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1
Livelihood Zones in West Bengal
A scenario for AWM interventions
Prepared by:
Rajarhat PRASARI, Kolkata (India)
In consultation with
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome (Italy)
2
PRASARI was established in year 2007 and is a Non Govt.
Organization working in rural development sector. Within a less
than four years’ span, PRASARI has proved its role in improving
food sufficiency in southern parts of West Bengal viz; Sundarbans.
PRASARI shares part of its success with local PRIs (Panchayeti Raj
Institutions) as well who are taking further initiative and a lead role
in some parts of Sunderban. Further in the line, PRASARI has
expanded in the northern parts of WB as well viz; Jalpaiguri district
and the theme over here, is to introduce and promote SRI (System
of Rice Intensification). PRASARI believes that small and marginal
farmers over here would be benefitted most with this new
intervention.
Today PRASARI is the leading organization in the state of West
Bengal in promoting SRI.
PRASARI receives its support from various national funding
agencies such as NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Development) and SDTT (Sir Dorabji Tata Trust) and recently
started consulting FAO of UN on AWM (Agriculture Water
Management) Potential in India.
This document has been prepared by PRASARI in consultation with
FAO of UN, Rome, Italy. This document explains mainly about the
Livelihood Zones identified during the workshop held during
November 2010 in Kolkata (India). The data used in this document
were collected from various government agencies as soft copy and
though various online resources such as government websites.
Mailing address: PRASARI 17 B, Bapujinagar, Jadavpur, Kolkata – 92 India
+91-33-24297935 +91-9836341858
May 2011
3
1
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
4
ater is a precious natural resource and in Indian scenario, availability of water is getting scarce
in several states; reason is not the unavailability and rather is not being able to harvest the
potential. E.g. the case of West Bengal - fig 1 (1 and 5) explains the situation; there is a huge
difference between ground water potential (yield Litres/sec) and ground water quality where ground water
is low. West Bengal where more than 72% of population resides in villages and is predominantly agriculture
dependent; rural livelihoods are vulnerable to both floods and droughts - water has to be planned,
developed, conserved and managed as such, keeping in view the socio-economic aspects and needs of the
State (MInistry of water resources 2002). It is also one among most important aspects to be considered
during development planning at ground level.
In the light of technology where a major portion of agriculture can be fed with deep tube wells, horizons,
even with shallow water pumps, can put drought prone areas vulnerable to mass famine (Fig 1; 4). Though
the proportion of utilization would vary from state to state but various researches show that there has
been a sharp decline in the ground water table over the years (Fig 1; 8). Availability of technology and
proper infrastructures might help conserving water and make it able to get utilized for dry seasons but lack
of awareness among communities towards water related issues can put efforts at risk. According to a NGO
viz; Development Alternatives Group, It is recognized that water problems cannot be solved only by quick
technical solutions; solutions to water problems require the consideration of various cultural, educational,
and scientific aspects (DevelopmentAlternativesGroup 2001).
In India, State Governments mostly run various schemes such as canal irrigation, RLI (River Lift Irrigation)
etc. through local administration in the area and try to strengthen the situation of irrigation facilities for
the local farmers. The arrangement in most situations is based on users’ cooperatives/societies (Phadhke
2002) and it should ideally be like this only. Somehow the trend shifts towards the utilization of ground
water resources; reasons might be lack of proper maintenance of canals/RLIs or so (IWMI 2010).
Furthermore, the use of shallow water tube wells and other low power irrigation devices allow users have
independent rights to use ground water for farming purposes. In this light, if policies of devolving
management of resources assume that (only) users will organize and take on the necessary management
for community based irrigation facilities grow major possibility of the system getting dysfunctional within a
short span of time only (Meinzen-Dick, Raju et al. 2002).
Coupling the above information with monsoon rainfall; largest source for water for the agriculture – on all
India time scale has been without any trend and mainly random in nature over a long period of time. But
on the spatial scale, existence of trends was noticed such as Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim and
Bihar Plains (decreasing) and Punjab, Konkan & Goa, West Madhya Pradesh and Telangana (increasing)
(Guhathakurta and Rajeevan 2008). Above mentioned trends are based on the rainfall data from 1901 –
2003 so It can be easily assumed that with vagaries of climate change, this rainfall trend might show a
different trend in future as well. This also implies that policies for water use should be realistic and
essentially be looking at broader perspectives and should not look for only immediate solutions as this
might put Indian agriculture on a temporarily boost putting long term interests at risk.
W
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
5
IMPORTANT MAPS OF INDIA
Figure 1; 1 – Hydrological map, 2 – District wise population, 3 – Drought prone areas, 4 – Flood prone areas, 5 – Ground water quality, 6 – Land use, 7 – Population growth, 8 – Decadal ground water fluctuation (1997 - 2006)
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
6
2
BACKGROUND
7
Workshop held in November 2010 in Kolkata (WB) helped
produce a map of WB (Fig 1) with different zones1 delineated on
the basis of similarity of living conditions of rural communities.
Participants from different govt. and non-govt. agencies
contributed to explore solutions as well to overcome the
problems of water for agriculture purposes in WB; relevance of
each solution was also defined for each zone.
Further in the line, participants also helped to find out priority
zones (where AWM can be an entry point) and few criteria such
as poverty level, unavailability of infrastructure etc. were
considered for it to be relevant in the context of rural
communities over there.
The zones defined in Fig 1 are based on the information provided by
the expert participants and does not necessarily match with the AEZ2
map of the West Bengal. This was a two days’ workshop and experts
showed excellent participation for the entire group activities during
the workshop; various group discussions and presentation helped
brought key features of West Bengal forward.
In total there were made five groups3; facilitators provided them with
necessary tools such as different relevant maps, blank attribute sheets
and that were with clear objectives. So in spite of being from different
back grounds, participants could come to some kind of consensus and
ultimately could produce the map showing different zones relevant for
AWM interventions.
1 See annexure for details. 2 AEZ – Agro ecological zones
3 See workshop report for more details.
Figure 3: AEZ map of West Bengal.
BACKGROUND
Figure 2: Different zones defined by the participants during the group discussion.
8
3
METHODOLOGY
9
Three main steps are considered in order to explain profile of different zones.
A. Identification of different zones
B. A brief look in to different aspects of State of West Bengal
C. Different livelihood zones and major characteristics
D. Identification of AWM investment potential
A. Identification of different zones Workshop provided participants a platform to discuss and redefine the zones necessary for AWM
intervention. Initially there were little disagreements pertaining to demarcation of different zones but later
due to expert facilitation, participants could come on a common consensus.
B. A brief look in to different aspects of State of West Bengal It would be worthwhile to have a look at this state in a nut shell; population and land use pattern are major
in this topic – would be able to give an overview of the state in general.
C. Analysis of different datasets Datasets pertaining to area, population, climate, workers, agriculture etc. were obtained from Bureau of
Applied Economics & Statistics (Govt. of West Bengal) and National Atlas & Thematic Mapping
Organization (Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India).
A lot of information has been fetched from different scientific papers and secondary resources for making
better analysis of existing datasets obtained from different government departments.
D. Identification of AWM investment potential Looking at the several solutions been identified by the participants, it was a must task to find out the
relevance of each solution in each area, hence every solution was checked against each zone (Table 2) as
per its relevance for making an investment.
METHODOLOGY
10
ZONES’ DELINEATION IN WB
The two days’ workshop held in Kolkata
facilitated by PRASARI and FAO gave
participants from different government and
non-government agencies a platform to
discuss about possibilities to improve
agriculture-water situation in West Bengal.
During the workshop, initially many zones
were identified but rearrangement (through
rigorous group discussions and
presentations) resulted in total 15 zones (except Kolkata) (Fig 2, Table 1). Different maps such as soil map,
AEZ map and agro-climatic maps were considered in order to delineate boundaries for livelihood zones.
LIVELIHOOD ZONES - IDENTIFICATION
A detailed analysis considering several important factors such as climate, population, agriculture, poverty,
and water related issues etc. is done in order to define different livelihood zones. It was also analyzed on
how a specific zone can be considered for making an investment; poverty followed by lack of infrastructure
for water, technology and management still make most important criteria amidst all intended for making
an investment. West Bengal GIS layers (up to block level) were used in order to define the boundaries of
Livelihood zones. These layers were then superimposed over the administrative map of the state; the
delineation of the boundaries of the entire livelihood zones is random in nature and is not district specific.
Hence, it gives all the zones a vague boundary contrasting to normal revenue map of the area (Fig 4). It is
also clear from the Livelihood Zones’ map that a single zone might consist of more than one district.
LIVELIHOOD ZONES - NOMENCLATURE
Table 1: Nomenclature of Livelihood Zones based on key characteristics and key livelihoods
Zone Nomenclature based on key characteristics and key livelihoods in the zone
Zone 1: Hilly-Terai Rain-fed Grain Crops4-Fruits-Vegetables- Spices5- Livestock Livelihood Zone.
Zone 2: Terai-Grain crops-Fiber-Vegetables-Livestock Livelihood zone.
Zone 2a: Terai-Grain crops-Fiber-Tobacco-Vegetables-Livestock Livelihood zone.
Zone 3: Barind Rain-fed- Grain crops-Pine apple-Fiber Livelihood zone.
Zone 4: Barind-Rice-Horticulture Livelihood zone.
Zone 5: Gangetic Alluvial & Barind- Rice-Sericulture Livelihood zone.
Zone 6: Ruhr & Alluvial-Grain crops-Poultry-Livestock Livelihood Zone.
Zone 7: Ruhr & Alluvial-Grain crops-Fishery-Poultry-Livestock-Cottage Industry Livelihood zone.
Zone 7a: Old Vindhyan alluvial-Grain crops-Fishery-Poultry-Livestock-Cottage Industry Livelihood Zone.
Zone 8: Ruhr & Alluvial-Grain crops-Livestock Livelihood zone.
Zone 9: Eastern Plateau & Alluvial-Grain crops-Livestock Livelihood zone.
Zone 10: Coastal & Alluvial-Grain crops-Fishery-Floriculture-Vegetable-Legumes-Livestock Livelihood zone.
Zone 11: Coastal-Grain crops-Horticulture-Livestock-Fishery Livelihood zone.
Zone 12: Coastal-Grain crops-Fishery-Livestock-Bund Horticulture Livelihood zone.
Zone 13: Coastal-Small Scale Single crop (Grain/Horticulture)-Capture Fishery-Livestock Livelihood zone.
4 Grain crops typically include Rice, Wheat, Mustard and Maize, and in some zones such as zone 1, it is Millet.
5 Spice crops typically include cardamom, ginger, turmeric etc.
IDENTIFICATION OF DIFFERENT ZONES
Zones’ delineation in West Bengal
Livelihood zones’ identification
Livelihood zones’ nomenclature
11
LIVELIHOOD ZONES IN WEST BENGAL
Table 2: Zones and districts falling under a particular zone
SN Zones Districts falling under the zone 1 Zone 1 Darjeeling
2 Zone 2 Jalpaiguri
3 Zone 2a Koch Bihar
4 Zone 3 Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur and Maldah
5 Zone 4: Maldah
6 Zone 5: Maldah, Murshidabad
7 Zone 6: Birbhum, Bardhman
8 Zone 7 Birbhum, Bardhman, Nadia, Hugli, Haora, East Midnapur, West Midnapur, Bankura, North 24 Parganas
9 Zone 7a Birbhum, Bardhman
10 Zone 8: Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapur
11 Zone 9: Purulia
12 Zone 10: Kolkata, Nadia, Haora, North and South 24 Parganas
13 Zone 11: South 24 Parganas
14 Zone 12: South 24 Parganas, East Midnapur
15 Zone 13: South 24 Parganas
Figure 4: Livelihood Zones' Map
12
AN OVERVIEW
West Bengal with the area of 88752 Km2 is
the third largest economy in India. West
Bengal has 18 districts and Kolkata serves as
the state capital. There are over 23 towns
with a population of over 100,000. The largest
cities are Kolkata, Howrah, Asansol, Durgapur
and Siliguri. Other important towns include
Darjeeling, Kharagpur and Haldia. Kolkata is
amongst the largest metropolitan regions in the world. The state has international boundaries with
Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal (IMRBInternational 2010).
The River Ganga and its numerous tributaries have
contributed to some of the most fertile regions in the
world. In West Bengal, agriculture is the mainstay for
about 70% of the population. The land usage in West
Bengal is as follows - arable land: 62.8%; forests 13.38%;
the rest is for other purposes – shall be discussed in
details in following subsections.
The state of West Bengal has been a center of a brilliant
and rich history, culture and heritage. With a population
of over 90 Million, West Bengal is the fourth most
populous state in India, and ranks first in terms of
population density. West Bengal is predominantly an
agriculture driven state (Fig 1; 6), however, there has
been a rich tradition of industrial setups since the start
of the industrial age in India. The state is actively
engaging investments in industrial sectors to ensure
resurgence in of a glorified past as a leader in
industrialization in India. West Bengal is a state with progressive thought and forward vision; the people of
the state are generally identified by a strong sense of culture and cognizance. West Bengal has earned the
distinction of being one of the “food basket” states of India (Prahalad 2010).
Table 3: Overview6 of West Bengal.
Particular Measure
Capital Kolkata
Area ~ 89000 km2 (2.7% of India’s area)
Human Development Index (HDI) 0.61
No. of Districts 18
State Language Bengali
Population > 91 Million (Male: Female = 51%:49%)
Urban – Rural Breakup of Population 22.97: 72.03 (%)
State’s share in India’s Population 7.28 %
Population Growth (1991-2001) 17.77%
6 Source: www.indiaat75.in
STATE OF WEST BENGAL
AN OVERVIEW
POPULATION
LAND USE PATTERN
Figure 5: West Bengal with all district
13
POPULATION
According to Census of India (2001) the estimated population of West Bengal in year 2001 was 80.17
million and is projected to be 91.00 million in year 2011.
Figure 6: District wise population in West Bengal – 2001.
It is clearly visible that the population in different districts makes four different categories –
1. Low population districts – Darjeeling, Dakshin Dinajpur, Cooch Bihar, Uttar Dinajpur and Purulia.
2. Moderately populated districts – Jalpaiguri, Maldah, Bankura, Birbhum
3. Medium populated districts – West Midnapur, East Midnapur, Nadia, Hooghly, and Howrah.
4. Highly populated districts – Murshidabad, Bardhman, North and South 24 Parganas.
Figure 7: Growth of population in West Bengal over the years (1941 - 2011)
With Fig 4, it is also evident that population in WB has just quadrupled in last 70 years with maximum
increase in highly populated districts (Census of India, 2001) such as Murshidabad, Bardhman, North and
South 24 Parganas. This information is important in terms of AWM intervention possibilities in West
Bengal; maximum industrial development happened in these highly populated districts only. This also
indicates that priority zones (Zones 8, 2 and 12; Fig 43) were almost left behind from development
0100000020000003000000400000050000006000000700000080000009000000
10000000
District wise Population in West Bengal - 2001
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011Po
pu
lati
on
in 0
0,0
00
Year
Population growth in West Bengal (1940 - 2011)
14
perspectives. Lack of proper road networks, poor electrification, poor agricultural growth, and poverty in
itself are among major issues in priority zones.
