the

District and is based on data of various departments, published reports and

websites. The data may vary due to flood, heavy rains and other natural

cliamities. Therefore, it is recommended that Sub Divisional Level

Committee may take into consideration all its relevant aspects / data while

scrutinizing and recommending the application for EC to the concerned

Authority.

SURVEY REPORT OF

MADURAI DISTRICT

As per Gazette notification of 15th January 2016 of Ministry of

Environment, Forest and Climate Change a Survey shall be carried out by

the District Environment Impact Assessment Authority (DEIAA) with

assistance of irrigation department, Drainage department, Forest

department, Mining department and Revenue department in the district for

preparation of District Survey Report as per the sustainable Miner mineral

mining guidelines to ensure identification of areas of aggradations or

deposition where mining can be allowed; and identification of areas of

erosion and proximity to infrastructural structures and installations where

mining should be prohibited and calculation of annual rate of replenishment

and allowing time for replenishment after mining in that area.

Every effort have been made to cover mining locations, areas & overview of

Mining activity in the district with all its relevant features pertaining to

geology & mineral wealth in replenish-able and non-replenish-able of

particular areas. The mineral potential is calculated based on field

investigation & geology of the catchment area. Also as per the site conditions

and locations, depth of minable mineral is defined. The area for removal of

the mineral in a particular area is decided depending on geo-morphology &

other factors, it can be 10% to 40% of the area. Other constituents like clay

soil and silt are excluded as waste while calculating the mineral potential of

particular mining area. This District Survey Report shall form the basis for

application for environment clearance, preparation of reports and appraisal

of projects. The report shall be updated once every five years.

1.0 INDRODUCTION:

Madurai is the oldest inhabited city in the Indian peninsula. It is referred to

with names like Koodal Maanagar, Thoongaa Nagar (Sleepless City), Malligai

Maanagar (City of Jasmine) and Athens of the East. It is the cultural capital

of Tamil Nadu. It is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and is a

municipal corporation situated on the banks of the River Vaigai in Madurai

district. The city is referred as the Temple city. Madurai city has an area of

52 km², within an urban area now extending over as much as 130 km² and

it is located at on interactive map 9°56′N 78°07′E / 9.93°N 78.12°E / 9.93;

78.12. It has an average elevation of 101 meters above mean sea level. The

land use and land cover map clearly shows that area of crop land is higher

than others. Land with or without scrub has 605 sq km area it occupies

second place in this district, Plantation has 309 Sq Km and Fallow land has

227 Sq Km, Dense forest occupies 160 Sq Km while rest of other have low

than 100 Sq Km area.

Fig.No.1: MADURAI DISTRICT AND TALUK MAP

2.0 PHYSICAL FEATURES & GEOGRAPHICAL AREA:

a) BRIEF DETAIL OF MADURAI DISTRICT

NAME OF

DISTRICT

AREA (PER

SQ. KM) POPULATION

DENSITY

(PER SQ. KM)

Madurai 3742

Total - 2578201

Male - 1303363 Female - 1274838

928

S.NO ITEMS STATISTICS

i)

GENERAL INFERMATION

a) Geographical area(S.q.km) 3742

b) Administrative divisions as

on 31.03.2007

c) Number of Taluk 7

d) Number of Block 13

e) Number of villages 670

ii) Population

(as on 2011Censes)

Total population

Total- 2578201

Male- 1303363

Female-1274838

iii) Average annual rainfall (mm) 857.63

Geomorphology

i) Major Physiographic units

hilly region and Plains of

Madurai & Melur regions

ii) Major drainages are Vaigai,

Gundar, Vaippur and

Pambar

iv)

Landuse (Sq.km)

a) Forest area

b) Net area sown

c) Cultivable waste

484.73 Sq.km

1530.82 Sq.km

71.27 Sq.km

v) Major soil types Red soil, Black soil and Sandy

siol

vi)

Area under principal crops

a) Paddy 70996Ha-94%

b) Groundnut 4537Ha-3%

c) Pulses 9589Ha-6%

d) Oil seeds 20073Ha-12%

e) Non-food crops 37047Ha-23%

f) Vegetables 13174Ha-8%

vii)

Irrigation by different

sources

Number of area irrigated (Ha)

Number

Area irrigated

(Ha)

i) dug wells 53705 36953

ii) Tube wells 536 634

iii) Tanks 2287 18306

iv) Canals 80 36986

v) Other sources ---

vi) Net irrigated area 92879Ha

vii)Gross irrigated area 99408 Ha

viii) Predominant Geological

formations

Granite gneiss, Charnockites

and alluvium as patches along

the river.

ix)

