Golden Research Thoughts ISSN 2231-5063 Volume-3, Issue-1, July-2013 Abstract:The areas which are with high potentials of various land uses are need to be assessed very carefully. This study is carried out on the Kas plateau which is recently declared as world heritage site. This is an extensive high level laterite surface. This is the most important area with respect to landforms, biodiversity, tourism and a proposed site of tiger reserve project. This extensive lateritic plateau area is interrupted with overlying loose material and patches of dense vegetation. In the entire area, slope ranges from less than 4o to 66o. Along the plateau margins, slopes range between 27o to 66o. Land use land cover analysis of this area is carried out by using IRS LISS-III image acquired on 13th March 2006 to understand the present pattern of land use and land cover. Based on the land use and land cover analysis it can be suggested that about one third of total area, mainly the top surface of the lateritic plateau should not disturb and should be treated as area for the wild life and recreation, and it can be used for eco- tourism activity. One third of the area should be used for cultivation and pasture while remaining area should be used for forest as well as for the pasture. Besides this, certain precautionary measures also suggested for the better practice of land resource management. Present study emphasises the need of detailed assessment of land use and land cover of this area. It is also essential to know the terrain characterisitics and geomorphological set up in detail before changing the present land use and cover. Based on the analysis of the land surface, land capability classification was done to identify the proper land uses. Keyword: Heritage Site , Land Capability , Kas Plateau , recommendation. INTRODUCTION The study area is termed as Kas Plateau after the village Kas situated on the the plateau. The plateau extends from Venna valley in the north to Urmodi valley in the south. The westward limit of the plateau is bounded by N-S segment of Koyana valley (fig.1). The plateau area lies between 17 40' N. to 17 45' N. latitude, while the longitudinal extension is from 73 45'E.to 74 0' E. The altitude in the area ranges from 700 m to 1200 m above sea level. Figure: 1 Location map of the Study area The Kas plateau is an extensive surface of laterite. This is separated from the Western Ghat escarpment by the upper Koyna valley running in N-S direction. The average distance between the Ghat scarp and the Western edge of the plateau is about 20 km. The plateau forms the source region of Urmodi River, tributary of River Krishna. This lateritic plateau area is interrupted with overlying loose material and dense vegetation patches. This area is also spotted with number of natural lakes and depressions. This area is declared as new Mahabaleshwar, an alternate tourism destination. Some part of this plateau area is also declared as the part of proposed tiger reserve of Koyna-Chandoli sanctuary. Recently this area is declared as world heritage site. Study of land use and land cover analysis of this area will be an essential input in further studies of this area. The present study area is one the most popular areas for carrying out field studies of Earth Sciences and Life Sciences. LAND CAPABILITY CLASSIFICATION Land capability classification is done for proper utilization of land resources; it is useful for land resource management. Capability classification is the interpretative grouping of soils. It is based on the inherent characteristics of soil; land features and environmental factors which control the land use. According to Tideman (1996) classification lands under different capabilities are classified into I to VIII classes (Table 1). Further these classes are grouped into two sets that is land suitable for cultivation, (includes class I to Class IV lands) and land not suitable for cultivation (includes class V to class VIII lands). Land Capability based Land Use recommendation for A World Heritage Site of Suchitra S. Pardeshi , Sudhakar D. Pardeshi 1 Land Capability Based Land Use Recommendation For A World Heritage Site Of Kas Plateau, Maharashtra Suchitra S. Pardeshi And Sudhakar D. Pardeshi Department of Gegraphy, Annasaheb Magar Mahavidyalaya, Hadapsar, Pune Department of Geography, University of Pune, Pune