Bank erosion is the predominant character of River Mahananda in the Sub-Himalayan North Bengal. The present study aims to identify the bank erosion mechanism as well as the impact of river bank erosion on land use and land cover (LULC) dynamics of the study area. Survey of India (SOI) topographical map 78 B/5 (1975) and satellite imageries for the temporal year of 1991 and 2019 from USGS have been used for the study. For the assessment of bank erosion process Bank erosion hazard index (BEHI) model has been adopted here. The channel migration has been delineated by the superimposition of temporal bank lines extracted from the temporal satellite imageries. LULC analysis has been carried out through the supervised classification technique using remote sensing and GIS tools. Form the assessment of BEHI it can be visualized that the scores have been ranging from 30.75 to 44.30 which indicates high to very high vulnerable areas under fluvial erosion. The channel migration for the temporal period from 1991 to 2019 is ranging from 7.72 to 411.16 m along the studied reach which reflects the high erosion effectiveness. From LULC classes it has been assessed that settled or built-up areas have been increased and the water body is gradually decreased overall in the study area. The study resulted that the river bank erosion has its direct impact on land use of the studied area. In the study vulnerable sites to fluvial erosion have been delineated and unplanned land use can be managed through sustainable way.

The production of urban solid waste is one of the most dangerous environmental health risks on the planet. By selecting suitable landfill sites, it is possible to resolve the issue of health risks and environmental pollution driven by the unscientific disposal of solid waste. The current research is centered on determining suitable landfill locations for solid waste disposal within the Balurghat municipality through the integration of Geographic Information System (GIS) and Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) approach. Ten factors were taken into consideration according to their weightage including elevation (0.022), Lithology (0.027), Slope (0.032), Land use and land cover LULC (0.040), Depth of water (0.057), Population density (0.075), Distance from sensitive places (0.107), Distance from road (0.154), Distance from river (0.205) and Land value (0.282). After conducting thorough field visits, an analytical hierarchy process (AHP) under the MCDM approach using GIS reveals acceptable sites that were noted and referenced. Final results are validated through a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve using randomly selected 80 potential landfill-suitable site location points with higher accuracy, and a total of 93% of the area under the curve (AUC) has been found worthy to validate the spatial result. The present investigation revealed that only 0.65% of land is very highly suitable, 31.06% of land is highly suitable, 52.54% of land is moderately suitable and 14.74% of land is not suitable for landfilling in Balurghat Municipal area and surroundings respectively. The highly suitable site belongs to the Mamna, Katna, Kuaran, Amtali, Noksha, Bannapara, and Malancha villages of the study area which is a very negligible area. So, the planners should adopt alternative strategies like source minimization, composting, sanitary landfills and awareness programmes for sustainable solid waste management. Hence, the Balurghat Municipality administration, urban planners, and administrative authorities stand to gain valuable insights from the findings of this study as they endeavour to enhance the management of urban solid waste in the area.

Assessing soil fertility is essential for efficient land management, especially for the ever-growing global population and shrinking arable land per person. This study aims to assess the soil fertility through the Soil Nutrient Index (SNI) and Soil Fertility Index (SFI), and also determine site-specific NPK requirements of rice-based cropping systems of the Barind Tract. The assessment was based on 12 key soil parameters: pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC), essential macronutrients (N, P, K and S) and micronutrients (Fe, Cu, Zn, B and Mn). SFI and SNI were developed, and nutrient requirements were calculated using FertiliCalc software. The results indicated that 45.41% of the area had low fertility and 54.49% had moderate fertility levels. To achieve optimal rice yield (5200 kg/ha), the average nutrient requirement was 114 kg/ha (N), 14 kg/ha (P), and 50 kg/ha (K). The key findings of this study revealed that the overall soil fertility status of this soil was deficient and unable to support sustainable rice production and suggested the dosages of nutrients help build up the soil OC content and essential primary nutrients (NPK) for specific soils, and also recommended some endemic and high-yielding varieties with a scoped fertilization strategy for achieving the long-term soil fertility and sustainability of the rice-based cropping system of Barind tract. This research provides valuable insights for farmers, researchers, and policymakers to improve crop productivity, optimize fertilization, and ensure sustainable soil fertility through regular monitoring and adaptive management.