Hydrogeology

i) Major water bearing

formations

Alluvium weathered and

fractured crystallines.

ii)Pre-monsoon depth to water level

4.16-10.66m bgl.

iii) Post-monsoon depth to

water level 7-68-13.11m bgl.

x) Long term water level trend in

10 years(2006-16)in m/yr

Annual

Rise

(m/year) Fall (m/year)

Min:0.05

Max:0.74

Min:0.74

Max:0.93

xi)

Ground water exploration by

CGWB (As on 31-03-2016)

a) Number of exploratory wells 21

b) Number of observation wells 10

c) Number of Piezometers

under Hydrology project 13

d) Depth of range(m) 80-202

e) Discharge(lps)

c) REVENUE DIVISION

No. of

Divisions

Revenue

Divisions

Name

Name of Taluk

Office

Name of

Panchayat union

2

Madurai

Madurai South Thirupparankundram

Madurai North Madurai South

Madurai West

Melur Melur

Kottampatti

Vadipatti Vadipatti

Alanganallur

Usilampatti

Thirumangalam Thirumangalam

Kallukudi

Periyur T.Kallupatti

Sedapatti

Usilampatti Usilampatti

Chellampatti

ADMINISTRATION & LOCAL BODIES

Total No. of Panchayat unions - 13

Total No. of Village Panchayat - 431

Total No. of Small hamlets - 1692

Total No. of Municipalities - 3

Total No. of Revenue Village - 670

Total No. of Revenue Firkas - 51

Total No. of Taluk offices - 7

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

No. of Arts & Science Colleges - 7

No. of Engineering Colleges - 7

No. of Industrial Training Institutions - 5

No. of Teacher Training Institutes - 4

No. of Polytechnics - 10

No. of Primary Schools - 1034

No. of Middle Schools - 218

No. of High Schools - 94

No. of Higher Secondary Schools - 109

No. of Matriculation High Schools - 89

No. of Matriculation Higher Secondary Schools - 71

a) ROAD TRANSPORT

Madurai District is having 145km route of National High ways 45A, B and

114 km route of State Highways and Rural High Ways roads. The National

Highway Authority has undertaken the work of widening all the National

Highways in this District. It will provide better infrastructure for

transportation of goods and movement of containers to the nearest Tuticorin

Fort.

b) RAILWAY TRANSPORT

Madurai District is having Train routes to the distance of 82.95 km Broad

gauge, running between Madurai to Vadipatti, Silaiman and Kallikudi.

Further Meter gauge route of 40km is available between Madurai to

Usilampatti. Madurai is well connected with nearby Districts through

railway lines. Recently Railways have taken efforts to convert meter gauge to

Broad gauge line between Madurai to Vadipatti, which connects nearby

Dindigul District.

Train Routes and Stations:

Broad gauge lines = 82Kms

Meter gauge lines = 40kms

Railway Junction = 1

Railway Station = 9

c) AIRPORT

Madurai District is well connected in Air route with important destinations.

One Airport is available in this District, which is located at Perungudi

15kms away from Madurai. The Government of India has taken efforts to

modernize the Madurai Airport and have plans to make it to the

International Standards in order to promote tourism.

d) ELECTRICITY

Madurai District is getting Electricity from “Tamilnadu Electricity Board” as

well as from a Private Electricity Company, namely “Madurai Power

Corporation, Samayanallur, Madurai. The production capacity of Electricity

generation is 105 MW. Maximum requirement of Electricity 241MVA and

Average requirement of Electricity 226MVA

3.0 PHYSIOGRAPHY:

a) Topography:

The geological formations met within the basin in Madurai district comprise

of pre-cambrian charnockites. The basin area is chiefly occupied by

crystalline rocks in the western, upper gondwanas and Cuddalore sandstone

capped by laterites in the central part and alluvium in the eastern part.

Recent and tertiary sediments occur along the coast and a narrow belt of

alluvium along the river course. The terrain is mostly plain. The soils

available in the command area are predominantly red sandy clay loam soils,

brown clay loam soils, alluvial soils and black clay soils.

b) Drainage:

Vaigai, a major ephemeral river originates in Western Ghats of Theni district

flow in NW-SE direction, in the central part of the district. In addition,

tributaries of Vaipar and Gundar drain in south-western part of the district,

while the tributaries of Pambar drained in north eastern part. The general

flow direction of the drainage is NW-SE.

4.0 RIVER SYSTEM

Madurai district can be further subdivided into Vaigai, gundar, Vaipar and

Pambar sub-basins.

