Jyoti Kushawaha ^1* 1. Sreerama N. S. R. ² Masilamani P. ³ Jahangeer Jahangeer ⁴

• ¹ Department of Environmental Studies, Ramanujan College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India
• ² Center for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
• ³ Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India
• ⁴ University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, United States

Land use refers to how the surface of a designated area is utilised, encompassing both developed and vacant land. The intricate interplay between population growth and the availability of natural resources gives rise to diverse challenges that are exhibited in the recharge of groundwater. This research was conducted in the Koraiyar Watershed, Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, India. The change in the land use land cover was detected by digitising the LISS III and LISS IV satellite images for the years 2000 and 2011 and using the maximum likelihood classification algorithm LANDSAT-8 OLI data were processed for the year 2020 respectively. The study area has subsequently undergone an assessment of groundwater levels to determine the impact between groundwater and land use land cover. The result of the study indicates a continuous decrease in the wet crop area, which is the effect of the gradual depletion of groundwater resources. Along with this, the narrowing of the water bodies and increased area of dry crops, industrial areas and quarry is also responsible for lowering the groundwater table depletion and contamination.Settlements were increased from 39 to 49 km 2 by 2000 to 2011 and then gradually increased by 50 km 2 in 2020 to meet the demand of the population. From 2000 to 2019 the groundwater level has been declined with respect to the LULC pattern. The increase in concrete platforms in the study can affect the infiltration. Thus, the study can aid water management strategies and decisions for the government and non-governmental policymakers.