Multidimensional Quality of Life in Cauvery River Basin, India

Quality of Life (QoL) is a multidimensional concept which includes the physical, social, economic, and environmental well-being of humans. This research maps the multidimensional QoL over the administrative districts in southern India's Cauvery River basin. It quantifies QoL considering four main indices, i.e., Health, Education, Living Standard, and Environment, and 66 sub-indices. The data on the sub-indices have been collected, extracted, and compiled from different local, regional, national, and international sources. Remote Sensing data and geospatial techniques have been used for better mapping and analysis. The tabulation and normalization of the data were done in MS Excel Software. As the variables had different units, they were normalized using the standard formula. The normalized variables were then checked for correlation, using Spearman correlation in R studio. The redundant variable was then removed from the further analysis. The study finds that Kozhikode (Kerala), Bengaluru (Karnataka), and Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) have the highest scores in the QoL index, whereas Chamarajanagar (Karnataka), Chikkaballapura and Ariyalur (Tamil Nadu) have the lowest scores. In addition, the high correlation of the sanitation sub-index (0.78) and household latrine indicator (0.78) with the QoL index showed credence over the relation and importance of the sanitation facility concerning QoL. Also, a high correlation with drinking water availability emphasizes developing and managing drinking water accessibility and sanitation facilities for better livability. Furthermore, the dimension of the living standard showed highly correlated and variance-holding subindexes (Sanitation - 0.78; Household Cooking and Fuel - 0.66; Occupancy-0.59 correlation and -0.37, 0.36, 0.38 variance score respectively). Dimension-wise, Kerala scored highest in health (0.71) and environmental quality (0.76), whereas Tamil Nadu and Puducherry scored highest in education quality (0.65) and living standards (0.56) respectively. The dataset can be used for further research and analysis related to QoL in the Cauvery River Basin. It will help in better planning and policy-making to improve the QoL in the region.