It originates in Varusanadu hills, the Periyar Plateau of the Western

Ghats range, and flows northeast through the Kambam Valley, which lies

between the Palni Hills to the north and the Varushanad Hills to the south.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varusanaduhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Ghatshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Ghatshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Ghatshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbum,_Tamil_Naduhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palni_Hills

The Vattaparai Falls are located on this river. As it rounds the eastern

corner of the Varushanad Hills, the river turns southeast, running through

the region of Pandya Nadu. Madurai, the largest city in the Pandya Nadu

region and its ancient capital, lies on the Vaigai. The river empties into

the Palk Strait in Ramanathapuram District. The Vaigai is 258 kilometres

(160 mi) long, with a drainage basin 7,031 square kilometres (2,715 sq mi)

large.

TRIBUTARIES

The main tributaries of the river Vaigai are, the river Suruliyaru, the river

Mullaiyaaru, the river Varaganadi, the river Manjalaru and river

Kridhumaal. All these rivers, except Kridhumaal join with the great Vaigai

river nearer to the places around the Vaigai dam which is situated in Theni

district, whereas Kridhumaal joins Vaigai in Madurai. Vaigai gets major feed

from the Periyar Dam in Kumuli, Kerala. Water from the Periyar River in

Kerala is diverted into the Vaigai River in Tamil Nadu via a tunnel through

the Western Ghats. In summers, the Vaigai river ends up dry very often. The

water never reaches Madurai, let alone flowing into places past Madurai.

The Vaigai Dam is built across the river in Periyakulam Taluk, in the Theni

district of Tamil Nadu. It provides water for irrigation for the Madurai

district and the Dindigul district as well as drinking water to Madurai and

Andipatti. Near the dam, the Government of Tamil Nadu has constructed an

Agricultural Research Station for researching the growing of a variety of

crops, including rice, sorghum, blackgram, cowpea and cotton.

The Periyar Dam was built in 1895 by John Pennycuick, who implemented a

plan proposed over a century earlier by Pradani Muthirulappa Pillai of

Ramnad. The dam was built by the British Army Engineering corps for

the Travancore kingdom. The first dam was washed away by floods, and a

second masonry dam was constructed in 1895.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vattaparai_Fallshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandya_Naduhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palk_Straithttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramanathapuramhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drainage_basinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaigai_Damhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theni_districthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theni_districthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theni_districthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periyar_Riverhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keralahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_Naduhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Ghatshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maduraihttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Periyakulam_Taluk&action=edit&redlink=1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madurai_districthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madurai_districthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madurai_districthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dindigul_districthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorghumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackgramhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowpeahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periyar_Damhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pradani_Muthirulappa_Pillaihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travancore_kingdom

4.0 CLIMATE AND RAINFALL DATA

a) Climate Conditions of Madurai district:

The climate of Madurai district is comparatively more pleasant than that of

the Surrounding districts due to general dryness of atmosphere and

appreciable drop in Temperature in the monsoon season. The year may be

divided into four season namely dry season from January to March, summer

season April and May, southwest monsoon Season from June to Sept. and

northeast monsoon season from October to December. During summer

season (April to May) the maximum temperature is about 41°C, and the

mean daily minimum temperature of about 27°C in the plains. There is a

gradual decrease of both day and night temperatures from June onwards till

December, when the mean daily maximum temperature is about 32°C and

the mean daily min. is about 21°C in plains. The day temperature increases

gradually from January onwards. The lowest temperature is reached in

January when the mean daily minimum is about 19°C.

Fig.No.2: CLIMATE DATA FOR MADURAI DISTRICT

b) RAIN FALL:

Analysis of long term rainfall data (1901-2004) shows that the district

receives rainfall during NE monsoon (47%), SW monsoon (32%), summer

(17%) and winter (4%). The normal annual rainfall varies from 806 mm

(Sholavandan Rain Gauge Station) in the northern part to 964.1 mm (Melur

Rainguage Station) in the eastern part of the district. The entire district

experiences a declining trend in annual rainfall except at Melur, where a

rising trend is noticed. The climate is subtropical and the temperature varies

from 15 to 41°C in the district. The relative humidity varies from 45 to 85%

and is high during NE monsoon.

Table No.1 Climate and Rain fall data in Madurai district

C) HUMIDITY:

Relative humidity is generally high in the mornings, exceeding 70 per cent

except during the summer season when it is less than 50 per cent. The

humidity is comparatively less in the afternoons. The driest part of the year

is the summer season when the relative humidity in the afternoons is about

25 per cent or less.

