Census of India 2011

ASSAM

SERIES-19 PART XII-A

DISTRICT CENSUS HANDBOOK

TINSUKIA

VILLAGE AND TOWN DIRECTORY

DIRECTORATE OF CENSUS OPERATIONS ASSAM

SERIES - 19 PART XII-A

DISTRICT CENSUS HANDBOOKTINSUKIA

CENSUS OF INDIA 2011

VILLAGE AND TOWN DIRECTORY

DIRECTORATE OF CENSUS OPERATIONS ASSAM

ASSAM

Product Code No.***************

Ledo coal mine

The Margherita-Ledo coal mining story started in the year 1881 when British-ownedAssam Railways and Trading Company (ARTC) discovered the black diamond in thispart of the country and the actual mining had started in the year 1884.

Ledo is a small coal mining town 6 km northwest of Margherita, was theheadquarters of Northern Combat Area Command during the Second World War andis the start of the 471 km Stilwell Road.

The town is surrounded by hills, tea gardens, forest and the Dihing River. It hasa beautiful golf course at the foot of the hills and a small stream running through.

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ContentsPages

Foreword (ix)Preface (xi)Acknowledgement (xii)History and Scope of the District Census Handbook (xiii)Brief History of the District (xiv)

ANALYTICAL NOTE 1-67

(i) Physical features 3 (ii) Census Concepts 18

(iii) Non-Census Concepts 22(iv) 2011 Census findings – Population and its distribution 29(v) Brief analysis of Primary Census Abstract data based on inset tables 1 to 35 30(vi) Brief analysis of Village Directory and Town Directory data based on Inset

tables 36 to 45 50(vii) Major social and cultural events, natural and administrative developments and

significant activities during the decade 56 (viii) Brief description of places of religious, historical or archaeological importance

and places of tourist interest in the district 58(ix) Major charateristics of the district – contribution of the district in the form of any

historical figure associated with the district 61(x) Scope of Village Directory and Town Directory- Column headingwise explanation

and Coverage of Data 62

VILLAGE AND TOWN DIRECTORY 67-582

Section I - Village Directory 69- 567

Note explaining the abbreviations used in Village Directory 71(a) List of villages merged in towns and outgrowths at 2011 Census 77(b) RC Maps showing CD boundaries 79-87(c) Alphabetical list of Villages alongwith location code 2001 & 2011 : 91-108(d) CD blockwise Village Directory 109-525Sadiya CD Block 110Saikhowa CD Block 174Hapjan CD Block 222Kakapathar CD Block 286Guijan CD Block 374Itakhuli CD Block 406Margherita CD Block 446

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Appendixes to Village Directory:

Appendix I : Summary showing total number of villages having Educational, Medical andAmenities in Villages - CD Block wise 529

Appendix I A Villages by number of Primary Schools 533Appendix I B Villages by Primary, Middle and Secondary Schools 534Appendix I C Villages with different sources of drinking water facilities available 534Appendix II Villages with 5,000 and above population which do not have

one or more amenities available 535Appendix III Land utilisation data in respect of Census Towns / Non-Municipal towns 535Appendix IV CD Block wise list of inhabited villages where no amenity other than drinking

water facility is available 535Appendix V Summary showing number of villages having or not having Scheduled Castes

population 536Appendix VI Summary showing number of villages having or not having Scheduled Tribes

population 536Appendix VII A List of villages according to the proportion of Scheduled Castes

to the total population by ranges 537Appendix VII B List of villages according to the proportion of Scheduled Tribes

to the total population by ranges 553Appendix VIII Number of villages under each Gram Panchayat (CD Block wise) 567

Section II - Town Directory 569-582

Statement I Status and Growth History,2009 573Statement II Physical aspects and Location of Towns, 2009 575Statement III Civic and other amenities,2009 576Statement IV Medical, Educational, 2009 577Statement V Education,Recreational and Cultural facilities, 2009 579Statement VI Industry and Banking, 2009 581Statement VII Civic and other amenities in slums,2009 582Appendix to Town Directory - Towns showing their outgrowth with population 582

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Foreword

The District Census Handbook (DCHB) is an important publication of the Census Organization since 1951. Itcontains both Census and non Census data of urban and rural areas for each District. The Census data provideinformation on demographic and socio-economic characteristics of population at the lowest administrative uniti.e. of each Village and Town and ward of the District. The Primary Census Abstract (PCA) part of thispublication contains Census data including data on household amenities collected during 1st.phase of the Censusi.e. House Listing and Housing Census. The non Census data presented in the DCHB is in the form of VillageDirectory and Town Directory contain information on various infrastructure facilities available in the village andtown viz; education, medical, drinking water, communication and transport, post and telegraph, electricity, banking,and other miscellaneous facilities. Later on, the Telegraph Services were closed by the Government of India on15th. July, 2013. The data of DCHB are of considerable importance in the context of planning and developmentat the grass-root level.