LAND USE PATTERN
Figure 8: Available land area in different districts.
Total available land in West Bengal is 8684 ha; out of which > 50% area is available in only 6 districts (Fig 5).
Figure 9: West Bengal and land use pattern.
Land use pattern (Fig 9) shows there are only four broad categories and total land use pattern can be
divided into; net sown area for agriculture purposes, for non-agricultural use, forest area and a little area
as fallow land. It would be interesting to see on how different districts are doing in the light of different
land use pattern.
0.00100.00200.00300.00400.00500.00600.00700.00800.00900.00
1000.00
AR
ea
in h
a
Districts
Land area available in West Bengal
1174
1733
21
5
58
34
22
341
5296
Forest Area
Non-agricultural use
Barren & unculturable land
Permanent pastures & other grazing land
Misc. tree groves
Culturable waste land
Fallow land other than current fallow
Current fallow
Net area sown
Area in ha
Land Use pattern in West Bengal
15
Figure 10: Area utilized for agriculture purpose in different districts.
Figure 11: Area not being utilized for any purposes.
All the priority zones (Zone 8, 2 and 12) comply with the current situation of agriculture; fallow area data
from the concerned districts show that there is need to intervene as lot of land is not utilized for any
purpose. It would be nice to look into the profile of two districts viz; Purulia and Bankura that show highest
fallow land area falling under high priority zones.
Purulia; comes first in the priority zones, and is predominantly mono-cropped. About 60 % of the total
cultivated land is upland. Out of the total agricultural holding about 73% belongs to small and marginal
farmers having scattered and fragmented smallholdings. Paddy is the primary crop of the district. 50% of
the total land is under net-cropped area and only 17% of the net cropped area is under multi crop
cultivation. 77% of the net-cropped area is under Aman paddy cultivation. The crops are grown mostly
under rain fed condition, generally with low fertilizer consumption per unit area thus per hectare
production is also low as compared to other district of West Bengal (Anno. 2011).
Bankura; net cultivable area of the District is 4.30 lakh ha and nos. of cultivator is 4.47 lakhs and per
cultivator availability of net shown area comes to 1.02 ha. Due to continuous division and fragmentation of
cultivated land, agriculture is becoming less remunerative. About 46% of the net cropped area is under
Irrigation. The gross cropped area is about 6 lakh ha and cropping intensity is 147%.
Other major purposes land is mainly used for in all the districts, can be divided in to two viz; non-
agricultural and forest area.
0100200300400500600
Are
a in
ha
Net area sown (Agriculture)
020406080
100120140
Are
a in
ha
Current fallow
16
Figure 12: Area utilized for non-agricultural purposes.
Figure 13: Area utilized for growing forests.
0
50
100
150
200
250
Are
a in
ha
Non-agricultural use
050
100150200250300350400450
Are
a in
ha
Forest Area
17
ZONE 1
OVERVIEW There is only one district that falls in Zone 1 viz;
Darjeeling. With an area of 3149 km2, Darjeeling
is different from all zones and is unique from
environmental Eco-perception. There are
different climatic zones in district Darjeeling
with distinctive attributes and the soils here
have been developed by both fluvial action and
lithological disintegration. Here annual mean
max and min temperature touches range of 14.90C and
8.90C respectively with average annual rain fall of 3092 mm.
Darjeeling is also one amongst most beautiful places in
India and considered as the ‘Queen of the Hills’.
This district has also been bestowed with several rivers such
as Tista, Great Rangit, Mechi, Balason, Mahananda, Lish,
Gish, Chel, Ramman, Murti and Jaldhaka. Considering
several great things, Darjeeling can be said comprised of six
T’s i.e. Tea, Tourism, Teak, Toy train, Tiger Hill, and
Trekkers’ paradise (Desai 2011).
MAJOR LIVELIHOODS7 AND ISSUES8 CONCERNED
Environmental conditions play a major role in conditioning the livelihood and economy of the people in
Darjeeling; subsistence agriculture, livestock, forestry, plantations and allied activities are the major
activity of the rural folks. Physiography in the area has made agricultural conditions extremely diverse.
Agriculture is greatly impacted by altitude and slope aspect. On account of cold no crops are grown above
9500 feet above sea level. Such situation in Darjeeling has made cultivation extremely difficult and needs
considerable input of human labour. Bare rocks and steepness restrict agriculture operations to a great
extent.
Broadly, agricultural crops in the Himalaya can be grouped into two categories – Food crops and cash
crops. Major Food crops include rice, maize, potato, wheat, barley etc. and are explained as TMS (Total
miscellaneous crops) in following figures (Fig 16, 17) while the cash crops are tea, cinchona, ginger etc.
Usually agriculture is practiced on irrigated terraces called Khet or rain fed terraces termed as Bari. Khets
are mostly seen on the lower altitudes (below 1500 meters) and is meant mainly for paddy cultivation.
Livestock serve as the primary and perhaps the most important source of fertilizer.
7 Source: http://beacononline.wordpress.com/
8 Source: Desai, M. (2011). "Identification and Mapping of Hazard Prone areas regarding landslide in the Darjeeling Hill area." Retrieved May 2nd,
2011, from http://www.darjeeling.gov.in/geography.html#land-use.
LIVELIHOOD ZONES
OVERVIEW
MAJOR LIVELIHOODS AND ISSUES
PRODUCTIVITY OF MAJOR FOOD CROPS
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF RICE
Figure 14: Darjeeling
18
Table 4: Zone 1 covering districts and blocks falling under it
Figure 15: Persons engaged in agriculture in different blocks of Zone 1
Forestry is also an important occupation of the people of Darjeeling. Darjeeling has
about 38.91 % of its area under forest. Many forest-based industries have come up and
there is huge potential for further development. Tea plantation contributes to a great
extent to the livelihoods of people over here.
Major issues in the region –
a) Frequent landslide hazards due to unstable geological structure and tectonic
disturbances.
b) Presence of very thin soil cover and heavy rainfall makes it vulnerable to Soil erosion.
This aspect is important from socio economic development of the hills and its people.
c) The forest cover is in a precarious condition due to the rapid increase in cultivated land (with the
exception of tea gardens), expansion of settlements, and construction of roads. The rapid depletion of
forest cover is noticeable in the tea plantation area. In most of the tea gardens in the hills, any type of
shade tree or trees along the fringe line of the garden for the protection of the soil is more or less
insignificant.
Darjeeling-
Pulbazar
Sukhiapokhri-
Jorebunglow
RangliRangliot
Kalimpong-I
Kalimpong-II
Gorubathan
Kurseong Mirik
Bargadars 2331 27 132 1111 1221 144 212 23
Small farmers 2560 5 510 2030 1240 1160 510 16
Marginal farmers 8005 1285 3780 8510 4475 2730 1580 479
0100020003000400050006000700080009000
Nu
mb
ers
Zone 1: Persons engaged in agriculture
District under Zone 1 Blocks falling under Zone 1
Darjeeling
Darjeeling Pulbazar
Gorubathan
Kalimpong0I
Kalimpong0II
Kurseong
Mirik
Rangli Rangliot
Sukhiapokhri Jorebunglow
Figure 16: Broken highways
19
d) Rapid expansion of settlements and towns especially along the roads is one of the important causes of
frequent landslide hazards in the hills. Multi storied buildings without proper planning along the roads
and on the steeper slope increase the load on already deteriorated slopes.
e) Demand for fuel is another issue; mining of less spirited coal layers and illegal felling of young trees to
meet the demand of firewood is an unpleasant fact of the hills.
f) Population explosion in the hill areas, especially in the urban areas has been followed by the rapid
increase in number of heavy vehicles; continuous horizontal vibration gradually destabilizes unstable
slopes and geological formations.
g) Water demand at domestic and commercial fronts has increased many folds during recent years.
Apart from this, forest clearance and removal of top layer of soils have resulted in decreasing ground
water level and consequent drying up of the streams during most part of the year.
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Figure 17: Production of major food crops in zone 1
Figure 18: Productivity of major crops in Zone 1
58.7
3.2 30.8
14.4 1.2 8.1
31.4
205.9
0
50
100
150
200
250
Rice Wheat Maize OtherCereals
Pulses Oil Seeds Jute TMC
Zone 1: Production of major crops ('000 tonnes) 2006-07
1866 1428
2116
1207
609 564
12.7
4254
Rice Wheat Maize Other Cereals Pulses Oil Seeds Jute TMC
Zone 1: Productivity of major food crops (Kg/ha) 2006-07
20
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF RICE
Figure 19: Production (thousand tones/ha) and productivity (kg/ha) patterns of rice in different seasons (2006-07).
Aus Aman Boro
Series1 8.9 46.6 3.2
0
10
20
30
40
50
Pro
du
ctio
n
Zone 1: Production pattern of rice
Aus Aman Boro
Series1 2040 1824 2071
1700
1750
1800
1850
1900
1950
2000
2050
2100
Pro
du
ctiv
ity
Zone 1: Productivity pattern of rice
21
ZONE 2
OVERVIEW9 Zone 2 consists of four districts viz; part of Darjeeling, Koch Bihar and Uttar Dinajpur, and Jalpaiguri. As the
zone covers a major portion of district Jalpaiguri so it would be more important to discuss the district
Jalpaiguri in details; rest districts would be given proper explanation in different parts of the report.
Table 5: Zone 2 with its districts and blocks
Districts under Zone 2 Block falling under the Zone 2
DARJILING
Kharibari
Matigara
Naxalbari
Phansidewa
JALPAIGURI
Alipurduar I
Alipurduar II
Dhupguri
Falakata
Jalpaiguri
Kalchini
Kumargram
Madarihat0Birpara
Mal
Maynaguri
Metiali
Nagrakata
Rajganj
KOCHBIHAR Haldibari
Mekhliganj
UTTAR DINAJPUR Chopra
Islampur
Crisscrossed with rivulets, rivers and hills, the district is primarily rural with over 80% of population residing
in rural areas. The district is the gateway to the entire North-Eastern States and Bhutan. Having high
percentage of migrated population different cultural groups (Ranjbanshi, Ravas, Totos, Metch, Santhals,
Madasia and Oraons) has created a unique cultural harmony which is rarely seen in other districts of West
Bengal (NIC-Jalpaiguri 2011).
MAJOR LIVELIHOODS AND ISSUES10 CONCERNED
Apart from agriculture and livestock rearing, tea gardens also contribute to the livelihoods in the region
and Jalpaiguri is the second highest tea producing district it the country. The tea estates define not
just the the economy but also the ethnic composition, employment and livelihood patterns, culture
9 Source: NIC-Jalpaiguri (2011). "Jalpaiguri Online." Retrieved May 2nd, 2011, from http://jalpaiguri.gov.in/index.htm.
10
Source: www.nrega.net
22
Table 6: An overview of district Jalpaiguri
Particulars Measures Geographical area 6245 km2
Area under tea garden 1987 km2
Area under forest land 1790 km2
Average annual rainfall 3160 mm
Average maximum temperature 30.90C
Average minimum temperature 10.80C
Relative humidity 82%
Main crops other than tea Rice and Jute
Major rivers Tista, Torsa, Jaldhaka, Raidak, Sankosh.
and economic development perspective of the district. A
good percentage of population belongs to SC/ST and
they form the labor class for working in the tea gardens.
The tribal laborers are not native to this place and were
brought from present day Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand
and were settled here by the British. Their ethnic and
cultural identity and social systems are also maintained
till date (DistrictMagistrate 2010).
Figure 21: Number of persons engaged in agricultue in blocks of Zone 2
Major issues in the region –
1. The tea Industry went through several fundamental changes and a
severe crisis that peaked during the first decade of this
century. This manifested itself in a large number of sick, locked out
and closed tea gardens. After a period of great hardship, a number
of gardens did become operational, though issues of productivity
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aigu
ri
Kal
chin
i
Kh
arib
ari
Ku
mar
gram
Mad
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at-…
Mal
May
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uri
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ari
Ph
ansi
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op
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Nu
mb
ers
Blocks in Zone 2
Zone 2: Persons engaged in agriculture
Bargadars
Small farmers
Marginal farmers
Figure 20: Jalpaiguri
Figure 22: Demand for Gorkhaland
23
remained. However, despite all efforts, twelve gardens remained
closed and two lied abandoned at the beginning of 2008 leaving a
great number of laborers on the verge of hunger.
2. As the tea gardens are reviving, farmers are showing interests in
establishing homestead tea gardens; reasons include water scarcity in dry
seasons and less returns on basic inputs. Middlemen also share a part of
this discouraged situation as a big part of the (supposed to be the profit)
income is wasted in by sharing their produce with the middlemen. This is a hard reality and middlemen
over here have a strong syndicate not allowing local farmers selling their produce directly in the
market.
3. Floods – during monsoon season, rivers are full of water – rise and fall and often changing their course
causing massive damage to the forests and agricultural land of villagers (Das 2009).
4. Conflict of intention between Supreme Court and forest communities – Supreme Court of India in year
2000, posed ban on restraining removal of dead, diseased, dying or wind-fallen trees, drift wood and
grasses etc. from any national park or Game Sanctuary. In view of this, rights and concessions cannot
be enjoyed in the Protected Areas (PAs). This was interpreted wrong by banning all activities, including
forest resource use for survival, and livelihood of forest communities. The court had no other intention
apart from stopping destructive actions for the commercial profit in the protected forest areas. It
actually threatened the lives and livelihoods of the forest villagers as well as the ecosystem and
plantation areas especially in reserved areas where frequent and devastating flood occur with the
continuous changing courses of rivers and streams (Das 2009).
5. Political disturbance – the area is highly vulnerable to political disturbances; demands for making
another state within state are always on a high for a long time. The poor is the most affected in these
agitations.
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Famous mainly for its tea gardens and sanctuaries, District Jalpaiguri has rice, wheat, maize, a small portion
of pulses and oil seeds, jute and other fibrous crops as among main crops. Potato and tea are covered as
TMC (Total miscellaneous crops) in following figures (Fig 20, 21).
Figure 24: Production of major crops in district Jalpaiguri.
419
33.1 23.1 0.3 2.1 7.8
446.7 449.2
734.3
Rice Wheat Maize OtherCereals
Pulses Oil seeds Jute Fibres TMC
Zone 2: Production of major crops ('000 tonnes) 2006-07
Figure 23: A protest rally
24
Figure 25: Productivity11 of major crops in zone 2
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF RICE
Figure 26: Production and productivity pattern of rice in different seasons in Zone 2 (2006-07).