D) WINDS:

Winds are generally light with some strengthening in the summer and early

part of the monsoon season. In the post-monsoon and cold season, winds

are light and variable in direction in the morning and mostly from the west

or north-west in the afternoons. In April and May, winds are mainly from

direction between north-west and north-east in the mornings and between

west and north-east in the afternoons. By June, easterlies and south –

easterlies also blow and in the south-west monsoon season. Winds are more

commonly from directions between north-east and south-east.

E) SPECIAL WEATHER PHENOMENA:

Western disturbances affect the weather over the district during the cold

season, causing widespread rain and gusty winds. Dust-storms and

thunderstorms occur in the summer season. Occasional fog occurs in the

cold season.

5.0 GEOMORPHYLOGY AND SOIL TYPES

a) Geomorphology:

The prominent geomorphic units in the district are structural and

denudated land forms such as structural and denudational hills, residual

wells, linear ridges, uplands and barried pediments.

b) Soils:

The district is characterised by Red soil, Black clayey soil and alluvial soil.

Red soil is found in all the blocks of the district while black clayey soil is

found in Tirumangalam, Usilampatti and Peraiyur blocks of the district and

alluvial soil is found along the courses of the river.

The area is built up with Archean rocks, which composed of complex gneiss,

mica, chalk gneiss with calcareous quartzites, granite gneiss, granites and

quartz veins. In general, the soils are of sandy loam with reddish colour.

Strips of alluvial soil are found in the banks of Suruliaru and Vaigaiaru.

Black cotton soil is also found in some pockets.

c) IRRIGATION:

Madurai is getting water for Agricultural usage from Vaigai River and Periyar

River.

The Agriculture water is being released from 1 Reservoirs, namely viz.,

1. Sathaiyar Dam

S.No Block

Net Area irrigated by Total net

area

irrigated Canals Tanks

Tube

wells

Ordinar

y wells

Other

sources

1 Madurai

East 7860 0 0 1388 0 9248

2 Madurai

West 5189 0 0 1298 0 6487

3 Thiruparank

undram 1950 940 0 3847 0 6737

4 Melur 9992 2620 8 1690 0 14310

5 Kottampatti 2562 4449 0 259 0 7270

6 Vadipatti 3658 1119 0 3330 0 8107

7 Alanganallur 2910 965 0 2752 0 6627

8 Tirumangala

m 3 1860 25 3049 0 4937

9 Kallikudi 0 1977 6 1393 0 3376

10 Usilampatti 0 405 36 4683 0 5124

11 Chelampatti 2862 2033 482 3748 0 9125

12 Sedapatti 0 920 65 6917 0 7902

13 T.Kallupatti 0 1018 12 1965 0 2995

Total 36986 18306 634 36319 0 92245

Table No.2:The block wise and source wise net area irrigated in Ha

There are 22 Nos. of system tanks, 6433 no. of PWD large tanks, 7183

Nos of small tanks available in this District.

The net area irrigated is 68365 hectres.

There is another Reservoir at Viraganoor of Madurai District in the Vaigai

River to store excess water released from Vaigai Dam.

6.0 GROUND WATER SCENARIO

a) Hydrogeology:

The district is underlain predominantly by crystalline formations and

alluvium is found along the courses of the river. Ground water occurs under

phreatic conditions in weathered residuum and interconnected shallow

fractures and under semi-confined to confined conditions in deeper

fractures. The depth of weathering varies from 20-25 m bgl in Usilampatti,

Sedapatti and Kottampatti area, while it varies from 30 to 40 m bgl in

remaining parts of the district.

Fig.No.3: GEOMORPHOLOGY OF THE MADURAI DISTRICT

The depth of dug wells varies from 10 – 20 m with a yield of 45 – 135

lpm. In the exploration programme of Central Ground Water Board, 29% of

the wells yielded less than 1 lps while 30% of the wells yielded between 1 –

3lps. In general there are about 2 – 3 fracture zones less than 50 m and

about 2 – 3 fracture form beyond 100 m also. The variations in the yield of

bore wells are very high in the district. Potential fractures with high

discharge have been established along Valandur-usilampatti-

Timmarasanayakanur, Thirali-Peraiyur tract and Palkalainagar-Nilayur tract

in the district. The depth to water level in the district varies from 3.13 to

7.66 m bgl during premonsoon (May 2006) and 1.86 to 5.74 m bgl during

post monsoon

b) Long Term Fluctuation:

The long term water level fluctuation for the period 1998-2007 indicates

rise in the water level in the order of 0.05 to 0.74 m/year while the fall in

the water level is in the range of 0.07 to 0.93 m/year.

i) Aquifer Parameters

1) Shallow Aquifer;

Permeability : < 1 to 70 m/day

Specific yield : 1 – 2%

2) Deeper fractured Aquifer;