2. In the 1961 Census, DCHB provided a descriptive account of the District, administrative statistics, Censustables and Village and Town Directory including Primary Census Abstract. This pattern was changed in 1971Census and the DCHB was published in three parts: Part-A related to Village and Town Directory, Part-B toVillage and Town PCA and Part-C comprised analytical report, administrative statistics, District Census tablesand certain analytical tables based on PCA and amenity data in respect of Villages. The 1981 Census DCHBwas published in two parts: Part-A contained Village and Town Directory and Part-B the PCA of Village andTown including the SCs and STs PCA up to Tahsil/Town levels. New features along with restructuring of theformats of Village and Town Directory were added. In Village Directory, all amenities except electricity werebrought together and if any amenity was not available in the referent Village, the distance in broad ranges fromthe nearest place having such an amenity, was given.

3. The pattern of 1981 Census was followed by and large for the DCHB of 1991 Census except the formatof PCA. It was restructured. Nine-fold industrial classification of main workers was given against the four-foldindustrial classification presented in the 1981 Census. In addition, sex wise population in 0-6 age group wasincluded in the PCA for the first time with a view to enable the data users to compile more realistic literacy rateas all children below 7 years of age had been treated as illiterate at the time of 1991 Census. One of theimportant innovations in the 1991 Census was the Community Development Block (CD Block) level presentationof Village Directory and PCA data instead of the traditional Tahsil/Taluk/PS level presentation.

4. As regards DCHB of 2001 Census, the scope of Village Directory was improved by including some otheramenities like banking, recreational and cultural facilities, newspapers & magazines and ‘most importantcommodity’ manufactured in a Village in addition to prescribed facilities of earlier Censuses. In Town Directory,the statement on Slums was modified and its coverage was enlarged by including details on all slums instead of‘notified slums’.

5. The scope and coverage of Village Directory of 2011 DCHB has been widened by including a number ofnew amenities in addition to those of 2001. These newly added amenities are: Pre-Primary School, EngineeringCollege, Medical College, Management Institute, Polytechnic, Non-formal Training Centre, Special Schoolfor Disabled, Community Health Centre, Veterinary Hospital, Mobile Health Clinic, Medical Practitioner withMBBS Degree, Medical Practitioner with no degree, Traditional Practitioner and faith Healer, Medicine Shop,Community Toilet, Rural Sanitary Mart or Sanitary Hardware Outlet in the Village, Community Bio- gas, SubPost Office, Village Pin Code, Public Call Office, Mobile Phone Coverage, Internet Cafes/ Common ServiceCentre, Private Courier Facility, Auto/Modified Autos, Taxis and Vans, Tractors, Cycle-pulled Rickshaws, Carts

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driven by Animals, Village connected to National Highway, State Highway, Major District Road, and OtherDistrict Road, Availability of Water Bounded Macadam Roads in Village, ATM, Self-Help Group, Public DistributionSystem(PDS) Shop, Mandis/Regular Market, Weekly Haat, Agricultural Marketing Society, Nutritional Centers(ICDS), Anganwadi Centre, ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist), Sports Field, Public Library, PublicReading Room, Assembly Polling station, Birth & Death Registration Office. In the Town Directory, sevenStatements containing the details and the data of each Town have been presented viz.; (i)-Status and GrowthHistory of Towns,(ii)- Physical Aspects and Location of Towns, (iii)-Civic and other Amenities, (iv)-MedicalFacilities, (v)-Educational, Recreational & Cultural Facilities, (vi)- Industry & Banking, and (vii)- Civic & otheramenities in Slums respectively. CD Block wise data of Village Directory and Village PCA have been presentedin DCHB of 2011 Census as presented in earlier Census.

6. The data of DCHB 2011 Census have been presented in two parts, Part-A contains Village and TownDirectory and Part-B contains Village and Town wise Primary Census Abstract. Both the Parts have beenpublished in separate volumes in 2011 Census.