As expected the production of rice is higher in the season of Aman; the main Kharif season for it.
Comparing production of rice with other crops such as maize; rice production is much better compared to
maize and wheat but the productivity is still lesser than these two. Production wise jute and other fibers
are also doing well in this district, and as this is a good place for tea gardens so people preference are also
inclined towards tea production. This is noticeable that there has been a trend going on over here when
farmers don’t get enough production/return from their field then they try to shift towards the tea
production which can let them avail a minimum amount of money per month during the top season which
is not possible through conventional agriculture. This is an alarming situation for this zone and proper
efforts need to be done here. Actually, this situation is more or less similar in places where tea is on a
major and plays an important role in the local economy.
Local economy is also influenced with the vegetable production viz; potato and part of the contribution
also comes from the production of chilly.
11
Productivity for TMC is not available for period of 2006-07
1824 2055 1982
860
505 565
10.6 10.5
Rice Wheat Maize Other Cereals Pulses Oil seeds Jute Fibres
Zone 2: Productivity of major crops (kg/ha) 2006-07)
Aus Aman Boro
Production 54 322 43
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
Pro
du
ctio
n ('
000
to
nn
es)
Zone 2: Production pattern of rice
Aus Aman Boro
Productivity 1311 1892 2347
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
pro
du
ctiv
ity
(kg/
ha)
Zone 2: Productivity pattern of
rice
25
ZONE 2A
OVERVIEW The Zone 2a consists only of Koch Bihar; with a geographical area of 3387 km2 contributes 3.82% to the
total land mass of the State of West Bengal. Koch Bihar is a district under the Jalpaiguri Division and is
located in the north-eastern part of the state, surrounded by the district of Jalpaiguri in the north, state of
Assam in the east and the international border in the form of Indo-Bangladesh boundary in the south as
well as in the west (NIC-KochBihar 2011).
Table 7: Zone 2a with its districts and blocks
Districts under Zone 2a Blocks falling under the Zone 2a
KOCH BIHAR
Coochbehar I
Coochbehar II
Dinhata I
Dinhata II
Mathabhanga I
Mathabhanga II
Sitai
Sitalkuchi
Tufanganj I
Tufanganj II
Table 8: Overview of district Koch Bihar
Particulars Measures Geographical area 3387 km2
Area under agriculture 2530.63 km2
1. Net Area for cultivation 246,491 ha
2. Cropping intensity 215 %
3. Single cropped area 24,900 ha
4. Double cropped area 1,41,491 ha
5. Triple cropped area 80,100 ha
6. Irrigated area 35%
Area under forest land 56.99 km2
Average annual rainfall 5348.8 mm
Maximum temperature 39.90C
Minimum temperature 3.90C
Relative humidity Highly humid (except Feb to May – 50-70%)
Main crops Rice, vegetables, wheat, tobacco, chili, maize and pulses
Major rivers Tista, Torsa, Jaldhaka, Raidak, Kaljani, Sankosh and Gadadhar systems etc.
Almost 85-90% of the total population depends on agriculture. In spite of poor soil condition, acidity and
lack of irrigation facilities the production and productivity of different crops is able to cope with increasing
demand. Part of the contribution comes from adoption of improved technologies, inclusion of different
26
high yielding and hybrid variety seeds and a series of government schemes like ATMA, NFSM, RKVY etc.
(NIC-KochBihar 2011).
MAJOR LIVELIHOODS AND ISSUES12 CONCERNED
A favorable climate helps rural Cooch Behar make its major livelihood as agriculture farming, and it
supplies the town with fruits and vegetables. Poorer sections of this semi-rural society are also involved in
transport, basic agriculture, animal resource farming, small shops, and as manual labor in construction.
Koch Behar is largely an agricultural place where more than 70% of total available land is used for
cultivation purpose but the very situation is that only 35% of total cultivable area receives irrigation (NIC-
KochBihar 2011). This situation puts the agriculture at risk as the agriculture still remains dependent on
monsoon rainfall and which can’t be said a favorable situation for its development point of view.
Major social and developmental challenges –
1) Lack of irrigation facilities13 - Koch Behar is an irrigation
deficient district. There are no major irrigation schemes
worth mentioning in the district; only about 35% of the
cultivable area is under irrigation. The benefit of the
Teesta irrigation cannels for the district is perhaps
distant possibility due to the topographical reasons. The
district is however blessed with large numbers of
perennial rivers, khals, beels, and water bodies. These
resources are being utilized as a source of surface
irrigation through a number of RLI and Mini RLI schemes in the region. However, most of these RLI
often remain unutilized or underutilization due to yearly flooding, meandering and heavy siltation
of these rivers. But the ground water potential of the district is very high. No doubt pump operated
shallow tube well is the most viable and popular irrigation scheme among the farmers of this
district.
Figure 28: Persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 2a
12
Source: www.voiceofbharat.org 13
Source of text is the official website for the district of Cooch Behar (http://coochbehar.nic.in).
02000400060008000
100001200014000160001800020000
Nu
mb
ers
Blocks in Zone 2a
Zone 2a: Persons engaged in agriculture
Bargadars
Small farmers
Marginal farmers
Figure 27: Koch Bihar
27
2) Unemployment – although the government has made several efforts through several schemes such
as SGSY14
and PMRY to overcome the situation of unemployment in the region but the trend to
migrate to cities in search of employment is still increasing.
3) Cross border trafficking and domestic trafficking are one among serious issues.
4) Improper implementation of energy schemes – causing the region failing to fulfill the energy
needs.
5) Gender bias and violence on women – the sex ratio is very less and is only 949 i.e. only 949 women
per 1000 men.
6) Rate of school dropout have increased.
7) Condition of health facilities in the rural areas of the district is very poor.
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Figure 29: Production pattern of major food crops in zone 2a
Figure 30: Productivity pattern of major food crops in zone 2a.
14
SGSY: Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yogna, PMRY: Prime Minister Rojgar Yogna.
445.8
25.2 35.2 0.5 4.9 12
762 770.9
304.5
Rice Wheat Maize OtherCereals
Pulses Oil seeds Jute Fibres TMC
Zone 2a: Production pattern of major food crops ('000 tonnes) 2006-07
1862 1956
5966
734 551 533 10.4 10.4
7016
Rice Wheat Maize OtherCereals
Pulses Oil seeds Jute Fibres TMC
Zone 2a: Productivity (kg/ha) pattern of major food crops (2006-07)
28
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY PATTERN OF RICE
Figure 31: Production and productivity pattern of rice in zone 2a in different seasons (2006-07).
Aus Aman Boro
Production 11 351.4 83.4
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
Pro
du
ctio
n in
th
ou
san
d to
nn
es
Zone 2a: Production pattern of rice
Aus Aman Boro
Productivity 886 1784 2775
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
Pro
du
ctiv
ity
in k
g/h
a
Zone 2a: Productivity pattern of rice
29
ZONE 3
OVERVIEW Zone 3 mainly consists of four districts viz; Dakshin Dinajpur, Maldah, Murshidabad and Uttar Dinajpur.
UTTAR DINAJPUR15
With two sub-divisions viz; Raiganj & Islampur, there are 4 Municipalities, 9 Blocks and 98 Panchayets covering 1516 villages in the district of Uttar Dinajpur. The total population is nearly 2.5 million comprising mainly of rural masses. Bengali is the main language but a sizeable portion of Urdu and Hindi speaking people also live in Islampur Sub-Division. The Climate of this district is characterized by Hot-Summer with High Humidity, abundant Rainfall and cold winter (NIC-UttarDinajpur 2003).
The district forms a part of the basin lying between Rajmahal hills on the East. The older alluvium is estimated to be Pleistocene age. Uttar Dinajpur is bestowed with a very fertile soil. The soil is very rich in nature due to the alluvial deposition which helps to grow Paddy, Jute, Mesta and Sugarcane etc.
Raiganj on the bank of the River Kulik is the District Headquarter where "Raiganj Wildlife Sanctuary", the
second largest bird sanctuary in Asia situated.
Table 9: Overview of district Uttar Dinajpur
Particular Measure
Geographical area (ha) 313080
Villages (numbers) 1516
Population (numbers) 2441794
Male: Female (%) 51:49
No. of families depending on agriculture 239500
No. of persons depending on agriculture 1297557
No. of small cultivators 88536
No. of marginal cultivators 135827
Forest area (acres) 1483.75
Uttar Dinajpur is a newly constructed district and was formed in year 1992. The district is preliminarily agricultural in nature. Diverse and surplus production of various crops like Tea, Jute, Potato, Ginger, Spices and Pineapple etc. make the district a strong base for agro based and horticulture- based industry such as –
a) Potato chips from potato. b) Ketch-up, Sauce from Tomato. c) Jelly, Jam from Guava, Mango, Pineapple. d) Packed juices from Orange, Pineapple, Mango, Guava, and Jackfruit. e) Ginger Oil, Ginger finger, slices. f) Pickle from Mango etc. g) Papain from papaya. h) Spices powder from Chili, Turmeric.
15
Source of information: http://uttardinajpur.nic.in/
Figure 32: Uttar Dinajpur
30
Table 10: Zone 3 with its districts and blocks
Districts Blocks
DAKSHIN DINAJPUR
Balurghat
Banshihari
Gangarampur
Harirampur
Hili
Kumarganj
Kushmandi
Tapan
MALDAH
Bamongola
Chanchal0I
Chanchal0II
Gazole
Habibpur
Harishchandrapur0I
Harishchandrapur0II
Old Malda
Ratua0I
Ratua0II
MURSHIDABAD
Behrampore
Beldanga0I
Beldanga0II
Bharatpur0I
Bharatpur0II
Burwan
Domkal
Farakka
Hariharpara
Jalangi
Kandi
Khargram
Lalgola
Nabagram
Nowda
Raghunathganj0I
Raghunathganj0II
Sagardighi
Samserganj
Suti0I
Suti0II
UTTAR DINAJPUR
Goalpokhar0I
Goalpokhar0II
Hemtabad
Itahar
Kaliaganj
Karandighi
Raiganj
31
DAKSHIN DINAJPUR
Brief history: West Dinajpur District was created out of the erstwhile Dinajpur district in 1947 at the time
of partition of India. The rest of the Dinajpur district is now in Bangladesh. The West
Dinajpur district was enlarged in 1956 at the time of
reorganization of the State with the addition of some areas of
Bihar. The district was bifurcated into Uttar Dinajpur and
Dakshin Dinajpur on April 1st, 1992. The erstwhile
Balurghat Sub-Division along with Banshihari and
Kushmandi Blocks (which were in Raigunj Sub-Division
prior to the bifurcation) comprise the new district.
The district is drained by a number of North-South flowing
rivers like Atrayee, Punarbhava, Tangon and Brahmani. It is
predominantly an agricultural district with large area of land
being under cultivation.
Dakshin Dinajpur is a "Non-Industry" district having no large scale industry. The first industry in medium
scale sector got off to a start in the district in November, 2003. Transport and Communication facilities are
not very satisfactory. New railway line has been laid between Eklakhi and Balurghat, the district HQ. Train
services have been started only from December 30th, 2004. There is one State Highway with only 3 Km of
National Highway falling within the district. Bengali is the principal language of the district. The principal
communities are Hindus and Muslims and they constitute the major portion of the population. Table 11: Overview of Dakshin Dinajpur
Particular Measure
Geographical area (ha) 2,21,480
Population 15,03,178
Area available for cultivation (ha) 175620
Fallow land (ha) 1.24
Land not available for cultivation (ha) 26513
Cropping intensity 183%
Area under high yielding variety seed (paddy) (ha) 26125
Rivers Atrayee, Tangon, Punarbhava, Ichamati, Brahmani.
Figure 33: Dakshin Dinajpur
32
Figure 34: Persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 3
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Zone 3: Persons engaged in agriculture
Bargadars
Small farmers*
Marginal farmers*
33
MALDAH
The gateway of North Bengal, Malda, once was the capital of
Gour-Banga with its 3456 km2 lay. The land can be easily
classified into Tal, Diara, and Barind and is a famous spot for
adventurous activities. People of archeological interest are also
very welcome in its huge potential to be explored (NIC-Malda
2010).
During the 18th century it was a place known for its prosperous
cotton and silk industries. Constituted a municipality in 1867, it
has Rice, jute, legumes, and oilseeds among main crops in the
surrounding area. Mulberry plantations and mango orchards
occupy large areas; mango trade and silk manufacture are the
main economic activities (NaturaBeyond 2011).
Table 12: Overview of District Maldah
Particular Measure
Geographical Area (ha) 373300
No. of Villages 3701
Total Population of the District 3290160
Normal Rainfall 1453 mm
Forest (ha) 1694.3
Current Fallow Land (ha) 52800
Other Fallow land that Current Fallow (ha) 300
Net Area under Cultivation (ha) 22849
Marginal Holding (below 1.0 acre) 343677; Area-157309 ha
Small Holding (1.0-2.0 acre) 74863; Area-112926 ha
Medium Holding (4.0-10.0acre) 7528; Area-41342 ha
Large Holding (10.0 acres and above) 120; Area-1232 ha
Vested land distributed 30332.00 ha
Area Irrigated 120067 ha
Electricity consumption ('000 KWH)
a) Domestic 77560
b) Commercial 13454
c) Industrial 16199
d) Public Lighting 598
e) Agri-irrigation & Dewatering 31627
f) Public water works & Sewerage Pump 4187
Figure 35: Maldah
34
MAJOR LIVELIHOODS AND ISSUES CONCERNED Zone 3 is some ways can be considered as really a challenged zone; more than 50% are small farmers and
12-31% is landless (IRRI 2011). Local economy is dependent on agriculture and small scale industries; poor
market service, poor access to farm mechanization, and increasing population can be considered as main
constraint to the local economy.
Major social and development challenges –
1. Recurring erosion, floods and droughts – The River Ganga in its fury is able to destroy land, lives and
homes on a mass scale in every flood season. Short-term measures like building spurs or attempting to
reduce velocity don’t serve great purpose; the central channel has to be dredged regularly according to
an executive engineer, Irrigation department in Maldah (Chattopadhyay 2003). The damage that
usually occurs due to floods is mainly to
the following –
a) Agricultural crops b) All Kaccha (made by mud) house c) Sources of drinking water d) Poultry and livestock e) Buildings of any type f) All type of communication 2. Floods also help in out breaks of
many diseases like dehydration, dysentery,
influenza, skin disease etc.
3. Scarcity of drinking water and
contamination of water with iron and
fluoride is getting serious problem in certain parts of
district Maldah.
4. Lack of permanent garbage dumping grounds and
drainage systems might lead life in general towards
unhygienic conditions which can’t be said a favorable
situation to either class viz urban or rural (Sarkar 2011).