Transmissivity : 5 – 33 m2/day

Storataivity : 5.7x10-4 to 8.7 x 10-3

c) Ground Water Resources

The ground water resources have been computed jointly by Central

Ground Water Board and State Ground & Surface Water Resources and

Development Centre (PWD, WRO, Government of Tamil Nadu). The

computation of ground water resources available in the district has been

done using GEC 1997 methodology. The salient features of the

computations are furnished below.

d) Ground Water Quality

Ground water in phreatic aquifer in general is colorless, odourless and

alkaline in nature. The specific electrical conductance of ground water in

phreatic zone during May 2006 varied between 632 -6520 μs/cm at 25°C

and in major part of the state it is less than 2200 μs/cm. It is observed that

ground water is suitable for drinking and domestic uses in respect of all

constituents except TH and NO3. It is found to be excess of permissible limit

in 34% of sample analysed in respect of TH and in about 66% in respect of

NO3. The high incidence of TH can be attributed to geogenic causes while

NO3 excess may be due to either excess use of fertilisers or due to improper

waste disposal.

Table No.3 Ground water development of area in Madurai district

In reference to irrigation suitability based on EC and Sodium Absorption

Ratio (SAR), the ground water in phreatic zone may cause medium to very

high salinity hazard and medium to high alkali hazard. Hence proper soil

management practices are to be adopted when the ground water from

phreatic aquifer is to be used for irrigation purposes. In case of deeper

fractures, the ground water is suitable for domestic and

irrigation purposes. However, the data of State Ground & Surface Water

Resources Data Centres shows that ground water in Pulipatti,

Chinnalatalai, Usilampati and Vikramapuram have fluoride concentration

more than the permissible limit.

The Ground Water levels from the 31 number of observation wells of TWAD

have been analysed for PostMonsoon and PreMonsoon. 5 Since 1991,

average Ground water level in m Below Ground Level for pre and post

monsoon is as follows:

Fig.No.4: GROUND WATER LEVEL OF THE MADURAI DISTRICT

e) Water Conservation and Artificial Recharge:

The topography of Madirai district, in general, is suited for construction of

various artificial recharge structures such as percolation ponds, check dams

and sub-surface dykes. However, detailed studies are necessary to formulate

a comprehensive scheme for artificial recharge of phreatic ground water in

the district in view of the variations in the geomorphic setup and the

complex hydrological and hydrogeological conditions. The number and type

of artificial recharge structures recommended for all the blocks in Madurai

district are furnished in Table 2. The exact locations of these structures,

however, are to be decided on the basis of detailed field investigations. The

implementation of the schemes may be taken up in phases, giving priority to

blocks where the development of ground water resources is comparatively

high.

Table No.4 Artificial recharges structures recommended in Madurai

7.0 LAND USE/LAND COVER MAPPING USING SATELLITE DATA

Multi-date satellite imageries of IRS-P6 LISS III acquired in February-

March, 2004; June, 2004 and September, 2004 were used for land use

mapping. The IRS P6, FCC on 1:50,000 scales, generated from Green, Red

and NIR bands were visually interpreted to delineate various land use/ land

cover categories. A field survey was carried out to check the validity of

various land use classes and sub classes. Necessary corrections were

incorporated after ground truth verification. Final land use/land cover map

for the district was prepared. Land use/ land cover classes were digitized

using Arc-Info GIS package and area under various land use classes

computed. The detailed discussion of each category is as follows:

A) BUILT-UP LAND

The built-up land includes residential, industrial, commercial, public, road

network etc. but with the 23.5 meter resolution data of IRS-P6 LISS III

sensor it is not possible to segregate them. Therefore the present study was

limited to the identification of urban and rural built-up areas. The total area

under built-up land in the district was 22598.19 ha which is 8.44 per cent

of TGA of the district There is 10848.46 ha area under built-up and 433.15

ha area under industrial built-up in the district which is 4.05 and 0.16 per

cent of the TGA of the district respectively. The rural built-up area in the

district in 11316.58 ha (4.23 % of TGA of district). The Urban (Towns/Cities)

and Industrial built-up area is mainly concentrated in Melur block of the

district comprising the city of Madurai and industrial establishments in and

around the city. Block wise analysis of the data shows that Madurai west

block has maximum built-up area (11203.6 ha, 26.28 % of the TGA of

Block) including urban, industrial and rural built-up whereas vadipatti

block has minimum built-up area (3.35 % of TGA of blocks) closely followed

by vadipatti block 3.38 % of TGA. Thiruparankundram block, located

Madurai south in the district has nearly 21.8 per cent area of the block

(9298.48 ha) is under urban settlements /district administrative

establishments as Madurai city and Usilampatti cantonment fall in this

block and 0.74 per cent of the TGA is under industrial establishments. The

Melur block has largest area under rural settlements compared to other

blocks which is 2170.36 hectare (6.73% of TGA).

