INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND INNOVATIVE ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY MAY 2015 ISSUE VOLUME 1 ISBN 978-81-904760-6-5 Abstract—In the absence of sediment yield data, a Sediment Yield Index expressing the relative sediment yield on the basis of grading the basin or watershed in order of priority for soil and water conservation measures (Gajbhiye et al. 2013b). The study area is divided into 07 sub-watersheds on the basis of drainage conditions. Sediment Yield index has been calculated for all the seven sub-watershed, following the All India Soil and Land Use Survey (AISLUS) method and accordingly prioritized. The maximum SYI value of 1221 is recorded for Kanhaiya (KN)-05 sub-watershed and minimum value of 1130 is in Kanhaiya (KN)-06 sub-watershed. I. INTRODUCTION and and water are the most important natural resources on which all mans activities are based (Sharma et al. 2014b,c). The growing pressure of population and human activities are increasing the demand on the limited land and water resources for agriculture, forest, pasture, urban and industrial land uses. The development of vital natural resources on a sustained basis without impairing its productivity for future generation is the need of the hour. Out of 329 million ha geographical area of India about 175 million ha land are subjected to some kind of land degradation. The area affected by different types of erosion is estimated around 150 million ha, out of which 69 million ha is in the critical stage of deterioration. Encroachment of forest and pasture lands and faulty management of cultivable lands aggravates the problems of soil erosion further resulting in rapid sedimentation of costly multipurpose dam reservoirs and frequent flood in the command area. Surface runoff and sediment losses are the two important hydrologic responses from the rainfall events occurring over the watershed systems (Gajbhiye et al. 2014c). Remote sensing technology and geographic information system (GIS) provide efficient methods for analysis of land use issues, hypsometic analysis and prioritization for watershed planning and modelling (Gajbhiye and Sharma, 2012; Gajbhiye et al. 2013a,b;Sharma et al. 2013a,b; Sharma et al. 2014a). The need for accurate information on watershed runoff and sediment yield has grown rapidly during the past decades because of the acceleration of watershed management programs for conservation, development, and beneficial use of all natural resources, including soil and water (Gajbhiye and Mishra 2012;Mishra et al. 2013;Gajbhiye et al. 2014a). Several empirical equations such as USLE (Wischmeier and smith 1978), silt yield prediction equation for computation of silt yield and run-off equation have been used by several workers. Spanner et al. (1982) first demonstrated the potential use of remote sensing derived soil and land use classification through a database approach to map various potential soil erosion hazard using USLE. Flaxman (1971) developed a sediment yield predictive equation for computing actual rate of sediment yield. These equations are, however, based on several dynamic factors and their applicability for different areas is controlled by the physical characteristics of the area itself and correct evaluation of several component parameters. The Soil and Land Use Survey of India (AISLUS) has developed Sediment Yield Index (SYI) for prioritizing watersheds. It provides a comparative erodibility criteria of catchment (low, moderate, high, etc.) and do not provide the absolute silt yield. It is widely used mainly because of the fact that it is easy to use and has lesser data requirement (Gajbhiye et al., 2014b,d). Moreover, it can be applied to larger areas like subwatersheds etc. J. Adinarayana (1996) studied the prioritization of basin using SYI Model (AIS & LUS). In the present study prioritization of sub- watersheds are carried out for Kanhaiya Nala Watershed in Satna and Panna district of Madhya Pradesh, India. II. MATERIAL AND METHOD A. Study Areae The study area Kanhaiya Nala watershed which lies within the Tons river catchment 80 0 32’24’’ to 80 0 34’12’’ E longitude and 24 0 06’ to 24 0 10’48’’ N latitude (Figure 1) with elevation ranges from 480 to 600 m above mean sea level and extends a total area of 25.58 km2. The average annual rainfall is 1300 mm. The watershed is situated in Satna and Panna district of Madhya Pradesh. The Survey of India (SOI) toposheet number 63 D/12 on 1:50000 scale was collected from Survey of India, Dehradun in the form of paper map. The georefrenced satellite data of 25th October 2007 was procured from National Data Centre of National Remote Sensing Center, Hyderabad, India in digital form on CD- ROMs. For generation of digital input maps, image processing and digital analysis of data, Arc GIS 9.1 and ERDAS Imagine 9.1 software are used in the present study. Applicabilty of Remote Sensing and GIS Approach For Prioritization Of Watershed Through Sediment Yield Index Sarita Gajbhiye and S.K. Sharma gajbhiyesarita@gmail.com L