5. Uttar Dinajpur is placed among least developed districts in
West Bengal as well as in India. With high level of
illiteracy, low health care and livelihood access and
widespread rural poverty makes life over here vulnerable
at all fronts.
6. Rapid population growth – if it is termed as population
explosion then it is not an exaggeration. Rapid population
increase restricts the inclusion of new rural workers in to
farm based employment. At the other hand, low level of
urbanization restrains the growth of non-farm sector.
7. Social and economic development of communities
pertaining to a specific religion is also at stake. This is not
only because of poor implementation of government schemes but also due to lack of awareness within
the community. E.g. the Muslim communities over here in the zone 3 show a tremendous increase in
the population leaving their children on roads for earning a meager wage by working in different places
(VoiceOfBharat 2011).
Figure 29: Eroded embankment due to flood in Ganga.
Figure 36: In its fury Ganga destroys everything that comes in its way.
35
8. Contamination of drinking water with Arsenic and decreasing ground water table is also of great
concern in the zone.
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Figure 37: Production pattern of major crops in zone 3.
Figure 38: Productivity patter on major crops
0
500
1000
1500
2000
Rice Wheat Barley Maize OtherCereals
Gram Pulses Oil seeds Jute Mesta TMC
Zone 3: Production pattern of major crops ('000 tonnes) 2006-07
Uttar Dinajpur Dakshin Dinajpur Maldah
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
kg/h
a
Zone 3: Productivity (kg/ha) pattern of major crops
Maldah
Dakshin dinajpur
Uttardinajpur
36
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF RICE
Figure 39: Production pattern of rice in zone 3 in three different seasons (2006-07).
Figure 40: Productivity pattern of rice in zone 3 in three different seasons (2006-07).
Zone 2a and zone 3 are quite similar in a way that the productivity of rice is much higher during the Boro
season than its main one i.e. Aman. Aman extends from July until December end and Boro extends from
January till April. This is remarkable in a way as the water scarcity is much more comparative to its previous
season.
Whole West Bengal is poor in the production of oil seeds which is not a very good situation; oil seeds act
like a cash crop and is attracts less attention compared to tea. This information is important from
awareness point of view. Production of Jute is quite comparable to rice and this trend is similar in all the
livelihood zones. Productivity wise tea and vegetables come on the first place; the situation would need
further in depth analysis on block level as the production of different crops would vary at block level than
at district level. Amidst all, main question arises for the better productivity during the Boro season in all the
zones; in spite of this much good productivity farmers don’t get enough production in the season. Reason
is quite simple – no or very less water available in this season. The need of AWM is most in places where
production of staple food crops is least in Boro-this gives space to back trace all the zones in production
matters. If we can calculate areas where rice production is less in Boro season would let us trace most
vulnerable areas in terms of food production in lean seasons. AWM intervention would be most effective in
3.3
322.5
263.9
18.2
294.4
133.8
10
201.9
258.7
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
Aus Aman Boro
'000
to
nn
es
Seasons
Zone 3: Production pattern of Rice
Uttardinajpur
Dakshin dinajpur
Maldah
1323
1960
2957
1748
2224
3163
1497
2525
3825
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
Aus Aman Boro
Zone 3: Productivity pattern of Rice
Uttardinajpur
Dakshin dinajpur
Maldah
37
places where water is not available in Boro season; during Aman – it is a season of monsoon as well and
crops can get water no matter if you are able to use ground water or not, they would get enough water for
the crop purpose. Only time when water is really needed is Boro season so investor should take care
regarding the seasons as well; it would be able to reduce high amount of investment money to be put in
these areas unnecessarily.
38
ZONE 4
OVERVIEW Zone 4 consists mainly of district Maldah with only four blocks. Maldah as a district has already been
explained in the zone 3.
Table 13: Zone 4 along with its districts and blocks
Districts under Zone 4 Blocks falling under Zone 4
MALDAH
English Bazar
Kaliachak I
Kaliachak II
Manikchak
Figure 41: Persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 4
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF MAJOR CROPS
Figure 42: Production pattern of major crops in Zone4 (2006-07)
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
English Bazar Kaliachak-I Kaliachak-II Manikchak
Nu
mb
ers
Blocks
Zone 4: Persons engaged in agriculture
Bargadars
Small farmers
Marginal farmers
470.6
111.1
1.7 29.5
4.6 22.5 40.7
341.3
5.6
292.1
0
100
200
300
400
500
Rice Wheat Barley Maize Gram Pulses Oil seeds Jute Mesta TMC
Zone 4: Production pattern ('000 tonnes) of major crops 2006-07
39
Figure 43: Productivity pattern of major crops in zone 4
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF RICE
Figure 44: Production and productivity pattern of rice in three different seasons in zone 4.
MAJOR ISSUES
1. The zone consists mainly of low - lying plains, sloping towards the south with undulating areas on
the northeast. Old alluvial and relatively unfertile soil, is commonly known as "Barind" is good for
the Mulburry plantation which in turn helps in the production of raw silk. But as it is low lying, it is
vulnerable to flood during rainy season.
2. In the block of Manik Chak, it is vulnerable to heavy soil erosion due to regular floods in the River
Ganga and can cuase a heavy shock to the silk industry in the zone.
3. Kalia Chak, where goatery is a viable livelihood activity can get severaly affected with the water
contamination in the zone.
4. Since the tribal population of the zone is quite high, it goes without saying that the development of
the zone mainly depends on the development of the tribals who are very much backward from all
perspectives. Lack of awareness on different issues among the tribal communities is also
responsible for the poor management of natural water resources in the zone.
3051 2591 1435 2157 975 861 1009 14.7 9.8
38947
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
45000
Rice Wheat Barley Maize Gram Pulses Oil seeds Jute Mesta TMC
Zone 4: Productivity (kg/ha) pattern of major crops (2006-07)
Aus Aman Boro
Production 10 201.9 258.7
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Pro
du
ctio
n in
th
ou
san
d to
nn
es
Zone 4: Production pattern of rice
Aus Aman Boro
Productivity 1497 2525 3825
0500
10001500200025003000350040004500
Pro
du
ctiv
ity
in k
g/h
a
Zone 4: Productivity pattern of rice
40
5. The maximum precipitation in the zone occurs in a short span of time from June to September.
Lack of proper water harvesting structures makes local communites vulnerable to drought
situations during summers.
6. In the "Barind" areas where the ground is high and agriculture is the sole occupation, the tendency
for the people is to remain in small hamlets. This tendency of being remain as individual lead them
to an unorganized society leaving them incapable of performing major economic activities.
41
ZONE 5
OVERVIEW Zone 5 consists of two districts viz; Maldah and Murshidabad. As there is only one block of district Maldah
is falling under this zone and major portion is covered by district Murshidabad; the detailed explanation
would be done for latter.
Table 14: Zone 5 with its districts and blocks
Districts under Zone 5 Blocks falling under Zone 5 MALDAH Kaliachak III
MURSHIDABAD
Bhagwangola I
Bhagwangola II
Msd Jiaganj
Raninagar I
Raninagar II
MURSHIDABAD16
Like other parts of the West Bengal, there has been inter-racial mixing in the local communities; people
from other parts of India came over here and settled as well.
The River Bhagirathi has divided the triangle shaped district and put
it into two broad geographical regions viz; Rarha area (West of
Bhagirathi) and Bagri area (East of Bhagirathi). Both areas are
almost equal in area and having a striking difference in their
geology, in the agricultural and habitation pattern and even in the
religions of their inhabitants. Looking at the present state of the
region, it seems hard to believe that tigers, rhinoceroses, and wild
buffaloes roamed here until the mid-nineteenth century. Leopards
and wild boars were found even much later. But now the only wild
animals found are perhaps a few jackals. The black-faced monkey is
however found in abundance as well; their herds are a common site
even in Berhampur Town. In the region, although there is no forest
coverage, there are many water bodies like rivers, canals, lakes and ponds and an abundance of trees and
shrubs. Therefore birds of many species including some migratory birds are quite common over here. The
eastern half of the district may be
described as an isosceles triangle. The
Ganga (Padma) and the Bhagirathi
forms the two equal sides; the River
Jalangi forms almost the entire base.
However, the line of drainage is not
along any of these rivers. During flood
two great rivers converges towards
each other, and ultimately makes its
way in a south – eastern direction.
16
Source: http://www.murshidabad.nic.in/
Figure 46: Murshidabad
Figure 45: A typical view at River Bhagirathi
42
Table 15: Overview of district Murshidabad
Particular Measures
Geographical area 5324 Km2
Population 5863717
a) Rural population 5131374
b) Urban population 732343
Forest area (ha) 771
Agriculture area (ha) 408296
Irrigated area (ha) 116950
Annual mean temperature 270C
Annual rainfall 1600 mm
MAJOR LIVELIHOODS AND ISSUES CONCERNED
Murshidabad has a tropical wet-and-dry climate. Summers are hot and humid with temperatures < 300C
and during dry spells the maximum temperatures often exceed 40 °C during May and June. Winter tends to
last for only about two and a half month; making the place favorable for the production of silk;
extensive mulberry cultivation is carried out in the western Murshidabad. The district is also known for the
quality and diversity of Mango produced, however, Mango is not a major produce of the Murshidabad
district, unlike the adjoining district of Malda.
People mostly are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood; rice, jute, legumes, oilseed, wheat and
barley are among major crops. There are some silk farms and some weaving machines as well, but they are
losing out fast against the modern industries. Murshidabad is famous for the high quality silk produced
here.
Figure 47: Number of persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 5
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
140000
Nu
mb
ers
Blocks
Zone 5: Persons engaged in agriculture
Bargadars
Small farmers
Marginal farmers
43
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Figure 48: Production pattern of major crops in zone 5
Figure 49: Productivity pattern of major food crops in zone 5
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF RICE
Figure 50: Production and productivity patterns of rice in three different seasons in zone 5.
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
Rice Wheat Maize Pulses Oil seeds Jute TMC
Zone 5: Production pattern of major crops ('000 tonnes) 2006-07
Maldah
Murshidabad
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
Rice Wheat Maize Pulses Oil seeds Jute TMC
Zone 5: Productivity (kg/ha) pattern of major crops 2006-07
Maldah
Murshidabad
62.2
492.8 475.6
10
201.9 258.7
Aus Aman Boro
Zone 5: Production pattern in Rice
Murshidabad Maldah
1908 2189
3464
1497
2525
3825
Aus Aman Boro
Zone 5: Productivity pattern in Rice
Murshidabad Maldah
44
ZONE 6
OVERVIEW Zone 6 typically consists of few blocks from district Bankura, Bardhaman and Birbhum.
Table 16: Zone 6 with its districts and blocks
Districts under Zone 6 Blocks falling under Zone 6
BANKURA
Barjora
G. Ghati
Mejia
BARDHAMAN
Andal
Ausgram II
Barabani
Faridpur Durgapur
Galsi I
Jamuria
Kanksa
Pandabeswar
Raniganj
Salanpur
BIRBHUM
Khoyrasole
Md.Bazar
Murarai II
Nalhati I
Rajnagar
Rampurhat I
Suri I
BIRBHUM17
In shape looking like an isosceles triangle, the district covers an area of 4545
km2. The district is well drained by a number of rivers and rivulets with a
slight southward inclination. The climate is generally dry, mild and healthy;
on the western side it is dry and extreme,
but is relatively milder on the eastern
side. The rainfall is higher in the western
areas as compared to the eastern areas.
The eastern portion of the district is a
continuation of the rice plain of West
Bengal, and the vegetation is
characteristics of rice fields in Bengal. Birbhum is primarily an agricultural district
with around 75% of the population being dependent on agriculture. Principal industries of the district
include cotton and silk harvesting and weaving, rice and oilseed milling, lac harvesting, stone mining and
17
Source: http://www.birbhum.nic.in/
Figure 52 Birbhum Figure 51: A common village in Birbhum
45
metal ware and pottery manufacture. Bakreshwar Thermal Power Station is the only heavy industry in the
district.
Table 17: Overview of district Birbhum18
Particular Measure
Population 3,015,422
a) Rural 2,757,002 (91.43%)
b) Urban 258,420 (8.57%)
Forest area 159.3 Km2
Agriculture area 3329.05 Km2
Major crops Rice, legumes, wheat, maize, potatoes and sugar cane.
Irrigated area 2763.9 Km2
Total inhabited villages 2259
a) Villages with safe drinking water 2234
b) Villages with electricity (domestic) 1,605
Rivers Ajay, Mayurakshi (Mor), Kopai, Bakreshwar, Brahmani, Dwarka, Hinglo, Chapala, Bansloi, Pagla.
Figure 53: Persons engaged in agriculture in zone 6
18
Source: www.pacsindia.org/birbhum/
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
Sala
npu
r
Au
sgra
m-I
I
Bar
jora
G. G
hati
Gal
si-I
I
Jam
alp
ur
Kal
na-
I
Kan
ksa
Kat
wa-
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Ket
ugr
am-I
I
Kh
oyr
aso
le
May
ure
swar
-I
Md
.Baz
ar
Mem
ari-
I
Mo
nga
lko
te
Mu
rara
i-I
Nal
hat
i-I
Nan
oo
r
Pu
rbas
thal
i-I
Rai
na-
I
Raj
naga
r
Ram
pu
rhat
-II
Sain
thia
Suri
-II
Nu
mb
ers
Blocks
Zone 6: Persons engaged in agriculture
Bargadars
Small farmers*
Marginal farmers*
46
BARDHAMANN19
A town of tanks; several tanks are scattered here and
there across the town forms the boundary with many
other such Dumka (Jharkhand), Birbhum and
Murshidabad on the North Nadia in the East, Hooghly,
Bankura and Purulia in South and Dhanbad (Jharkhand)
in the West. The river Barakar forms the State boundary
to the west; the Ajay separates Birbhum and Dumka to
the north with exception of a portion of Katwa
subdivision; the Damodar forms a southern boundary
with Purulia and Bankura, while Bhagirathi forms the main eastern boundary with a few exceptions.
The maximum length from east to west is 208 Km while the maximum breadth from north to south is 112
Km. In shape the district resembles a hammer.
Forest: The forest areas of the district are chiefly situated in the lateritic and red soil high lands in the
Aushgram PS of Sadar Subdivision and in the Asansol subdivision. In Aushgram P.S. the forest areas are
interspersed with paddy fields. The Durgapur forests are continued in the Birbhum district beyond the Ajay
while the forest area in the Asansol subdivision forms a part of the forest area of Dumka District of
Jharkhand.
