Fuzzy multicriterion decision making in irrigation planning

Multicriterion decision making (MCDM) has emerged as an effective methodology due to its ability to combine quantitative and qualitative criteria for selection of the best alternative. Concurrently, fuzzy logic is gaining importance due to its flexibility in handling imprecise subjective data. In the present study two fuzzy logic-based MCDM methods, namely similarity analysis (SA) and decision analysis (DA), are adopted and developed as a FUzzy Decision System (FUDS) and applied to a case study of the Sri Ram Sagar Project (SRSP), Andhra Pradesh, India, for selecting the best-performing irrigation subsystem. It is found that both SA and DA suggested the same irrigation subsystem as the best. It is concluded that application of fuzzy logic methodology for real-world decision-making problems is found to be effective. Copyright # 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.