Spatial Perspectives of the New Census Towns, 2011

Abstract

This detailed geographical analysis of the emergence of new census towns in 2011 reveals that, broadly, the spatial pattern of the new census towns follows the pattern of the existing urban centres. As a result, the force of urban concentration has been further accentuated. Quite expectedly the field of urban concentration around Kolkata urban agglomeration has been extended outward, which indicates the perpetuating centripetal force of the declining metropolis. Apart from this age-old location of urban concentration, several new pockets of urban concentration have emerged, of which the majority are centred by the small and medium cities with great regional and national importance. Contrary to the force of urban concentration, emergence of new census towns also resulted in, albeit to a limited extent, urban dispersal. The study concludes that, to make this emerging organization of space significant, it is necessary to have an effective urban governance and planning in the newly emerged (as well as existing) census towns.

Understanding India's Urban Frontier: What Is behind the Emergence of Census Towns in India?

“…They also claim that the recent growth of new census towns in the state i.e. in 2011, does not follow any significant pattern (Guin and Das, 2015b). Some of them are scattered while others are located near small and medium cities unlike the earlier development close to the big city agglomeration.…”

New urban geographies of West Bengal, East India

“…the more established cities) also appear to play a key role in Census Town emergence. Many Census Towns materialize in close vicinity to established cities, creating some form of suburban/peri-urban Census Town growth (Guin & Das, 2015b;Van Duijne & Nijman, 2019). Yet, as mentioned before, there remains a paucity of studies on the relationship between Census Towns and Statutory Towns.…”

From Large Villages to Small Towns: A Study of Rural Transformation in New Census Towns, India

“…Unlike the growth of population size and population density, the increase of non-farm workers depends on the complex process of structural transformation. Thus, at the macro level, emergence of new CTs is by and large the factor of increase of rural non-farm workforce in the big villages (Guin and Das 2015a).…”

“…Keeping in view this unfavourable condition for rural transformation, Kundu (2011), soon after the publication of the urban data of census 2011, argued that this unprecedented increase of CTs was attributed to artificial inflation by the census authority (i.e., 'census activism'). However, subsequent studies (Guin 2017;Guin andDas 2015a, 2015b;Mitra and Kumar 2015;Pradhan 2013) have found no reason to rely on the thesis of 'census activism' as a majority of the new CTs had met the census-laid criteria right back in 2001. In this backdrop, the present study, on the basis of a case study of a new CT, tries to throw some light on the processes of transformation of the villages which have got the status of CTs in the current census.…”