Group Decision Support System for Multicriterion Analysis A Case Study in India

The selection of the best irrigation system is examined in the multiobjective context for a case study of Sri Ram Sagar Project, Andhra Pradesh, India. Eight performance criteria, on farm development works, environmental impact, supply of inputs, conjunctive use of water resources, productivity, farmers' participation, economic impact and social impact are evaluated for thirteen irrigation systems. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is employed to overcome the difficulties arising from the complexity, subjectivity and lack of group consensus in the evaluation of an irrigation system. Spearman rank correlation coefficient is employed to assess the correlation between different ranking pattern. Group consensus is achieved through Geometric ranking rule (multiplicative ranking). Studies revealed that AHP is quite accessible and conductive to group consensus building. Comparison of the results indicated that the methodology is quite versatile and can be used in any field of engineering and management with suitable modifications.