Introduction

Many of the rural households do not have a good education, sanitation, drinking water and a proper earning source. Poverty in villages is challenging healthy food, medical care and quality of life of the villagers. It has become difficult for the development authorities to implement various development plans, policies and government schemes due to the lack of compiled information on a common platform (Adinarayana et al. 2004). Even after the implementation, the success rate of these welfare programmes is minimal due to the lack of relevant village community information (Gupta et al. 2009). Local administration to implement a development plan requires baseline data. This includes the allocation of funds, assessing the constraints, priority areas and target people, mobilizing resources and monitoring activities (Poi et al. 2018). The current status of the village plays a crucial role in making decisions related to uplifting the quality of life of villagers like access to drinking water, sanitation facilities, setting up a new school or dispensary, etc. (Kaur et al. 2018). For successful implementation of strategies for village development, authorities require data on a common platform to identify the local resources and show the current status of the village in a user-friendly map which helps the people in rural areas interpret the data easily.

Spatial and non-spatial data from different sources can be integrated into a common platform using GIS as a tool. Different problems can be solved by integrating these two technologies. Geospatial technology is a tool for improving planning and designing delivery initiatives to meet the necessity of individuals and underprivileged groups at the village level (Yadav and Sing 2011). Remote sensing technology has proved to be the best tool for natural resource mapping (Melesse et al. 2007). Mapping of infrastructure can be done by GIS-based systems (Kuria et al. 2012) which will help recognize the gaps present in basic amenities and necessary location facilities. Interactive maps can be generated by using GIS which is a way better than the traditional methodologies. GIS application can be put on a web platform to make it accessible to a larger audience (Kodge and Hiremath 2012). Statistics from geospatial data in conjunction with field data can be used for micro-level planning and development of running plans for better utilization of water and land resources. The current situation of the village can be quickly viewed in the GIS environment by integrating all the information spatially with a common coordinate system to enable planners to get a broader view and accurately assess future implications. In a developing country like India, the village-level information system can act as an effortless and strong tool for village-level planning (Singh et al. 2009). Interactive maps as required by the user can be extracted from village-level information (Dragicevic 2004). Governance can be improved by decentralized planning at the village level through GIS-based village information system (Adinarayana et al. 2004; Sainath 2012; Yadav and Singh 2009; Saymote et al. 2014).

The present study is aimed to create spatially enabled geodatabase at the village level as a micro-administrative unit. Spatial infrastructure is developed considering each household as a unit. Emphasis is put on identifying basic amenities like toilets, water connection, LPG, electricity and land ownership. Spatial maps generated will form the basis for management schemes and administrative policies to meet the needs and boundaries of the individuals. Quality of life can be improvised by the planners and decision-makers with the use of this computer-based GIS system to map out the progress of community input and citizen participation.

Materials and methods

Study area

The present study is carried out in the village Chinnapendyala of Jangaon District. It is located to the northern part of the district, geographically between 79° 23′ 10″ and 79° 25′ 20″ E longitude, 17° 52′ 30″ and 17° 54′ 29″ N latitude and falls on toposheet number 56 O/5 of 1:50,000 scale (Fig. 1). National Highway 163 passes through the study area. It is 132 km far from Hyderabad and 23 km far from Warangal district headquarters. The study area is spread around an area of 8.52 km2 with a total population of 4006. Agro-climatic region of the study area is Southern Plateau and Hills region with an average rainfall of 800–1150 mm.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Location map of the study area

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The main aim of the study is to provide a geospatial database which will be a common point for spatial data and non-spatial data. Spatial data include the location of the households, while non-spatial data include the social and economic conditions of the households which are collected from the household survey. To map the individual households present in the village, each household is to be digitized from high-resolution satellite data. This database in the form of spatial maps can help the decision-makers and planners to understand the present scenario of the village and plan the resources needed by them. The methodology involved is shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2
figure 2

Methodology involved in the study

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Satellite data Google imagery for the village is downloaded for the study area. DGPS (Trimble) survey is conducted by picking the common points in the village and imagery such as bi-junctions and tri-junctions. After collecting the control points, Google imagery is georeferenced.

Digitization/households From the georeferenced satellite imagery, individual households for the entire village are digitized with user ids. Each household now acts as an individual unit, and all the socio-economic data will be linked as an attribute to the households.

Household survey Thirteen parameters that reflect the socio-economic conditions are identified, and these parameters are collected by door-to-door survey. Prints of the individual households with roads are taken, and the household survey was done. The following are the list of parameters and their classification:

  1. 1.