Table 18: Overview of district Bardhhaman
Particular Measure
Geographical area 7024 Km2
Population 6895514
a) Rural 63.06%
b) Urban 36.94 %
Rainfall 1442 mm
Temperature 430C (Max) - 50C (Min)
Forest area 22270 ha
Agriculture area 698740 ha
a) Net cropped area 466630 ha
b) New irrigated area 335890 ha
Major rivers Damodar, Bhagirathi, Barakar, Ajay, Dwarakeswar, Nonia
MAJOR LIVELIHOODS AND ISSUES CONCERNED
Birbhum: The region is a dual blend of rolling plateau made up of laterite and Gangetic alluvial plains,
which is highly conducive for cultivation. Hence the economy of the district is entirely based on agriculture
(Indianetzone 2008). Looking at the weather, the dry weather of Birbhum is highly adverse to the
agriculture (except monsoon the dry weather prevails over the year). Apart from this, most of the land is dry
and the rivers are only rain fed, this means the agriculture is supported neither by rain nor by rivers therefore
the Government has decided to undertake some irrigation projects such as Mayurakshi River Project and
Hinglow River Projects in recent years in order to promote the agricultural development in the region.
19
Source: http://bardhaman.nic.in/distataglance.html
Figure 54: Bardhman
47
Birbhum is a major center of cottage industries; perhaps the most notable cottage industry here is a non-
profit rural organization named Amar Kutir. Other main industries in Birbhum are agriculture-based
industries, textiles, forestry, arts and crafts. Sriniketan is noted for its dairy industry and as a forestry
center. Some of the notable forms of cottage industries of Birbhum include textile—especially cotton and
locally harvested tussar silk, jute works, batik, kantha stitch, macramé (weaving by knotting threads),
leather, pottery and terracotta, solapith, woodcarving, bamboo and cane craft, metal works and various
tribal crafts. There are 8,883 small and medium scale industries. Principal industries of the district include
cotton and silk harvesting and weaving, rice and oilseed milling, lac harvesting, and metal ware and pottery
manufacture. Bakreshwar Thermal Power Station is the only heavy industry in the district.
Bardhaman20 21:
Bardhaman is the only district in the state of West Bengal that is fortunate both in industry and agriculture.
Several iron and steel companies are situated in the district.
Regarding agriculture, there is on an average about 58
percent of the total population belongs to the agriculture
sector while the non-agricultural sector accounts for the
remaining 42 percent (NIC-Bardhaman 2011). Rice and
oilseed milling and hosiery, cutlery, and tool manufacturing
are the chief industries.
Regarding the district, the eastern part is a low alluvial plain,
densely populated and often waterlogged and swampy. The
western region is one of the busiest industrial tracts in West
Bengal, with rich coal, fireclay, and iron-ore deposits, especially
in the Raniganj coalfield area. The Damodar Valley Corporation provides irrigation, industrial power supply,
and flood control. Rice, corn (maize), legumes, and oilseeds are the chief crops in the east.
Major social and developmental challenges include population growth poor rural development and lack of
proper infrastructure.
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Figure 56: Production pattern of major food crops in zone 6.
20
Source: http://www.bardhaman.gov.in 21
Source: http://www.grassoportal.com/district/burdwan.asp
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
Rice Wheat Pulses Oil seeds Jute TMC
Zone 6: Production pattern of major food crops ('000 tonnes) 2006-07
Birbhum
Bardhaman
Figure 55: Population growth in Bardhaman
48
Figure 57: Productivity pattern of major food crops in zone 6.
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF RICE
Figure 58: Production and productivity patter of rice in three different seasons in zone 6.
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
Rice Wheat Pulses Oil seeds Jute TMC
Zone 6: Productivity pattern (kg/ha) of major food crops 2006-07
Birbhum
Bardhaman
43.7
1201.3
722
15.8
960.3
223.3
Aus Aman Boro
Zone 6: Production pattern of Rice
Bardhaman Birbhum
3232 2864
3442
2591 3070
3462
Aus Aman Boro
Zone 6: Productivity pattern of Rice
Bardhaman Birbhum
49
ZONE 7
OVERVIEW
Table 19: District 7 with its districts and blocks
Districts under Zone 7 Blocks falling under Zone 7 BANKURA
Bishnupur, Indus, Joypur, Kotulpur, Patrasayer, Sonamukhi
BARDHAMAN
Bhatar, Burdwan I, Burdwan II, Galsi II, Jamalpur, Kalna I, Kalna II, Katwa I, Katwa II, Ketugram II, Khandaghosh, Memari I, Memari II, Monteswar, Purbasthali I, Purbasthali II, Raina I, Raina II
HAORA
Amta I, Amta II, Bagnan I, Bagnan II, Jagatballavpur, Pandhla, Shyampur I, Udaynarayanpur, Uluberia I, Uluberia II
HUGLI
Arambagh, Balagarh, Dhaniakhali, Goghat I, Goghat II, Haripal, Jangipara, Khanakul I, Khanakul II, Pandua, Pursurah, Tarakeswar
NADIA
Chakdaha, Chapra, Hanskhali, Kaliganj, Karimpur I, Karimpur II, Krishnaganj, Krishnanagar I, Krishnanagar II, Nabadwip, Nakashipara, Ranaghat II, Ranaghat I, Santipur, Tehatta I, Tehatta II,
NORTH 24 PARGANAS
Baduria, Bagdah, Bongaon, Gaighata, Habra I, Swarupnagar
PASCHIM MEDINIPUR
Chandrakona I, Chandrakona II, Dantan I, Dantan II, Daspur I, Daspur II, Debra, Garbeta I, Garbeta II, Ghatal, Keshpur, Kharagpur II, Mohanpur, Narayangarh, Pingla, Sabong
PURBA MEDINIPUR
Bhagawanpur I, Bhagwanpur II, Chandipur (Nandigram III), Egra I, Egra II, Kolaghat (Panskura II), Mahishadal, Moyna, Nandakumar, Panskura I, Potashpur I, Potashpur II, Sahid Matangini, Tamluk
SOUTH 24 PARGANAS
Budge Budge I, Budge Budge II, Diamond Harbour II, Falta
NADIA
Table 20: Overview of district Nadia
Particular Measure
Geographical area 3927 Km2
Population 4604827
a) Rural 36,25,308
b) Urban 9,79,519
Cultivated agricultural area 272135 ha
Total Forest Area 1249 ha
a) Reserved area for utilization in future 510 ha
b) Reserved Forest Area 302 ha
c) Area under Social Forestry 640 ha
Figure 59: Nadia
50
HOOGHLI
The district is a completely flat land with no more than an elevation of
200 meters anywhere in the area. The River Hooghly and Damodar
are the major rivers in the region. Hooghly is the one of the most
economically developed districts in West Bengal. It is also the
main jute cultivation, jute industry, and jute trade hub in the state
with jute mills located mainly along the river banks of Hooghly. There
are also a number of industrial complexes including one of the largest
car manufacturing plants in India viz; the 'Hindustan Motors'.
The district of Hooghly offers a rich cultural heritage since the
prehistoric times. The region of Hooghly existed even when there was
no separate state called West Bengal. The region, as has been inhabited by several generations for years, it
inherited a diversified cultural heritage.
HOWRAH
Howrah the second largest city of West Bengal lies along the West bank of
Hooghly River and as a district is one of the main administrative districts
of the state. With a population of over 1 million, Howrah draw its
economy chiefly from industries and only ≈ 30% of the total population is
engaged in cultivation.
EAST MEDINIPUR22
With roughly an area of 4060Km2, East Medinipur is one of the 18
administrative districts of West Bengal. The total population of the district
is ≈ 4.5 million and is comprised of four subdivisions viz; Tamluk, Haldia,
Egra and Contai.
The district has an excellent transport and communication network of
national highways and railways. A major existing industrial base at
Haldia and Kolaghat, availability of skilled man power at comparatively
lower rates, abundance of electric power and a business environment
conducive for industrial growth both from the labour and political
fronts are a few plus points for promotion and development of Micro
and Small Medium Enterprises (MSME) in this district. Aquaculture and
shrimp farming has been taken up in a big way in the coastal belt of this
district and floriculture and horticultural activities are concentrated in a
major portion of Tamluk Sub-division. In Haldia a large number of heavy
engineering, chemical, and small-scale clusters are growing. Similarly, in
Contai, Egra, Digha, Tamluk, Mahishadal and Kolaghat a wide number
of Small Scale Industries are spread over. Handloom-weaving is a
traditional industry in this district and a considerable number of people
are engaged in this activity.
22
Source: http://www.indianetzone.com/
Figure 60: Hooghly
Figure 61: Howrah
Figure 62: East Medinipur
51
WEST MIDNAPUR23
West Medinipur district has been carved out from the
erstwhile district of Midnapore, and it came into existence
on 1st January 2002. It has a total geographical area of
9295.28 Km2 and a population of 5193411 as per census
2001. The district is primarily agricultural in nature, with
cultivation being the chief livelihood of a majority of the
people. Paddy occupies the first place in production. The
district has a suitable agro-climatic condition for cultivation
of mulberry and horticulture crops such as mango, banana,
guava, lemon, orange, papaya, cashew and jackfruit. The
district is well known for the production of mulberry
and tussar silks, and Silk saris from Midnapore are much in
demand. Kharagpur, an important junction of the South-Eastern Railway is located centrally in the district.
It provides connectivity to all parts of the country for passengers as well as goods.
NORTH 24 PARGANAS
North 24 Parganas is West Bengal’s most populous district. It is also the
tenth largest district in the State by area and second most densely
populated district in the country. The district lies within the Ganges-
Brahmaputra delta. The river Ganges flows along the entire west border of
the district. There are many other rivers, which include the Ichhamati,
Jamuna, and Bidyadhari. North 24 Parganas is one of the nine (including
Kolkata) severely arsenic affected district in West Bengal. The climate is
tropical, like the rest of the Gangetic West Bengal; the symbol is the
Monsoon, which lasts from early June to mid-September. The weather
remains dry during the winter (mid-November to mid-February) and humid
during summer. Folk Culture: Folk Culture is one of the main traditions of
West Bengal. The District of North 24-Pgs is proud of his own folk culture viz
Jhumur, Kabigan, Tarjagan, Manasha vasan, Rayani, Austakgan, Banabibir
Pala, Tusu, Patar Bashi Bhatiyali etc. This various forms of folk culture have already reached to the people
of the whole West Bengal as well as all over India.
23
Source: http://www.indianetzone.com/
Figure 63: West Medinipur
Figure 64: North 24 Parganas
52
Table 21: Overview of district North 24 Parganas
Description Particulars
Population 8,930,295
Geographical area 4094 Km2
Cultivable Area 2,71,845 ha
Net cropped Area 2,64,952 ha
Net area irrigated 1,67,128 ha
Forest Land 4,221 ha
Rainfall 1,579mm(Normal)
Temperature 410C in May (Max) and 100C in January (Min)
Relative Humidity 50% (March) - 90% ( July)
Net Water Area 73,916 ha
Area under Pisciculture 36,322 ha
BANKURA24
An overwhelming agro-economic base and low urbanization and industrialization characterize the
economy of the district of Bankura. The district is broadly divided into two regions: the alluvial plains in the
east and the undulating tract to the west. Within the district and even within these regions, the villages
vary not only in their geographical features but also in their physical forms and composition of their
economic and social life patterns. Agriculture forms the
prime contributor to the economy of the district.
The net cultivable area of the district is 43 million
hectares, and about 46% of the net cropped area is
under irrigation. Mines and minerals play a vital role in
the economy of Bankura district. Mines and minerals
based ventures have already come up on the stretch of
land from Bankura to Saltora. Certain areas in the region
have been setting up agriculture based industries like,
Rice and Oil Mills. Cottage and Small Scale Industries
constitute a major segment of the district`s economy. It
provides maximum employment opportunity next to
agriculture and this account for nearly 9 percent of the district income. The forests in the district produce
various medicinal flora and fauna which are routinely exported to neighboring districts and also outside the
state.
24
Source: http://www.indianetzone.com/
Figure 65: Bankura
53
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY PATTERN OF MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Figure 66: Production pattern of major food crops in zone 7
It is quite evident with Fig 66 that the trend of rice, jute and tea production is more or less similar in all the
livelihood zones of West Bengal. Bardhman and Nadia these are two districts which are quite opposite in
production of rice and tea. Tea here in all the figures is in the form of TMC (Total Miscellaneous Crops
which include production of vegetables as well). The production of rice is equivalent to production of TMC
in Nadia district. This is quite remarkable in the production of tea and other vegetable crops for Nadia as
these crops act like a cash crops. West Midnapur is also good in the production of rice in its main season
i.e. Aman but it lags behind Bardhman regarding the total production of rice in whole year. The availability
of water is very less in Boro season in whole West Bengal and West Midnapur is not an exception in this
regard.
This situation again puts emphasis on the hypothesis that the main season that needs water most is Boro;
this is the season when there is very less or no rain and all the water harvesting structures gets dried by the
end of April first week so literally no water in the water harvesting tanks. All the rivers are already dried by
the March end so it is the most difficult time for a farmer to fetch water for agriculture purposes. Only
method that can provide water during non-rainy season is using ground water; we would discuss the
situation of ground water in detail in the ‘solutions’ chapter in this report and of course, it is needed to be
discussed; AWM relies on use of available ground water for agriculture purposes and several means of
using this water has been proposed in many countries which include low cost pumps and many other
things. But, this needs to be validated whether this kind of intervention would put agriculture at risk in long
term or would allow farmer more output from the same field.
0
500
1000
1500
2000
RiceWheat Maize
PulsesOil
seedsJute
TMC
Zone 7: Production pattern of major food crops ('000 tonnes) 2006-07
Bardhaman Bankura Birbhum
West Midnapur East Midnapur Nadia
Hoogly Howrah North 24 Parganas
54
Figure 67: Persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 7
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
Am
ta-I
Bad
uria
Bag
nan
-II
Bh
agaw
anp
ur-
II
Bu
dge-
Bu
dge
-I
Ch
and
ipu
r (N
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Ch
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Gar
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-I
Han
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ali
Jaga
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Kal
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Kes
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arag
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Kri
shn
agan
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Mah
ish
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Nab
adw
ip
Nar
ayan
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sku
ra-I
Po
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pur
-I
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at -
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Sah
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atan
gin
i
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mp
ur-
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Tam
luk
Teh
atta
-II
Ulu
ber
ia-I
I
Bu
rdw
an-I
I
Kal
na-
I
Kat
wa-
II
Mem
ari-
I
Pur
bas
thal
i-I
Rai
na-
II
Nu
mb
ers
Blocks
Zone 7: Persons engaged in agriculture
Bargadars
Small farmers
Marginal farmers
55
Figure 68: Productivity pattern of major food crops in zones 7
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY PATTERN OF RICE
Figure 69: Production and productivity pattern of rice in zones 7 and 7a.