Band Spectral

range(Microns)

Electro

magnetic

spectrum

Ground

resolution

(m)

Characteristics and uses

1 .45 to .515 Visible

bluegreen

(reflected)

30

"true color" composites,

sedimentation in water, scattered easily

by atmosphere, urban

development

2 .525 to .605

Visible bluegreen

(reflected)

30 "true color" composites

3 .63 to .690 Visible red

(reflected) 30 "true color" composites

4 .75 to .90 Near

Infrared (reflected)

30 Vegetation/chlorophyll very

highly reflective

5 1.55 to 1.75

MidInfrared

(reflected)

60

Moisture in vegetation/soils, clouds vs. snow, mineral

content of rocks/soils

6 10.40 to 12.5

Thermal

Infrared

(emitted)

30

Temperature of

surfaces, distinguish

between 0.6 Celsius

7 2.09 to 2.35

MidInfrared (reflected)

30 Moisture in vegetation/soils, mineral content of rocks/soils

Pan 0.52 to .90

Visible light

(reflected)

15 Very High resolution visible

scan

Table No.5: Spectrum and Ground resolution characteristics

Fig.No.5: LAND USE AND LAND COVER DETAILS OF THE MADURAI

DISTRICT

Fig.No.6: IMAGE SHOWING LANDUSE AND LAND COVER AREA AS A

PERCENTAGE

S.No Land use land cover Area in sq km

1 Crop land 2137

2 Dense forest 160

3 Fallow land 227

4 Barren rocky land 68

5 Settlement 63

6 Land with or without scrub 605

7 Plantations 309

9 Water bodies 50

B) AGRICULTURAL LAND

The study revealed that total double cropped area in the district is 1,64,389

ha which is nearly 87.79 per cent of total geographical area (TGA) of the

district. Paddy-Sugar cane is the major crop rotation followed in the district.

Apart from these major crops, malligai (jasmine), groud nut, coconut and

maize crops are also grown. Among vegetable crops like snake gourd,

brinjal, drum stick, ladies figures, tomato and chillies are also grown. The

total land mass under agriculture comprising of crop land and land under

plantations is found to be 374173Ha which is 88.55 per cent of the TGA of

the district.

C) WASTELANDS The total area under wastelands comes to be 94400Ha which is nearly 0.25

per cent of the TGA of the district. The wastelands include gullied/revenu

land, land with or without scrub, land under mining. The area under these

classes is 68, 227, 160 and 605 ha respectively which is 0.01, 0.60, 0.04

and 0.16 per cent of the TGA of the district, respectively. Across the blocks,

Thirumangalam block has the maximum per cent area (1.80% of TGA of the

block) whereas Vadipatti block has the minimum per cent area (0.16% of

TGA of the block) under wastelands. Usilampatti block of the district with its

proximity to the city of Madurai has 167.76 ha of area under their mining

fields and is followed by Melur (156.14 ha of block). The revenous lands in

the district are found along the river Vaigai bordering the district Madurai in

Usilampatti and Madurai block only occupying an area of 356.1 ha (1.10%

of TGA of block). The wastelands with and without scrub are spread over the

entire district. Granite with their mining areas is well distributed in the

district.

D) LAND HOLDING PATTERN

(Cropping Pattern): Paddy-Cotton is the major crop rotation followed in the

district. Other crops like maize; Malligai, etc. occupy negligible area as

compared to rice. Besides agriculture, the area has a good potential for

horticultural crops like grapes, pear, guava and coconut tree.

8.0 GEOLOGY AND QUATERNARY GEOLOGY

Systematic geomorphological and quaternary geological mapping carried out

in this area, has brought out an interesting sequence of Quaternary

Formations which was originally mapped as calcareous mud and clay,

kankar and soil, with complex evolutionary history. The distinct surfaces

with their own characteristic lithological attributes are being dealt with

individually and presented in the table form.

MINERALS

1. In Madurai District, Melur Taluk and Madurai North Taluk are having

enormous wealth of Granites.

2. All over Madurai District lot of Minerals such as Sand, lime, Blue Metal &

Quarts are available.

3. More enterprises have come up in this District, using this mineral wealth

and providing more employment.

Granite, Charnockite, Pegmatite, Gneissic Rocks are found largly found

in Madurai area. Sedimentary rocks namely calcareous gritty (sand stone

mixed clay), and quartz vein.The younger alluvium formations are seen

predominantly in the northern part of the area and are considered as highly

permeable. The northwest and middleeast part of the area consist of fluvial–

deltaic sediment deposits, which are laid on Granitoid gneiss and are

considered as good zone for groundwater potential.