7. The Village and Town level amenities data have been collected, compiled and computerized under thesupervision of Shri Prateek Hajela, IAS, Director of Census Operation, Assam. The task of Planning, Designingand Co-ordination of this publication was carried out by Dr. Pratibha Kumari, Assistant Registrar General (SS)under the guidance & supervision of Dr. R.C.Sethi, Ex-Addl. RGI and Shri Deepak Rastogi present Addl.RGI.Shri A.P. Singh, Deputy Registrar General, (Map) provided the technical guidance in the preparation of maps.Shri A.K. Arora, Joint Director of Data Processing Division under the overall supervision of Shri M.S.Thapa,Addl. Director (EDP) provided full cooperation in preparation of record structure for digitization and validitychecking of Village and Town Directory data and the programme for the generation of Village Directory andTown Directory including various analytical inset tables as well as Primary Census Abstract (PCA). The workof preparation of DCHB, 2011 Census has been monitored in the Social Studies Division. I am thankful to all ofthem and others who have contributed to bring out this publication in time.

(C.Chandramouli)New Delhi. Registrar General &Dated:- 16-06-2014 Census Commissioner, India

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The District Census Handbook (DCHB) was first introduced in 1951 Census. This is a publication containingboth Census and Non-Census data. The DCHB is a publication where data is sourced both from StateGovernment as well as from the office of the Directorate of Census Operations.In a DCHB, district wise data at village and town/ Ward level is presented at Community Development

Blockwise. In DCHBs of earlier Censuses only Primary Census Abstract data was presented alongside theVillage directory/Town Directory data. However, during 2011 Census it was decided to bring out two publicationsof DCHB as Part A and Part B for each district. The Part A will contain various inset tables based on VillageDirectory/Town Directory data , Part B shall comprise mainly of Census data pertaining to Primary CensusAbstract (Rural & Urban) as well as Houselisting data arranged CD Block wise for each district. This is thefirst time that the DCHB is coming up with the Houselisting data in its publication.

The main purpose of DCHB is to disseminate data upto the lowest administrative level of villages inrural areas and wards in urban areas to facililate micro level planning and development at the grassroots.

The Census Operation in Assam was conducted under the able guidance and supervision of Shri R.K.Das,IAS. I had assumed office as the Director of Census Operations in February, 2014 and by this time collectionand compilation of Village and Town Directory schedules for the 26395 villages and 214 towns, including 126Census Towns had painstakingly been completed. An important aspect of this publication of DCHB is that unlikeother Census publications where villages are presented only Revenue Circle wise, this publication of the handbookis presenting villages CD Blockwise. For this purpose, the information on CD Blocks was collected from Panchayatand Rural Department of the state Government to arrange the villages accordingly.

The work of collection of Village and Town Directory schedules was done under the supervision ofDr.D.K.Dey, Joint Director and Sri G.R.Saikia, Deputy Director. However, after transfer of Dr. Dey from DCO,Assam, Smt Bharati Chanda supervised the work of compilation, validation and finalization of Village and TownDirectory data. Smt Nijora Sharma, Asst. Director guided and co-ordinated the entire staff engaged in thevarious aspects relating to compilation of the DCHB. Shri J.Ghosh, Sr.Supervisor greatly helped in cross checkingand validation of the entire data. Smt. Salma Sahin Laskar, SI-II and Shri Satadal Dutta, DEO also have contributedsignificantly in bringing out this publication of DCHB by meticulously scrutinizing the data and preparing themanuscripts.

I would like to thank Shri O.M.Singh, Research Officer (Map) and his dedicated team of the Mapsection for preparing the maps presented in the DCHB.

I am grateful to Dr.C.Chandramouli, IAS Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India for hisvaluable guidance and his constant encouragement to complete the work within the time frame. I would also liketo specially thank Shri A.K.Arora, Joint Director, D.P.Division and his team for their constant technical guidanceand co-operation.

Guwahati (PRATEEK HAJELA, IAS)11th July, 2014 DIRECTOR OF CENSUS OPERATIONS,ASSAM

Preface

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Acknowledgement Editing and Supervision

1. Mrs. Bharati Chanda Joint Director2. Shri G.R. Sakia Deputy Director3. Smt. Nijora Sharma Asst. Director4. Sri O.M. Singh Research Officer(Map)

Drafting of Analytical Note

1. Sri N.K. Talukdar Asst. Director (EDP)2. Sri Bikash Nath Asst. Director3. Sri B. Borpujari Asst. Director4. Sri N.M. Gogoi SI-I5. Smt. Ranjita Sharma Sr. Supervisor6. Smt. Pranati Medhi Sr. Supervisor7. Smt. Khana Das SI-II8. Sri S.Sajilal SI-II9. Miss Salma Sahin Laskar SI-II