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
18000
Zone 7: Prodctivity pattern of major food crops (kg/ha) 2006-07
Rice
Wheat
Maize
Pulses
Oil seeds
Jute
TMC
0200400600800
100012001400
Bar
dh
aman
Ban
kura
Bir
bh
um
Wes
t M
idna
pu
r
East
Mid
nap
ur
Nad
ia
Ho
ogl
y
Ho
wra
h
No
rth
24
…
Zone 7: Production pattern of rice
Aus
Aman
Boro
0500
1000150020002500300035004000
Bar
dh
aman
Ban
kura
Bir
bh
um
Wes
t M
idna
pu
r
East
Mid
nap
ur
Nad
ia
Ho
ogl
y
Ho
wra
h
No
rth
24
…
Zone 7: Productivity pattern of rice
Aus
Aman
Boro
56
ZONE 7A
OVERVIEW Zone 7a typically consists of few blocks from districts Bardhaman and Birbhum. Major livelihood activities
have already been discussed in Zone 7.
Districts under Zone 7a Blocks falling under Zone 7a
BARDHAMAN
Ausgram I
Ketugram I
Mongalkote
BIRBHUM
Bolpur Sriniketan
Dubrajpur
Illambazar
Labhpur
Mayureswar I
Mayureswar II
Murarai I
Nalhati II
Nanoor
Rampurhat II
Sainthia
Suri II
Figure 70: Persons engaged in agricultuer in Zone 7a
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
18000
20000
Nu
mb
ers
Blocks
Zone 7a: Persons engaged in agriculture
Bargadars
Small farmers
Marginal farmers
57
Zone 7a has following characteristics –
1. This zone is a mix of uneven lateritic territory and allvial flood plains.
2. There has been a regular increase in the occurance of droughts putting the local economy at risk
regardless of its nature.
3. This zone is close to main agriculture land of district Bardhaman which are also called as ‘Rice Bawl’
but amazingly the productivity of rice and other agriculture crops, is much less.
4. Lack of proper water harvesting structures in the zone results in the surface run off which in long
run causing ground water level going down. Lower ground water level doesn’t allow small and
marginal farmers with enough water; there are cases of farmers’ suicide due to corp failures in the
zone.
58
ZONE 8
OVERVIEW This is the zone belong to undulating Lateritic region under the agro-climatic subdivisions of the state West
Bengal and typically consists of Bankura, West Medinipur and Purulia districts.
Table 22: Zone 8 with its districts and blocks
Districts Blocks falling under Zone 8 Bankura Bankura I, Bankura II, Chhatna, Hirbandh, Indpur, Onda, Saltora, Sarenga, Simlapal,
Taldangra
West Medinipur
BinpurI, Garbeta II, Gopiballavpur I, Gopiballavpur II, Jamboni, Jhargram, Keshiary, Kharagpur I, Medinipur, Nayagram, Salboni, Sankrail
Puruliya Arsha, Balarampur, Bandowan, Hura, Jaypur, Kashipur, Manbazar I, Manbazar II, Neturia, Para, Puncha, Purulia I, Purulia II, Raghunathpur I, Raghunathpur II, Santuri
PURULIA
As per 2001 census total population of the district is 2535516, out of which 89.93% are residing in rural
areas and 10.07% are in urban areas. Cultivation of this district is predominantly mono-cropped. About
60% of the total cultivated land is upland. Out of the total agricultural holding about 73% belongs to small
and marginal farmers having scattered and fragmented smallholding. Paddy is the primary crop of the
district. 50% of the total land is under net-cropped area and
only 17% of the net cropped area is under multi crop
cultivation. 77% of the net-cropped area is under Aman paddy
cultivation. The crops are grown mostly under rain fed
condition; generally with low fertilizer consumption per unit
area Thus per hectare production is also low as compared to
other district of West Bengal.
Fishery is also a viable activity in the district but results are not
encouraging; tanks/ponds are not utilized properly. Total inland
area of the district is 71,255 ha leaving an ample opportunity to
bring more area under efficient Pisciculture.
Forests in Purulia: Total forest coverage in this district including
social forestry and degraded forest as per Satellite Imagery data is 185726 ha which is 29.69 % of the total
land of the district. The management and maintenance of Forest is being done by Joint Forest Protection
Committees under active control of different divisions of Forest Department. At present 702 nos. of Forest
Protection Committees are working in this district. These committees have not only helped to protect the
plantation areas but have also guarded against illegal felling of trees.
The natural forests of the district are mostly of mixed nature and restricted to northwest part of the district
covering Ajodhya Hills and Panchet hills of northeast. As per Remote sensing data the forest cover of this
district is increasing compare to its past status. The extensive farm and social forestry plantation programs
might have contributed in a big way to the increase forest cover.
Figure 71: Purulia
59
Figure 72: Persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 8
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Zone 8: Persons engaged in agriculture
Bargadars
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60
POVERTY AND LIVELIHOOD CHALLENGES
Table 23: Percentage of the backward communities
Districts Total Population
ST ST (%) SC SC (%)
Purulia 2536516 463452 18.27 463956 18.29
Bankura 3192695 330783 10.36 997408 31.24
West Midnapur 5193411 772177 14.86 937340 18.04
Total 10922622 1566412 14.34 2398704 21.96
This zone has the maximum population of the Schedule tribe population who are considered as the most
backward class in the state and the country as well. The Purulia district comprises highest ST population
(over 18%) in the zone and the state as well. At the same time the zone also has a significant Scheduled
Caste population who also represents the backward class. This is a complete rural zone comprising of an
average rural population of 90% (approx) having very limited numbers of industries.
Table 24: Work availability in different districts
Work availability Total workers
(TW) Class of Total Workers
District Number P.C. Cultivators Agricultural Labourers
Household Ind. Workers
Other Workers
Number PC to TW
Number PC to TW
Number PC to TW
Number PC to TW
Purulia 1127488 44.45 352712 31.28 406223 36.03 84466 7.49 284087 25.2
Bankura 1427272 44.7 439957 30.82 503214 35.26 83492 5.85 400609 28.07
West Midnapur
2131547 41.04 639201 29.99 748661 35.12 163984 7.69 579701 27.2
As stated in the aforesaid table, over 60% of the employment opportunities in the zone are directly from
the agriculture and agriculture is the main source of livelihoods in the zone. There are occupations like biri
making (an indigenous product used instead of cigarettes) from the tendu leaves (a non timber forest
produce) in a wide zone in Purulia and Bankura and making shaal leaf plates in a range of forest fringe area
of the West Midnapur district. Bothe the sectors are unorganized and operate through a much localized
kind of market value chain mainly dominated by the middlemen; exploitative agents.
Though agriculture is the main source of livelihoods in the zone but the data shows over 90% of the land
holding belong to marginal and small farmers. More critically almost 70% of the landholding belongs to the
marginal farmers as shown in the table below. If we consider the average land holding pattern, it is 1
hectare or less per family.
The increase in the population during the last decade resulted in further marginalisation of assets,
especially land ownership. Of these lands, about 50% would consist of uplands with very low productivity
in fragmented and scattered parcels. Irrigated land in the zone is approximately 15% and most marginal
farmers do not have access to irrigation. The zone experiences poor monsoon once in almost every three
years, which results in total loss of kharif paddy, particularly in the uplands. Such widespread poverty and
the frequent occurrence of natural calamities limit the possibility of any savings and wealth formation,
61
closing out the possibilities of investment to improve resources. Thus most of these marginal and small
farmers are actually living in a precarious condition that deteriorates with every passing year.
Table 25: Land size class in the zone
Districts
S I Z E - C L A S S Average
land holding (ha)
Total land
holdings
(no.)
Marginal
Small Semi-medium
Medium
Large
No.of holdin
gs
% margin
al
No.of holdin
gs
% small
holding
No.of holdings
No.of holdin
gs
No.of holdin
gs
Purulia 213085 70.67168
63750 21.1433
22455 2197 27 0.86 301514
Bankura 239365 65.21461
84960 23.14721
36870 5827 20 1.06 367042
West Midnapur
577469 84.89282
82262 12.09321
19001 1478 23 0.75 680233
To summarise, a little under half of rural zone 8 is below the poverty line as per official estimates. The
entire district is drought prone. Over 70 percent of the population is dependent on marginal agriculture
and allied activities, with low incomes and stagnant productivity. Thus, the challenge is not merely creating
new livelihoods to offset the effects of population growth, but to make existing agricultural-livelihoods
more productive so that persons engaged in agriculture can earn adequate income to meet their basic
needs.
Topographically and agro-ecologically, zone 8 is an extension of the Chhotanagpur plateau, characterized
by an undulating terrain with hilly outcrops and average annual rainfall of 1300 mm. The productivity of
this kind of land under traditional cropping system (a single crop of kharif paddy) is very low as soil fertility
and water holding capacity are low, water control is difficult and soils are shallow. The broad classification
of land is as follows.
Broadly speaking, the land in most of the villages in zone 8 can be classified into:
Valley land (bohal)
Medium lowland (kanali)
Medium up land (baid)
Upland (taand)
Homestead land (Badi)
These are pictorially illustrated in Fig 1. Leaving aside forests and lands under the custody of different
government departments, the use of privately owned land is better understood in the context of
livelihoods. However, as individual holdings are also set in a particular geographical location in the
landscape, it makes sense to look at the general terrain features.
62
Figure 73: A typical village transact
Figure 74: resource ownership pattern of a typical marginal family in the zone
As shown in the Fig 64, a family owns an area of 2.69 acre and divided across four different land categories.
Apart from their own land there is forest lands people use for fuel and other non-timber forest produces
like shal, tendu leaves, mushrooms etc. The table below would explain land categories and their usage:
63
Table 26: Land categories and their usage
Type of land Status Ownership Scope for improvement
Forest lands Green cover, vulnerable to illegal felling.
Forest department.
Long term protection and soil moisture conservation to enhance growth.
Degraded forest lands used as pasture lands by villagers
Protection, new plantation, soil and moisture conservation.
Fallow uplands (taand*)
Mostly wastelands, highly eroded with occasional presence of bushes or stubbles of trees
Almost all families have some share.
With land development for soil moisture conservation or irrigation development, could be brought under orchard
Homestead lands (Badi)
A family may have 500-800 sq. m., usually reserved for extension of houses as families grow/split. Sometimes uplands, used to grow vegetables for home consumption. Some families might have a dug well, used as a source of drinking water and to irrigate vegetable patches if cultivated.
All categories of families have such lands. As usual, poorer have less.
Lands at the back yard could be best productive assets for women provided there is access to irrigation. Several neighbouring families could get together to share a dug well to intensify homestead farming.
Terraced & bunded mid-uplands (baid)
Without irrigation support, people grow only monsoon paddy. Vulnerable to the vagaries of the monsoon..
Poorer families on an average have 0.10-0.15ha of such lands.
Could be converted into double cropped lands with low cost water harvesting and irrigation infrastructure development.
Terraced & bunded mid low lands (kanali) & low lands (bohal)
Used to cultivate longer duration, increasingly HYV, paddy during kharif, these are the most productive and the only secure source of food crops. Sporadic cultivation of pulses or oilseeds in winter.
Poorer families on an average have 0.08 –0.15 ha of such lands.
Could grow three crops by developing water harvesting and irrigation infrastructure and good water management. Farm fisheries possible.
IRRIGATION AND AGRICULTURE
Table 27: The percentage of cultivable land and irrigated area (2006-07)
District Net sown Area(ha) Irrigated area (ha)-considering repetitive irrigation
Irrigated-Rice productivity (kg/ha)
Purulia 310.24 71.13 2092
Bankura 344.66 1157.621 2981
West-Midnapur 555.62 428.12 2874
Irrigation coverage is calculated on the basis of total irrigation provided to an area in different seasons of a
year (say for three crop seasons). The Bankura irrigation coverage with respect to net sown area in 2006-07
is the cumulative coverage figure and is too small indeed for other two districts as stated. Most of the canal
command areas do not receive water when it is needed. A large number of villages have no irrigation
coverage at all. Fluctuation in rain, particularly early withdrawal of monsoon in some years drastically
reduces the command area from all sources. Considering thje cumulative irrigated area coverage it is
64
prominent that there is almost no second crop in Purulia district under irrigated condition and almost the
same in case of West Midnapur. At the same time natural resource husbandry is not a very common
practice that resulted in very poor crop production. The highest rice yield in the zone under irrigation is
even much lesser than the average state’s yield and falling far behind of highest irrigated rice production of
3.6 t/ha. The typical viscious of the zone is as following:
Figure 75: A typical viscious of the zone.
Agriculture is the backbone of the rural economy of zone 8 with more than 80% of the population directly
dependent on it. However, modern farming practices are yet to take root and a majority of the farmers
continue to follow traditional practices with low yields. Like other hilly and undulating parts of the country.
Cereal crops like paddy and maize occupy a major portion of the agricultural area in the zone, Other
important crops grown are wheat and oilseeds. Paddy dominates the present cropping pattern. Due to lack
of irrigation facilities, small size of land holdings, lack of extension services with regards to input
management and package of practices and lack of access to institutional credit, yield of these crops is
extremely low. A majority of farmers cultivate only one crop in a year due to lack of irrigation, resulting in
low income.
Livestock in the zone is of poor quality, and primarily an adjunct to subsistence agriculture – cattle of non-
descript quality are kept primarily for draft power and manure. However, due to the practice of free
grazing and non-descript breeds of cattle, their contribution to the economy in general and to agriculture
(by way of manure and draft power) is limited even though the per capita availability of livestock compares
well with the all India average. The practice of rearing livestock is to cope-up with emergency situations
and also for festivals.
65
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Figure 76: Production patter of major crops in zone 8.
Figure 77: Productivity pattern of major food crops in zone 8.
PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF RICE
Figure 78: Production and productivity pattern of rice in three different seasons in zone 8.
0
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Bankura
West Midnapur
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Zone 8: Productivity pattern (kg/ha) of major food crops 2006-07
Purulia Bankura West Midnapur
3
725
3 53
946
139 81
1281
436
Aus Aman Boro
Zone 8: Production pattern of Rice
Purulia Bankura West Midnapur
1501
2615 2484 2618 2813 2760
1961 2497
3165
Aus Aman Boro
Zone 8: Productivity pattern of Rice
Purulia Bankura West Midnapur
66
ZONE 9
OVERVIEW The zone 9 typically consists of few blocks from district Bankura, Paschim Medinipur and Puruliya. All three
districts have alrady been explained in zone 8 as well but from livelihood zones’ point of view it is different
from zone 8.
Districts Blocks falling under Zone 9
BANKURA
Khatra
Raipur
Ranibandh
PASCHIM MEDINIPUR Binpur II
PURULIYA
Baghmundi
Barabazar
Jhalda I
Jhalda II
Figure 79: Persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 9
Main characteristics of the zone are as follow –
1. The Purulia portion is actually the forest fringed area of zone 8. The topography here typically
consists of steep granite hillocks. This means there is very less soil dust and thus less green cover.
2. Although this zone can be considered as the recharge zone but as the topography is not suitable –
there is no recharge actually. Steep slopes don’t allow water to percolate down in the soil and
results in the fast surface run off.
