HABITATIONS IN RURAL AND URBAN AREAS
1. A habitation is a distinct cluster of houses with a local name. It is a centre where people live in a compact and contiguous manner. The habitations have been classified into rural and urban according to the definitions given in this report. In the rural areas a village may include one or more distinct house clusters or habitations. Some villages may not have any habitation. These villages are supposed to be deserted or bechirag Habitations with populations of less than 25 have not been identified separately but have been shown as part of their respective nearest habitations in their villages, except in cases where a habitation with a population of less than 25 is the only habitation in the village. Habitation registers have been prepared for all rural areas in all the blocks. A town or a town group has been treated as an urban habitation. Data regarding urban habitations have not been collected in the same detailed manner as for rural habitations, since the present Survey does not lay much emphasis on schooling facilities in urban areas.
Rural Habitations 2. In the areas covered in this Survey, 9,82,251 rural habitations have been identified. Their population in 1966 has been estimated at 39,65,80,123. According to the estimates of population made 'by the Registrar General of India, the population of the States and Union Territories covered in this report has been estimated as 49,37,59,000 in 1966. The estimated population in the rural areas is 80.31 per cent of the total estimated population in 1966. According to the 1961 Census, the population in the rural areas, for the country as a whole, was 81.9 per cent of the total population. 3. The classification of the rural habitations and their population, according to the population slabs, is given in Statement 1.
STATEMENT 1
HABITATIONS AND POPULATION IN RURAL AREAS,
ACCORDING TO POPULATION SLABS
Population Habitations in Population in
slab population slab the slab
No. Percentage Population Percentage
1 2 3 4 5
5000 and above 2,000 0.2 1,34,83,551 3.4
2000 to 4999 20,738 2.1 5,79,46,622 14.6
1000 to 1999 63,987 6.5 8,59,91,887 21.7
500 to 999 1,45,001 14.8 10,03,62,771 25.3
400 to 499 64,125 6.5 2,85,62,310 7.2
300 to 399 93,745 9.5 3,21,45,732 8.1
200 to 299 1,37,113 14.0 3,33,69,369 8.4
100 to 199 2,14,530 21.8 3,05,83,201 7.7
Below 100 2,41,012 24.5 1,41,34,680 3.6
Total below
500 7,50,525 76.4 13,87,95,292 35.0
All slabs 9,82,251 100.0 39,65,80,123 100.0
Taking together the habitations in the slabs `below 500', they constitute 76.4 per cent of the total rural habitations and account for 35.0 per cent of the rural population. The rural habitations are predominantly of small size.
4. Among the States, the percentage of habitations with population 'below 500' each is highest in Jammu & Kashmir, being 86.34 per cent. In Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Bihar, the percentages of the
16 SECOND ALL-INDIA EDUCATIONAL SURVEY
habitations in this slab are 85.32, 85.49, 76.23 and 75.03 respectively. Only in Kerala the percentage of habitations with population 'below 500' each is relatively low (20.06 per cent). Among the Union Territories, Himachal Pradesh has the highest percentage of habitations in the slab 'below 500', it being 99.06.
Comparison of Rural Habitations identified in the First and the
Second Educational Surveys 5. According to the First Educational Survey, 8,40,033 habitations were identified in the areas covered under this Survey. In this Survey the Union Territory of Delhi was treated partly as a rural area. In the present Survey, however, Delhi has been treated as an urban area. Deducting the rural habitations identified in Delhi, the number of habitations identified in the First Survey was 8,39,744. The First Survey did not cover West Bengal, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Goa, Daman & Diu, Laccadive, Minicoy & Amindivi Islands and Pondicherry. Deducting the habitations identified under the present Survey in these areas, the number of habitations identified is 9,11,661. There has been an increase of 71,917 habitations during the intervening period in the areas common between the two Surveys. A comparative statement of the habitations in the various population slabs in the rural areas common between the two Survey is given in Statement 2.
STATEMENT 2
COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF THE HABITATIONS IDENTIFIED IN THE FIRST
AND SECOND EDUCATIONAL SURVEYS IN THE RURAL AREAS COMMON TO THE TWO
SURVEYS
Population Habitations Habitations Percentage
slab identified in the identified-in the increase in
First Survey Second Survey the slab in
the interven-
ing period
No. Percentage No. Percentage
1 2 3 4 5 6
5000 & above 553 0.07 1,898 0.21 243.22
2000-4999 11,544 1.37 19,270 2.11 66.93
1000-1999 41,326 4.92 58,529 6.42 41.63
500-999 1,05,410 12.55 1,33,004 14.59 26.18
Below 500 6,80,911 81.09 6,98,960 76.67 2.65
Total 8,39,744 100.00 9,11,661 100.00 8.56
6. The percentage of habitations in the common areas has increased by 8.56 in the period intervening between the two Surveys. The number of habitations has increased in all the population slabs. The percentage increase in the higher slabs is more than that in the lower slabs. According to the First Survey the habitations in the slab 'below 500' constituted 81.09 per cent of the rural habitations. In the present Survey the corresponding percentage is 76.67. This can be accounted for by the fact that with the growth of population, the habitations in the lower slabs have moved into the higher slabs.
Villages identified in the Survey 7. According to the 1961 Census, there were 5,67,169 inhabited villages and 54,891 uninhabited villages in the country. Excluding from these the villages in Nagaland, NEFA, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Sikkim, the number of inhabited villages and uninhabited villages according to the 1961 Census was 5,63,045 and 54,862 respectively. According to the present Survey the number of villages accounted for is 5,91,443. The instructions given to the Inspecting Officers in the Survey did not suggest the inclusion of uninhabited villages as a rule.
Habitations per Village 8. According to the First Survey, the number of habitations per village was 1.59. The highest number of habitations per village was 2.60 in Madras and the lowest was 1.05 in Assam. According to the present Survey, the number of habitations per village in the country as a whole is 1.66. Among the states the highest number of habitations per village is 7.47 in Kerala and the lowest is 1.22 in Madhya Pradesh.
Urban Habitations 9. The total number of urban habitations identified is 2,802 and their population in 1961 was 8,19,74,624 (Table 1). Because of the difficulties involved, no estimates of population for urban areas for 1966 have been made. But 1961 population data for the habitations which were urban in 1966 have been collected. For example, habitations which were urban in 1961 but have ceased to be urban, have not been treated as urban habitations. Similarly, habitation which were urban in 1966 but had been rural in 1961 have been treated as urban but their population figures have been taken from the 1961 Census.