A satellite-based study has identified 3,40,673.36 hectares of cultivable wasteland in Meghalaya, equivalent to 15.2 per cent of the state’s geographical area, highlighting land that could be examined for agricultural reclamation and sustainable land-use planning.
Published earlier this month in the Journal of Geography, Environment and Earth Science International, the study used geographic information system (GIS) technology and multispectral satellite imagery to map four categories of land. The researchers cautioned that the findings were preliminary and that field verification would be required before determining whether individual sites were suitable for cultivation.
Sparse scrubland accounted for the largest share of the mapped area, covering 2,06,595.18 hectares, or 60.64 per cent. Dense scrubland covered 99,488.89 hectares, while shifting cultivation areas accounted for 34,331.34 hectares. Grasslands and grazing lands covered 257.94 hectares, representing 0.08 per cent of the total.
The research was conducted by Ronak Meena, Chandan Goswami, C P Suresh and Akmaul Hoque, associated with the Department of Horticulture at North-Eastern Hill University, Tura, and the North Eastern Space Applications Centre in Umiam. The team used 2025–26 imagery from the LISS-IV sensor to classify the land.
In assessing relative reclamation priorities, the researchers assigned sparse scrubland a score of 95 out of 100, followed by dense scrubland at 80, shifting cultivation areas at 60, and grasslands and grazing lands at 25. These scores indicate relative priorities for further assessment, not confirmation that the land is ready for agricultural use.
The classification map achieved an overall accuracy of 86 per cent, with 172 of 200 reference samples correctly classified.
The researchers said the findings could provide a baseline for land-use planning, resource management and agricultural development. However, the study did not assess soil properties, slope, water availability, accessibility or economic feasibility, all of which would need to be evaluated before reclamation decisions could be made. It also did not identify suitable crops or undertake actual reclamation.
The study further stressed the need to consider the ecological functions of scrub vegetation and the livelihood importance of shifting cultivation. Any reclamation plans, the researchers cautioned, would need to account for these factors and the risk of soil erosion.
The mapped area therefore represents land for further investigation rather than a definitive estimate of land immediately available for cultivation.