    Transport network From transferring goods to the daily commute, there is a need for the transport connection. Planners need to look into the type of roads available and check for the provision of new roads.

  2. 2.

    Sanitation Foremost thing required in the village is a toilet for every individual household. Many government schemes are aimed to meet this requirement. Households without toilets can be separated, and a strategic plan can be prepared. The spatial location of the household without the toilet helps to go for a community toilet.

  3. 3.

    LPG ownership Households in villages still use wood for cooking. This is a loss to vegetation and causes many health-related issues to women in the village. The government is trying to provide LPG connection to villages to make a smokeless village.

  4. 4.

    Water connection Status of the individual households whether having a water connection or not is indicated here. Safe water has to be provided to all households for drinking and domestic purpose.

  5. 5.

    Electricity Electricity is needed to run the daily activities in households and public buildings such as health centres, schools and community centres. The development of the village is dependent on the electrification of the village.

  6. 6.

    Education The status of formal education at the household level can be prepared for the village. Compulsory education is provided for free between the age of 6 and 14. The education system is divided into seven levels:

    1. (a)

      Illiterate (no formal education)

    2. (b)

      Lower primary school (1–4)

    3. (c)

      Higher primary school (5–7)

    4. (d)

      High school (8–10)

    5. (e)

      Pre-university(11–12)

    6. (f)

      Diploma/job-oriented course

    7. (g)

      Degree and above

  7. 7.

    Land ownership Farming plays a prominent role in building a national economy. Database indicating the land ownership gives the scenario of farmers in the village. Having witnessed the available land ownership details, suitable policies can be incorporated for providing land to landless so that they continue farming.

  8. 8.

    Annual income Growth and development of the rural economy are very crucial as it constitutes 46% of national income. Annual income at the village level indicates the condition of the village. It is divided into three parts:

    1. (a)

      BPL (< 150,000)

    2. (b)

      APL (> 150,000 to 800,000)

    3. (c)

      Creamy layer (> 800,000)

  9. 9.

    Occupation Agriculture is the primary occupation of the rural economy. Availability of agricultural land, education and employment have changed the occupation at the village level. Overall occupation status at the village level is understood, and the gap can be filled.

    1. (a)

      Farmer

    2. (b)

      Government

    3. (c)

      Semi-government/aided

    4. (d)

      Private

    5. (e)

      Self-employed

    6. (f)

      Agricultural labourer

    7. (g)

      Skilled labourer

    8. (h)

      Unskilled labourer

  10. 10.

    Caste category To uplift the backward classes, separate schemes are introduced by the government so that the particular group gets benefitted by the scheme. To successfully implement such schemes, there is a need to know the caste categories of the households.

    1. (a)

      General

    2. (b)

      OBC

    3. (c)

      SC

    4. (d)

      ST

  11. 11.

    Family size To understand the demography of the village, the size of the family has to be known. Population growth at the village level can be understood.

    1. (a)

      < 3

    2. (b)

      3–5

    3. (c)

      6–8

    4. (d)

      > 8

  12. 12.

    Cattle Cattle are the main livestock available in the villages. Livelihood and occupation can be understood by the study.

  13. 13.

    Motor vehicles The status of the purchasing capacity of the individual in the village can be known. Incentives for vehicles, especially for farm vehicles can be planned. 

    1. (a)

      No vehicles

    2. (b)

      Bike

    3. (c)

      Car

    4. (d)

      Tractor

    5. (e)

      Bike/tractor

    6. (f)

      Bike/car

    7. (g)

      Not applicable

Integration of spatial and non-spatial database User ids are kept common for the household where the survey is conducted and for the individual households that are digitized from the satellite image. Using the common user ids, all the household data are appended to the digitized household boundaries. Now the whole non-spatial surveyed data will be visible under spatial households.

Results and discussion

Household map

The household map (Fig. 3) shows the actual number of households with people present in the village. A total of 77.38% of digitized individual households appeared to be the original households, while the rest 22.62% are sheds or abandoned blocks.

Fig. 3
figure 3

Household map of Chinnapendyala

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Transport network

The second-biggest road network in the world is in India. The categorization of roads includes the Ministry of Transport roads and gram panchayat roads. Roads in India are a combination of highways, asphalt, concrete and mud. Chinnapendyala village transport network map as shown in Fig. 4 is well connected with road and rail networks.

Fig. 4
figure 4

Transport network map of Chinnapendyala

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Sanitation

One of the main aims of the government of India is to eradicate open defecation. The spatial map in Fig. 5 shows the availability of sanitation facilities in the village. The usage of toilets in villages depends on culture, water resources and affordability. 90% of the village is having sanitation (toilet facility), while the rest 10% does not have.