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67
3. Majority of farmers belong to small and marginal category. Livelihoods mainly dependent on either
forests or on the agriculture; forest based livelihoods such as collection of fuel wood, tendu leaves
and mushrooms provide a significant economic value to the farmers.
4. The zone is not completely dependent entirely on agriculture; goatery is also a viable activity which
can give higher returns compared to agriculture. But this is still a coping mechanism as the
economic situations of farmers don’t allow them to purchase their staple food from the market on
higher prices.
5. The zone is rain fed in nature and maximum rain fall occurs during the monsoon season leaving the
local communities vulnerable to drought situations during summers.
6. Agriculture is mainly single cropped during the Kharif season and done for paddy cultivation which
during rainy season is mostly flooded not allowing farmers to receive optimum production from
their fields.
68
ZONE 10
OVERVIEW The zone 10 consists of few blocks from districts Haora, Hugli, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas.
Table 28: Zone 10 with its districts and blocks
Districts under Zone 10 Blocks falling under Zone 10
HAORA
Domjur
Sankrail
HUGLI
Chanditala I
Chanditala II
Chinsurah Mogra
Polba Dadpur
Serampur Uttarpara
Singur
NADIA Haringhata
NORTH 24 PARGANAS
Deganga
Habra II
Haroa
SOUTH 24 PARGANAS
Bhangar I
Bhangar II
Bishnupur I
Bishnupur II
Sonarpur
Thakurpukur Maheshtala
Figure 80: Persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 10
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PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF MAJOR CROPS
Figure 81: Production pattern of major food crops in zone 10.
Figure 82: Productivity pattern of major food crops in zone 10.
Zone 10 is very peculiar as the zone is the combination of sweet and saline water zones as well. There is
high rain fall in the zone with aroung 2300 mm bu amazingly most of the rain happens in the monsoon
season only. This zone contains a lot of rivers as well which are connected to the ocean; Bay of Bengal and
there is always presence of tides in the rivers.
During the rainy season the entire zone is flooded with the water; there is no outlet for the water and it
later results in the water logging. This stagnant water has got the higher salinity as well. The increased
salinity has the direct impant over the local livelihoods; farmers prefer agri-pisciluture due to stagnant
water conditions. In other words this type of agriculture can also be termed as ‘Tide based agriculture’.
During high tides the water comes in the agriculture fields and accumulates over here; farmers then go for
the paddy cultivation and fish farming both in the stagnant water. This zone has got a great potential for
the agriculture water management; poor land where good agriculture is possible only is summers if
somehow can be given proper treatment would be able to provide high return even in the monsoon
season. The situation is such that agriculture over here is possible in flooded conditions only as the salinity
is also an issue in the stagnant water. Flooded water keeps the salinity at low and if somehow the water
level is reduced – it would result in the crop failure as the paddy can’t tolerate high salinity.
0
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Jute TMC
Zone 10: Production pattern of major food crops ('000 tonnes) 2006-07
Nadia
Howrah
south 24 Parganas
North 24 Parganas
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Zone 10: Productivity pattern of major food crops (kg/ha) 2006-07
Nadia
Howrah
south 24 Parganas
North 24 Parganas
70
ZONE 11
OVERVIEW The zone 11 contains only five blocks from the district South 24 Parganas.
Districts under Zone 11 Blocks falling under Zone 11
SOUTH 24 PARGANAS
Diamond Harbour I
Kulpi
Mandirbazar
Mograhat I
Mograhat II
Figure 83: Persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 11
Chief characteristics of the zone are as follow –
1. The zone consists of semi-urban and rural areas and is typically agriculture in nature; only rural
areas contribute to the agricultural production.
2. Similar to zone 10, this zone is also having the problem of water stagnation. The major reason of
this water logged situation is the encroachment of existing ponds and khals that were used to store
the water during rainly season. They now have been occupied in order to make new houses and
other infrastructures. The encroachment has left no space for getting water stored in the zone.
3. In a long course of time, local rivers are also silted increasing the river bed. This means in high tides
and during rainy season, the river crosses the bunds and enter in to the agriculture fields and even
in the main lands.
4. Local people have adopted a coping mechanism in the form of ‘Bund farming’. They grow
vegetables over the bunds – they do vegetable cultivation two times a year along with the rice. The
Bund farming is successful due to less salinity on the bunds as maximum salts get leached into the
soil during the rain.
5. Fresh water fishery is also a major source of livelihood in the zone.
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Marginal farmers
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ZONE 12
OVERVIEW Zone 12 typically consists of some blocks from districts North 24 Parganas, East Medinipur and South 24
Parganas.
Districts under Zone 12 Blocks falling under Zone 12
NORTH 24 PARGANAS
Basirhat I
Basirhat II
Hasnabad
Minakhan
EAST MEDINIPUR
Contai I
Contai III
Deshapran (Contai II)
Haldia
Khejuri I
Khejuri II
Nandigram I
Nandigram II
Ramnagar I
Ramnagar II
Sutahata
SOUTH 24 PARGANAS
Baruipur
Canning II
Jaynagar I
Jaynagar II
Kakdwip
Mathurapur I
Sagar
Chief characteristics of the zone are as follow –
1. The zone is agriculture dependent but as this zone is also affected with higher salinity issues so not
very different from zone 11. 2. Tide based agriculture and vegetable cultivation is a major source of livelihood in the zone. 3. Captured fishery is very remunerative to the people of the zone and it acts as a coping mechanism
for less agricultural production. 4. A high rain fall of 2200 mm doesn’t bless the region with plenty of water as the >80% of rain
happens within only <80 rainy days which in absence of proper water harvesting structures causes
only flood.
72
Figure 84: Persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 12
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Zone 12: Persons engaged in agriculture
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ZONE 13
OVERVIEW The zone 13 typically consists of North and South 24 Parganas and in a nut shell defines the Sunderban
region.
Districts under Zone 13 Blocks falling under Zone 13
NORTH 24 PARGANAS
Hingalganj
Sandeshkhali I
Sandeshkhali II
SOUTH 24 PARGANAS
Basanti
Canning I
Gosaba
Kultali
Mathurapur II
Namkhana
Patharpratima
Figure 85: Persons engaged in agriculture in Zone 13
It is, indeed, a complex zone, stretching from the metropolitan Kolkata to remote riverine villages, upto the mouth of Bay of Bengal. The rural area significantly suffers from the lack of transport and communication facilities and weak delivery systems. 84% of the population lives in the rural areas, where development is taken care of by the Panchayat bodies. The scheduled caste comprises 39% of the total population and B.P.L. families constitute 37.21% of the population.
The zone under saline Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forests on earth, is spread over ten development blocks in the district. Due to its peculiar geographical location and the dictates of geography, the means of transport and communication in this region are not well developed, with all the attendant consequences. Lack of irrigation has meant mono-cropped agriculture. Breaches in earthen embankments and cyclonic storms mean loss of life and destruction of crops and property on a regular basis. Any development strategy in this ecologically fragile environment must be carefully designed and implemented.
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Zone 13: Persons engaged in agriculture
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74
Apart from marine fishing, the principal traditional occupation in the entire coastal zone of the State is agriculture. In zone 13 the other occupations are fishing, honey collection and wood cutting although agriculture is the major occupation of the people. Due to hostile geo-physical conditions that entail inaccessibility, communication impediments, low productivity agriculture, constant change in land masses coupled with the prevailing climatic condition, the entire coastal zone -13 is characterised by severe economic backwardness.
PHYSICO-CHEMICAL VARIABLES
The coastal zone of West Bengal experiences a moderate type of climate because of its location at the apex of the Bay of Bengal as well as due to regular tidal flushing in the estuaries. Wave action, micro and macrotidal cycle, long shore currents are recorded in most of the islands of the ecosystem. Coastal processes are very dynamic and are accelerated by tropical cyclone which is locally called Kal Baisakhi (Nor’Wester). Field investigations show that the coastline is changing in the reclaimed areas due to abnormal cliff erosion.
The seasonal climate in coastal West Bengal may be conveniently categorised into pre-monsoon (March-June), monsoon (July-October) and post-monsoon (November- February). Each season has a characteristic feature of its own, which is very distinct and unique. The oscillations of various physical variables in different seasons of the year are discussed briefly.
WAVES AND TIDES
Sea waves in this region rarely become destructive except during cyclonic storm. During Nor’westers, the wind speed rises above 100 Km/hour and is usually accompanied by huge tidal waves. When the cyclonic incidences coincide with the spring-tides, wave height can rise over 5m above the mean sea level
SALINITY
Salinity is an important parameter governing many biological and chemical processes in the coastal zone of West Bengal. This parameter exhibits unique seasonal variation with highest value during pre-monsoon (March-June), minimum during monsoon (July-September) and intermediate during post-monsoon (November-February).A drastic variation of salinity is also observed in different transects of the estuary at the same time (Mitra, 2000).
RAINFALL
70-80% of total precipitation takes place in the period of June to September whereas the minimum rainfall is distributed across October to April in the year.
Chief characteristics of the zone are as follow –
1. This zone is mainly representing the delta region with lots of streams passing through up to Bay of
Bengal.
2. Regular river bank failure is common feature over here; river banks fail at a frequency of 5 – 6
years causing Hugh damage to the local economy. Blocks particularly Gosaba, Sandesh Khali and
Namkhana are highly vunerable to river bank failures; saline sea water enters villages easily and
thoudands of hectare of the cultivable land people are loosing every year.
3. Agriculture and fishery are the popular livelihood activities and majority of the people fall in the
smallholder categories.
4. Water level in the zone is very high but the percentage of salinity is very high which is not good for
agricultural activities. For sweet water, the level goes as deep as 700 feet; as the zone is having no
75
irrigation facility so the return on the agriculture is also very less. Migration to distant places to
earn cash money is the only coping mechanism.
5. The land-use composition (Fig 86) of the coastal region reveals that maximum land in the coastal
area is under agriculture, followed by residual and homestead land. Uses of land under other
purposes like orchard are negligible. Pasture land in the coastal region is virtually non-existent.
Reclamation of agricultural land for aquaculture which reached its peak beginning the late ’80s up
to 1995 has apparently reached a plateau after imposition of ban on semi-intensive prawn farming
in 1996. 74.68% of the total cultivable land covered under Kharif paddy whereas 8.4% is the
coverage under boro paddy. The area severely suffers from water logging in the kharif and higher
saline concentration and non-availability of sweet water in other seasons made it mono-cropped.
The water stagnation profile of a typical village is shown by resource-mapping on revenue sheets:
Figure 86: Resoruce map of a village in the coastal West Bengal
76
PRIORITY ZONES:
The 2 days’ workshop also explored the 3
priority zones (Fig 41); based on all the
criteria considered by the participants; zone
8 (District Purulia, Bankura, and West
Midnapur) was put 1st in terms of
intervention followed by zone 2 and 12.
Figure 87 Voting was done in order to prioritize zones for AWM interventions
SOLUTIONS AS AN AWM INTERVENTION:
Table 29: Different solutions and their relevance25 explored during the workshop in different zones.
Zones 1 2 2a 3 4 5 6 7 7a 8 9 10 11 12 13
Watershed development
1 1 3
1
Water harvest
3
3
3 1 3 1 3 3
3 3
Water and soil conservation 3
2 3 3 3
2
Electrification
1 3 1
1 1 1 3 2
1
Financing
1
1
1 1 1 3 3
1
Drip irrigation
1
1 3
1 3 2 1 1
1
Small scale lift irrigation
3
2
1 1 1 3 3
1
Solar
1
1
1 1 1 1 1
1
Capacity building
3 3 3 3 3 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Participants were facilitated to rank all the solutions as high, moderate and low; it significantly sorted out
most relevant solutions and validated the priority zones suggested by the participants. But this exercise
also throws light on the zones which were not selected by the participants and seems relevant from
intervention point of view; criteria followed by the participants were mostly responsible for prioritizing the
25
Relevance indicators; 3 = High, 2 = Medium and, 1 = Low
0
5
10
15
20Zone 1
Zone 2 and 2a
Zone 3
Zone 4:
Zone 5:
Zone 6:Zone 7 and 7a:Zone 8:
Zone 9:
Zone 10:
Zone 11:
Zone 12:
Zone 13:
Zones' prioritization for AWM intervention
Votes scored
AWM INVESTMENT POTENTAIL
PRIORITY ZONES
SOLUTIONS
77
zones (see workshop report for more details). In further analysis, we would see the solutions explored by
the paticipants along with some necessary comments on their relevance as a favored AWM intervention
method.
A. WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT
Figure 88: Solution in the zones and its relevance
Table 30: Zones showing relevance of intervention with Watershed development
SN ZONES DISTRICTS COVERED Relavance for watershed
intervention
1 6 Birbhum, Bardhmann Low
2 7 Bardhmann, Nadia, Hugli, Haora, East Midnapur
Low
3 7a Birbhum, Bardhmann High
4 12 East Midnapur, South 24 Parganas
Low
Comments:
1. Zone 7a shows highest relevance for intervention with watershed development as per participants’
opinion during the workshop.
2. Fig 43 explains about the rainfall trend (from 2003 – 2007) in the zones; zone 7a (Birbhum and
Bardhmann) is in accordance with the participants’ opinion as the increase in rainfall over the years
is more or less stagnent.
3. In order to dig in this isssue deep, we need to look at the Fig 44; Ground water situation (2007
data). There is a difference between projected amount of ground water need and water
availability.
4. So in first look, the solution suggested for zone 7a appears worthwhile.
1 2 2a 3 4 5 6 7 7a 8 9 10 11 12 13
Watershed development 1 1 3 1
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
Re
leva
nce
in e
ach
zo
ne
Watershed development
78
Figure 89: Rainfall pattern in different districts.
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
Bardhaman Birbhum Nadia Hoogly Howrah EastMidnapur
WestMidnapur
Bankura North 24Parganas
south 24Parganas
Rai
nfa
ll in
mm
Districts
Rainfall trend in Zones 6, 7, 7a, and 12
Year 2003
Year 2004
Year 2005
Year 2006
Year 2007
Normal 2007
79
Figure 90: Ground water situation in Zone 6, 7, 7a, and 12
It is quite evident from Fig 43 and 44 that where there is presence of good rain, net annual availability of ground water is good and vice versa. This information is
important from agriculture point of view. The idea of AWM intervention would be applicable in places where there is low rain availability along with low ground
water table. So this way, Birbhum, Nadia, Howrah, Bankura and South 24 Parganas are more important than our priority zones (Fig 41). But one has to keep in
mind that these districts are also highly populated zones and very much urbanized so idea of intervention in terms of AWM would have to see other perspectives
as well.