The following geological sequence for the area:

Kankar and soil

Quaternary Calcareous mud and clay, laterite

----------------------------------U.C-----------------------------------

Granite and Pegmatite

Acid charnockite

Archaean Biotite gneiss

Garnetiferous sillimanite gneiss │composite

gneiss

Quartzite

Impure crystalline limestone

Calc gneiss

However, the hard rock materials composed of crystalline charnockite,

conglomerate, and quartzite vein present in the southern part of the area are

not suitable for groundwater potential zones.

Limestone:

Limestone in Tamil Nadu occurs as crystalline and non-crystalline

(amorphous) varieties besides corals. The crystalline limestones of

Precambrian age are mainly distributed in parts of Madurai, Virudhunagar,

Ramanathapuram, Tirunelveli and Tuticorin Districts. The total reserves of

crystalline limestone are 200 million tonnes of „Proved‟ category and about

25-30 million tonnes of „Inferred‟ category. Non-crystalline limestones are

located in parts of Tirunelveli and Tuticorin Districts. The total estimated

reserve of non-crystalline limestone is about 670 million tonnes of both

'proved' and 'inferred' categories of which 650 million tonnes of Cretaceous

age distributed in erstwhile Tiruchirapalli District while rest are of Tertiary

age distributed in Tirunelveli District.

Khondalite and Charnockite groups

The Khondalite and Charnockite groups and their reworked equivalents

occupy large tracts of the state. Although each of the above two groups cover

predominantly certain sectors of the state, they are not mutually exclusive,

but occur in very close association at many places.

Fig.No 7: MAP SHOWING 3D IMAGE OF THE MADURAI DISTRICT

Khondalite Group (Ak)

In Tamil Nadu, Khondalite Group is well developed in the south, which is

considered by some workers as terrane boundary between the Archaean

Craton in the north and the Proterozoic Mobile Belt in the south. The

Khondalite Group essentially consists of rocks of sedimentary parentage

such as quartzite and garnet-sillimanite gneiss ± graphite ± cordierite

(metapelites). These are interbanded at places with mafic granulite /

amphibolite and charnockite. The charnockite interbands rich in diopside

are considered to be metamorphosed cafemic sediments, while mafic

granulites / amphibolites probably represent mafic volcanics.

The metapellites of the Khondalite Group are characterised by Mg-Al

silicates such as sapphirine, kornerupine / prismatine and cordierite in

Kiranur, Ganguvarpatti, Usilampatti and other areas. The Khondalite Group

is intruded by ultrabasics – anorthosite complexes and younger granites.

Rocks similar to Khondalite Group viz., garnetiferous sillimanite gneiss ±

graphite ± cordierite, sillimanite quartzites and calc-granulites are also

reported in negligible quantities in the northeastern part of the state

occupying the synformal keels within predominantly Charnockite Group.

The large volume of quartzite and crystalline limestone in the Khondalitic

Group in the southern part are completely lacking in this sector.

Charnockite Group (Ac)

The Charnockite Group, comprising of charnockite, two-pyroxene granulite,

banded quartz-magnetite granulite / banded magnetite quartzite and thin

pink quartzo-felspathic granulite are extensively developed in the north-

western sector of the state and are well exposed in many prominent hill

ranges such as vadipatti and usilampatt areas. The pyroxne granulite of

Charnockite Group are considered to represent mafic volcanic, indicates a

volcanic exhalative origin, while the pink granulite is interpreted to

represent the associated acid volcanic. In contrast to the essentially

sedimentary parentage of the Khondalite Group, the Charnockite Group

appears to be of igneous / volcanic parentage derivatives. Charnockite

Group also occurs in the northwest of Vadipatti, Usilampatti and other

areas of forming the Hills to the west and northwest of Madurai areas.

These charnockite is considered to have been derived from the prograde

metamorphism of the peninsular gneiss and the associated Sargur type

supracrustal rocks of Dharwar Craton. They occupy some of the hill ranges

such as Kodaikanal, Palani, Sirumalai, Varushanad, Agasthiarmalai and

Hills around Dindigul.

Incipient charnockite formation is reported along certain major joint /

fracture systems within garnetiferous quartzo-feldspathic granulite near

Melur in Madurai District from garnetiferous granulite and gneiss near

Papanasam in Tirunelveli District

Thus the Charnockite Group shown on the map as a single entity of

Archaean age contains in reality, rocks of different ages and origin. The

limited geochrnological data available for charnockites of Tamil Nadu show

varying ages ranging from Ca 3000Ma to 550Ma.