Fig. 5
figure 5

Sanitation map of Chinnapendyala

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LPG ownership

Villages in rural India depend on coal as a fuel for cooking. Because of the ecological and pollution concerns, attention was moved to gas which is the cleanest fuel. The government is also trying to make villages smokeless by providing LPG to the households in the villages. Status of the household LPG availability is shown in Fig. 6. 92.8% of households have LPG facility, while 7.2% still use coal for household activity.

Fig. 6
figure 6

LPG ownership map of Chinnapendyala village

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Water facility

Safe water is to be provided to every household in the village in any situation. The government is also spending a huge amount on building resources for drinking water schemes in a rural area. The spatial map in Fig. 7 shows that 88.3% of the village has a household water facility, while 11.7% does not have.

Fig. 7
figure 7

Water facility map of Chinnapendyala village

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Electricity

Electricity is essential for uplifting village conditions. From agriculture to daily activities, people are dependent on electricity. 96.83% of village households are electrified, and only 3.17% are not electrified as shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 8
figure 8

Electricity map of Chinnapendyala village

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Education

Education spatial map indicates the literacy level of the head of the house. As shown in Fig. 9, village has illiterates of 58.6% which is a major share, followed by high school 13.6%, degree and above 10.6%, higher primary school 7.5%, lower primary school 5.3%, pre-university 3.1% and least by diploma/job-oriented course which is 1.4%.

Fig. 9
figure 9

Education map of Chinnapendyala village

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Land ownership

Agriculture is the primary occupation in villages. People who do not own land can be calculated with the spatial map of land ownership (Fig. 10). 85.4% of households do not own any land, while 14.6% have their land.

Fig. 10
figure 10

Land ownership map of Chinnapendyala village

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Annual income

Two-third of the population in India resides in rural areas. So, the development of the rural economy directly helps in the overall development of the country. Figure 11 indicates that 7.86% of households in the village are above the poverty line and 92.14% are below the poverty line.

Fig. 11
figure 11

Annual income map of Chinnapendyala village

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Occupation

The rural economy is dependent on agriculture, and 72.4% of the workforce resides in a rural area. With urbanization, there is a steady change in the occupation of the people in the village. Figure 12 shows the occupation of the head of the house engaged in. The different shares of occupations in the village are agriculture labourer 64.1%, skilled labourer 3.1%, self-employed 6.7%, unskilled labourer 5.4%, private 4.8% and farmer 16%.

Fig. 12
figure 12

Occupation map of Chinnapendyala village

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Caste category

The caste category map helps in identifying the major share of the population in the village. This helps in utilizing caste benefit schemes, subsidies and programmes available. OBC holds the major contribution with 70.31%, followed by SC with 21.13%, General 7.63% and least is ST with 1.1% shown in Fig. 13.

Fig. 13
figure 13

Community classification map of Chinnapendyala village

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Family size

The growth of the population can be understood by the size of the family. Figure 14 indicates that major households have a family size of 3 to 5 (77.34%), followed by family size less than 3 (19.14%) and lastly family size 5 to 8 (3.64%).

Fig. 14
figure 14

Family size map of Chinnapendyala village

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Cattle

Cattle are the main domestic animals raised for milk, manure, leather and farming. Biogas can be generated from the dung which is clean and is useful for cooking and production of bio-manure. As shown in Fig. 15, 96.6% of households do not have cattle, 0.7% have a single cattle and 2.82% have 2–3 cattle size.

Fig. 15
figure 15

Cattle availability map of Chinnapendyala village

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Motor vehicles

Different government schemes provide a subsidiary for the purchase of vehicles. Spatial map of the motor vehicle (Fig. 16) indicates that 79.7% of the village household do not have any vehicle, 17.14% have bike, 1.9% have auto, 0.7% have car, 0.23% have tractor, 0.15% have both bike and tractor, and finally, 0.23% have both bike and car.

Fig. 16
figure 16

Motor vehicle map of Chinnapendyala village

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Conclusion

The present study explains the use of geospatial technology in understanding the social and economic conditions present in the village. Household is considered as the basic unit for the study. With the location of the individual household, the assistance for the allocation of funds will be easy and directed directly to the household. The study demonstrated the construction of a database without any bias. It is noted that primary facilities like sanitation, water facility, LPG and electricity are in a good position and need little concern. Emphasis has to be put on developing different programmes for improving education, reducing poverty, providing subsidy on land and vehicle ownership and increasing the cattle population.