0
100000
200000
300000
400000
500000
600000
700000
Ground Water Situation in Zone 6, 7, 7a, and 12
projected demand 25 yrs for domestic and industryuse
Existing draft from all uses
Net Annual availability
Districts
80
B. WATER HARVEST
Figure 91: Water harvest and its relevance in each area.
Table 31: Zones showing relevance of intervention with water harvest
SN ZONES DISTRICTS COVERED Relavance for Water Harvest
1 2 Jalpaiguri High
2 3 Uttar Dinajpur, Dakhin Dinajpur and Maldah
High
3 5 Maldah, Murshidabad High
4 6 Birbhum, Bardhmann Low
5 7
Bardhmann, Nadia, Hugli, Haora, East Midnapur, West Midnapur, Bankura, North 24 Parganas
High
6 7a Birbhum, Bardhmann Low
7 8 Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapur
High
8 9 Purulia High 9 11 South 24 Parganas High
10 12 East Midnapur, South 24 Parganas
High
Comments:
1. There are only two zones viz zone 6 and 7a (Birbhum and Bardhmann) which show less relevance
for water harvest during the rainy season. Partly it does’t match with the findings of previous
solution i.e. watershed development; at block level, only eastern Birbhum and western Bardhmann
fall in zone 7a which is why it looks different.
2. Water harvest is needed for small and marginal farmers which are most affected during the Boro
season (from Dec to March). Fig 7 and 8 can help explain as why Birbhum and Bardhmann show
less relevance in terms of intervention with water harvest.
Zone1
2 2a 3 4 5 6 7 7a 8 9 10 11 12 13
Water Harvest 3 3 3 1 3 1 3 3 3 3
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
Re
leva
nce
in e
ach
are
a
Water Harvest
81
Figure 92: Area available for production of Boro rice in zones relevant for intervention with water harvest.
Figure 93: Yield in Kg/ha of Boro rice in zones relevant for intervention with water harvest.
0200000400000600000800000
1000000
Area Vs. Production
Production (tonnes) Boro rice
Area (ha) Boro rice
0500
10001500200025003000350040004500
Yield (kg/ha) Boro rice
Yield (kg/ha) Boro rice
82
Figure 94: Rainfall trend in zones relevant for intervention with water harvest.
3. Rainfall pattern doesn’t support participants’ assumption for whether Birbhum and Bardhmann
should be left aside in terms of intervention with water harvest structures.
0500
1000150020002500300035004000
Rai
nfa
ll in
mm
Rainfall trend (Year 2007)
83
C. WATER AND SOIL CONSERVATION
Figure 95: Water and soil conservation and its relevance in each zone.
Table 32: Zones showing relevance of intervention with water and soil conservation
SN ZONES DISTRICTS COVERED Relavance for Water Harvest
1 1 Darjeeling High
2 7
Bardhmann, Nadia, Hugli, Haora, East Midnapur, West Midnapur, Bankura, North 24 Parganas
Medium
3 7a Birbhum, Bardhmann High
4 8 Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapur
High
5 9 Purulia High
6 12 East Midnapur, South 24 Parganas
Medium
Comments:
1. All the zones show a great requirement of water and soil conservation; Fig 11 puts light into this
issue. Rainfall trend except Darjiling is more or less similar in all the zones, but how much water of
that can be used for the irrigation purpose would be worthwhile to notice (Fig 12). 2. The solution suggested by the participants appears to be realistic at first approach.
Zone1
2 2a 3 4 5 6 7 7a 8 9 10 11 12 13
Water and soil conservation 3 2 3 3 3 2
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
Re
leva
nce
in e
ach
zo
ne
Water and soil conservation
84
Figure 96: Rainfall trend in zones relevant for interventin with water and soil conservation.
Figure 97: Trend in irrigation in zones relevant for intervention with water and soil conservation.
0500
1000150020002500300035004000
Rai
nfa
ll in
mm
Rainfall trend
050000
100000150000200000250000300000350000400000450000
Are
a in
ha
Trend irrigation (ha) 2007
85
D. ELECTRIFICATION
Figure 98: Electrification and its relevance in each zone.
Table 33: Zones showing relevance of intervention with electrification
SN ZONES DISTRICTS COVERED Relavance for Water Harvest
1 2 Jalpaiguri Low
2 2a Kooch Bihar High
3 3 Uttar Dinajpur, Dakhin Dinajpur and Maldah
Low
4 6 Birbhum, Bardhmann Low
5 7 Bardhmann, Nadia, Hugli, Haora, East Midnapur, West Midnapur, Bankura, North 24 Parganas
Low
6 7a Birbhum, Bardhmann Low
7 8 Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapur High
8 9 Purulia Medium 9 12 East Midnapur, South 24 Parganas Low
Comments:
1. Electrification is neede for the irrigation purposes; only two zones viz; zone 2a (Kooch Bihar) and
zone 8 (Purulia, Bankura and West Midnapur) show high relevance for the intervention with
electrification.
2. Fig 14 also confirms the need of electrification in the concerned zones as even the RLIs (River Lift
Irrigation schemes are also not functioning well.
Zone1
2 2a 3 4 5 6 7 7a 8 9 10 11 12 13
Electrification 1 3 1 1 1 1 3 2 1
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
Re
leva
nce
in e
ach
zo
ne
Electrification
86
Figure 99: River Lift Irrigation schemes owned and run by WRDD.
0
50
100
150
200
250
River Lift Irrigation Schemes by WRDD
NOS.OF RUNNING SCHEMES Diesel
NOS.OF RUNNING SCHEMES Electric
NOS.OF PERMANENTLY DEFUNCT Diesel
NOS.OF PERMANENTLY DEFUNCT Electric
NOS.OF TEMPORARILY BREAK DOWN Diesel
NOS.OF TEMPORARILY BREAK DOWN Electric
87
E. FINANCING
Figure 100: Financing and its relevance in each zone.
Table 34: Zones showing relevance of intervention with financing
SN ZONES DISTRICTS COVERED Relavance for Water Harvest
1 2 Jalpaiguri Low
2 3 Uttar Dinajpur, Dakhin Dinajpur and Maldah
Low
3 6 Birbhum, Bardhmann Low
4 7 Bardhmann, Nadia, Hugli, Haora, East Midnapur, West Midnapur, Bankura, North 24 Parganas
Low
5 7a Birbhum, Bardhmann Low
6 8 Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapur High 7 9 Purulia High
8 12 East Midnapur, South 24 Parganas Low
Zone1
2 2a 3 4 5 6 7 7a 8 9 10 11 12 13
Financing 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 1
00.5
11.5
22.5
33.5
Re
leva
nce
in e
ach
zo
ne
Financing
88
F. DRIP IRRIGATION
Figure 101: Drip irrigation and its relevance in each zone.
Table 35: Zones showing relevance for intervention with drip irrigation
SN ZONES DISTRICTS COVERED Relavance for Water Harvest
1 2 Jalpaiguri Low 2 3 Uttar Dinajpur, Dakhin Dinajpur and
Maldah Low
3 4 Maldah High
4 6 Birbhum, Bardhmann Low
5 7 Bardhmann, Nadia, Hugli, Haora, East Midnapur, West Midnapur, Bankura, North 24 Parganas
High
6 7a Birbhum, Bardhmann Medium 7 8 Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapur Low 8 9 Purulia Low 9 12 East Midnapur, South 24 Parganas Low
Zone1
2 2a 3 4 5 6 7 7a 8 9 10 11 12 13
Drip irrigation 1 1 3 1 3 2 1 1 1
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
Re
leva
nce
in e
ach
zo
ne
Drip irrigation
89
G. SMALL SCALE LIFT IRRIGATION
Figure 102: Small scale lift irrigation and its relevance in each zone
Table 36: Zones showing relevance for intervention with small scale lift irrigation
SN ZONES DISTRICTS COVERED Relavance for Water Harvest
1 2 Jalpaiguri High
2 3 Uttar Dinajpur, Dakhin Dinajpur and Maldah
Medium
3 6 Birbhum, Bardhmann Low 4 7 Bardhmann, Nadia, Hugli, Haora, East
Midnapur, West Midnapur, Bankura, North 24 Parganas
Low
5 7a Birbhum, Bardhmann Low
6 8 Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapur High 7 9 Purulia High
8 12 East Midnapur, South 24 Parganas Low
Zone 1
2 2a 3 4 5 6 7 7a 8 9 10 11 12 13
Small scale lift irrigation 3 2 1 1 1 3 3 1
00.5
11.5
22.5
33.5
Re
leva
nce
in e
ach
zo
ne
Small scale lift irrigation
90
H. SOLAR
Figure 103: Solar and its relevance in each zone.
Table 37: Zones showing their relevance for solar intervention
SN ZONES DISTRICTS COVERED Relavance for Water Harvest
1 2 Jalpaiguri Low 2 3 Uttar Dinajpur, Dakhin Dinajpur and
Maldah Low
3 6 Birbhum, Bardhmann Low 4 7 Bardhmann, Nadia, Hugli, Haora, East
Midnapur, West Midnapur, Bankura, North 24 Parganas
Low
5 7a Birbhum, Bardhmann Low 6 8 Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapur Low 7 9 Purulia Low 8 12 East Midnapur, South 24 Parganas Low
Zone1
2 2a 3 4 5 6 7 7a 8 9 10 11 12 13
Solar 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
Re
leva
nce
in e
ach
zo
ne
Solar
91
I. CAPACITY BUILDING
Figure 104: Capacity building and its relevance in each zone
Table 38: Zone showing their relevance for intervention with capacity building
SN ZONES DISTRICTS COVERED Relavance for Water Harvest
1 2 Jalpaiguri High 2 2a Kooch Bihar High
3 3 Uttar Dinajpur, Dakhin Dinajpur and Maldah
High
4 4 Maldah High 5 5 Maldah, Murshidabad High
6 6 Birbhum, Bardhmann Low
7 7 Bardhmann, Nadia, Hugli, Haora, East Midnapur, West Midnapur, Bankura, North 24 Parganas
High
8 7a Birbhum, Bardhmann High 9 8 Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapur High
10 9 Purulia High
11 10 Kolkata, Nadia, Haora, North and South 24 Parganas
High
12 11 South 24 Parganas High 13 12 East Midnapur, South 24 Parganas High 14 13 South 24 Parganas High
Zone1
2 2a 3 4 5 6 7 7a 8 9 10 11 12 13
Capacity building 3 3 3 3 3 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
00.5
11.5
22.5
33.5
Re
leva
nce
in e
ach
zo
ne
Capacity building
92
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NIC-Bardhaman (2011, May 11, 2011). "Bardhamann." Retrieved May 11, 2011, from http://bardhaman.nic.in/distataglance.html.
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94
ANNEXURE I
Table 39: Production details of different crops (‘000 tonnes) in different districts (2006-07)
SN District Rice Aus Aman Boro Wheat Maize Total Pulses
Total Oil seeds
Jute Total Miscellaneous crops
1 Darjiling 58.7 8.9 46.6 3.2 3.2 30.8 1.2 8.1 31.4 205.9
2 Jalpaiguri 419.0 54.0 322.0 43.0 33.1 23.1 2.1 7.8 446.7 734.3
3 Coachbihar 445.8 11.0 351.4 83.4 25.2 35.2 4.9 12.0 762.0 304.5
4 Uttardinajpur 589.7 3.3 322.5 263.9 86.3 60.2 2.7 20.7 650.0 116.0
5 Dakshin dinajpur 446.4 18.2 294.4 133.8 21.9 4.1 0.3 13.5 204.6 44.8
6 Murshidabad 1030.6 62.2 492.8 475.6 270.3 34.4 36.1 86.2 1972.0 454.8
7 Maldah 470.6 10.0 201.9 258.7 111.1 29.5 22.5 40.7 341.3 292.1
8 Bardhaman 1967.0 43.7 1201.3 722.0 5.8 0.8 1.4 46.7 229.6 1076.7
9 Purulia 731.4 3.0 725.1 3.3 3.7 19.3 6.2 4.7 29.3
10 Bankura 1138.0 53.2 945.6 139.2 12.8 2.1 0.2 26.5 0.6 459.3
11 Birbhum 1199.4 15.8 960.3 223.3 83.8 0.4 16.0 38.7 6.3 245.4
12 West Midnapur 1798.8 81.3 1281.1 436.4 15.3 1.8 3.4 99.5 70.8 1056.7
13 East Midnapur 1045.3 33.6 540.4 471.3 1.2 13.0 36.7 26.5 66.0
14 Nadia 677.7 93.4 232.2 352.1 102.6 10.4 28.3 102.6 1887.0 204.0
15 Hoogly 846.8 18.1 529.9 298.8 2.7 0.7 1.2 39.9 585.8 1069.0
16 Howrah 243.6 1.3 131.6 110.7 0.7 0.1 0.6 9.3 70.2 79.3
17 south 24 Parganas 911.1 18.2 662.9 230.0 3.3 0.5 6.5 15.2 7.8 68.2
18 North 24 Parganas 726.0 46.3 407.8 271.9 16.9 7.8 44.6 1118.8 150.1
95
ANNEXURE II
Table 40: Productivity details of different crops (kg/ha) in different districts (2006-07)
SN District Rice Aus Aman Boro Wheat Maize Total Pulses
Total Oil seeds
Jute Total Miscellaneous crops
1 Darjiling 1866 2040 1824 2071 1428 2116 609 564 12.7 4254
2 Jalpaiguri 1824 1311 1892 2347 2055 1982 505 565 10.6
3 Coachbihar 1862 886 1784 2775 1956 5966 551 533 10.4 7016
4 Uttardinajpur 2301 1323 1960 2957 2448 5018 571 547 12.2 9063
5 Dakshin dinajpur 2412 1748 2224 3163 2476 2671 402 557 11.6 7724
6 Murshidabad 2609 1908 2189 3464 2154 4615 693 934 14.6 22185
7 Maldah 3051 1497 2525 3825 2591 2157 861 1009 14.7 38947
8 Bardhaman 3060 3232 2864 3442 2278 2555 396 827 16.6 16590
9 Purulia 2607 1501 2615 2484 2047 1687 437 519 10464
10 Bankura 2797 2618 2813 2760 2151 2710 551 627 17.8 12281
11 Birbhum 3128 2591 3070 3462 2643 1619 773 1011 17.8 12916
12 West Midnapur 2598 1961 2497 3165 2143 2284 577 1031 13.7 11833
13 East Midnapur 2429 2197 2021 3195 2323 1205 1733 17.8 7021
14 Nadia 2707 2255 2154 3483 2188 2326 724 958 14.5 15573
15 Hoogly 2830 2547 2706 3104 2149 2607 701 1132 18.5 10930
16 Howrah 2084 1506 1716 2816 1551 1151 548 1380 18.5 8620
17 south 24 Parganas
2195 2271 2009 2988 2051 2084 641 1251 12.4 11965
18 North 24 Parganas
2611 2612 2390 3031 2397 576 949 18.5 14160