Graphite

A major graphite occurrence of Tamil Nadu is located in Puvandhi in

Sivaganga District over a strike length of 11 km. Reserves are estimated at 5

lakh tonnes of graphite concentrate upto a depth of 15m with 15% fixed

carbon. Depth persistence upto 100m is established by drilling. In the

western segment of this 11 km stretch, a resource of 75,000 tonnes of

graphite with F.C. upto 10.9% has been inferred upto a depth of 15 m over a

strike length of 5.25 km. Tirumangalam, Ponnamangalam in Madurai

District having a reserve of about 17,000 tonnes.

FOLDS AND FAULTS

In southcentral Tamil Nadu, covering parts of Theni, Madurai and Dindigul

districts, three distinct zones of diverse structural trends, viz., NE-SW, NW-

SE and N-S are noticed. These three zones are named respectively as Suruli

Ar Lineament Zone (SALZ), Vaigai Lineament Zone (VLZ) and Vattlagundu –

Idaiyakkottai Lineament Zone (VILZ). Based on their mutual relationship,

the NE-SW structural element which is prominent in the west as seen in the

Kambam – Periyakulam areas (SALZ) is the earliest and are being cut by the

NWSE structural trend (VLZ) which is prominent in the Vattlagundu area

and further southeast. The N-S shear / fault is prominent in the Dindigul

area, and it transects both NE-SW (SALZ) and NW-SE (VLZ) structural

trends and hence the youngest in the area. The earlier compressional

tectonic regime, manifested by recumbent folding and thrusting, followed by

tensional regime in the Kambam valley resulted in the development of a

series of NNE-SSW trending horsts and grabens with the latter occupied by

Quaternary sediments. Emplacement of alkali granites and carbonatites

marks the extensional tectonic regime in this domain.

9.0 OVERVIEW OF MINING ACTIVITY

Mainly three types of Minor Minerals constituents such as Granite, Rough

Stone and Gravel are required for any type of construction apart from other

material like Limestone and Dolomite mineral. In the earlier time the mud

houses/buildings were constructed with the use of mud. However with the

passage of time, new techniques of development activities were started. As

such the demand of Minor Mineral started on an increasing trend.

Accordingly, mining plan is prepared under Rule 41 of Tamil Nadu Minor

Minerals Concession Rules, 1959 and Minor Mineral Conservation and

Development Rules, 2010 for quarrying, with due consideration of

environmental parameters so as to obtain Environ mental clearance (EC)

form District EIA Authority (DEIAA), as per the EIA Notification, 2006

and its amendments.

10.0 TOTAL MINERAL POTENTIAL FOR THE DISTRICT:

a) MINERAL POTENTIAL FOR REPLENISHABLE AREA:

S.No Name of

Mineral

Portion of the area

Recommended for

mineral (in Ha)

Recommended

for mineral

concession (in Ha)

Mineable

mineral

potentional in % m3

b) MINERAL POTENTIAL FOR NON- REPLENISHABLE AREA:

Quantity for non- replenishable area could not be ascertained due to

non- willingness of land owners for excavation of minor minerals from

their own lands. However, it is recommended that on reciept of

request of land owner, a Sub Divisional Level Committee may visit the

site quarry to ascertain the viability of mineral potential i.e. Area and

mineral quantity for recommending the case to the concerned

Authority for approval.

11.0 FLORA AND FAUNA:

a) Flora:

Plantation has 309 Sq Km and Fallow land has 227 Sq Km, Dense

forest occupies 160 Sq Km while rest of other has low than 100 Sq Km

area.

b) Fauna:

This Sanctuary was declared as grizzled squirrel Wild Life Sanctuary

in 1989. This Sanctuary is contiguous with the Periyar Tiger Reserve

on the South Western side and the Megamalai Reserve Forest on the

North Western. This Grizzled squirrel wild Life Sanctuary lies mostly

in Virudhunagar District and partly in Madurai District nestling in the

High ranges of the Western Ghats.

11.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

The study area carried out has brought out that the quaternary sediments

vary in thickness from 40 to 80 m in the western parts, from 30 to 40 m in

the central parts and 55 to 61 m in the eastern parts. The depositions of

these sediments were tectonically controlled by the basement structures

which were reactivated during quaternary period. The morphogenetic

evolution depicting a series of changes in the Periyar and Vagai river

courses, their capture and entrenchment and the present day landform

disposition are all corroborated by the isopach map and the basement

configuration map. Detailed ground water studies for estimating the

potentials of the number of paleochannels in both western and eastern

parts.