10. Md. C. Rahman SI-II11. Smt. Ambalika Khound SI-II

Social Studies Section

1. Sri P.J.Borkakoty SI-I2. Sri S. Sajilal SI-II3. Sri S. Swragiary SI-II4. Smt. Dipti Sharma Compiler5. Miss D.Makdoh Compiler6. Miss A. Nilufar Sr. Consultant7. Sri Pankaj Das Jr. Consultant8. Sri Sushanta Chakraborty Jr. Consultant

Data Validation and final set up

1. Sri Jayanta Ghosh Sr. Supervisor2. Sri Satadal Dutta DEO

Mapping Unit

1. Sri M.R.Nath Sr. Geographer2. Smt. S.K.Chetia Sr. Drawing Assistant3. Smt. Minu Kalita Sr. Drawing Assistant4. Smt. Mamoni Kalita Sr. Draughtsman5. Smt. Biju Mahanta Sr. Draughtsman

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The need of data at the grass root level for theadministrative and planning purposes at sub micro levelas well as academic studies prompted the innovationof District Census Handbook. District CensusHandbook is a unique publication from the Censusorganization which provides most authentic details ofcensus and non-census information from village andtown level to district level. The District CensusHandbook was firstly introduced during the 1951Census. It contains both census and non census dataof urban as well as rural areas for each district. Thecensus data contain several demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the lowest administrativeunit i.e. of each village and town and ward of thedistrict. The non census data comprise of data onavailability of various civic amenities andinfrastructural facilities etc. at the town and villagelevel which constitute Village Directory and TownDirectory part of the DCHB. The data of DCHBare of considerable importance in the context ofplanning and development at grass-root level.

In 1961 census DCHB provided a descriptiveaccount of the district, administrative statistics, censustables and village and town directory includingPrimary Census Abstract. This pattern was changedin 1971 Census and the DCHB was published inthree parts: Part-A related to village and towndirectory, Part-B to village and town PCA and Part-C comprised analytical report, administrativestatistics, district census tables and certain analyticaltables based on PCA and amenity data in respect ofvillages. The 1981 census DCHB was published intwo parts: Part-A contained village and town directoryand Part-B the PCA of village and town includingthe SCs and STs PCA up to tahsil/town levels. Newfeatures along with restructuring of the formats ofvillage and town directory were added into it. InVillage Directory, all amenities except electricity werebrought together and if any amenity was not availablein the referent village, the distance in broad rangesfrom the nearest place having such an amenity, wasgiven.

HISTORY AND SCOPE OF THE DISTRITCTCENSUS HANDBOOK

The pattern of 1981 census was followed by andlarge for the DCHB of 1991 Census except the formatof PCA. It was restructured. Nine-fold industrialclassification of main workers was given against thefour-fold industrial classification presented in the 1981census. In addition, sex wise population in 0-6 agegroup was included in the PCA for the first time witha view to enable the data users to compile morerealistic literacy rate as all children below 7 years ofage had been treated as illiterate at the time of 1991census. One of the important innovations in the 1991census was the Community Development Block (CDBlock) level presentation of village directory and PCAdata instead of the traditional tahsil/taluk/PS levelpresentation.

As regards DCHB of 2001 Census, the scope ofVillage Directory was improved by including someother amenities like banking, recreational and culturalfacilities, newspapers & magazines and ‘mostimportant commodity’ manufactured in a village inaddition to prescribed facilities of earlier censuses.In Town Directory, the statement on Slums wasmodified and its coverage was enlarged by includingdetails on all slums instead of ‘notified slums’.

The scope and coverage of Village Directory of2011 DCHB has been widened by including a numberof new amenities in addition to those of 2001. In theTown Directory, seven Statements containing thedetails and the data of each town have been presentedviz.; (i)-Status and Growth History of towns,(ii)-Physical Aspects and Location of Towns, (iii)-Civicand other Amenities, (iv)-Medical Facilities, (v)-Educational, Recreational & Cultural Facilities, (vi)-Industry & Banking, and (vii)- Civic & otheramenities in Slums respectively. CD Block wise dataof Village Directory and Village PCA have beenpresented in DCHB of 2011 census as presented inearlier census. The data of DCHB 2011 Census havebeen presented in two parts, Part-A contains Villageand Town Directory and Part-B contains Village andTown wise Primary Census Abstract. Both the Partshave been published in separate volumes in 2011Census.

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Brief History of the district :

Tinsukia one of the 27 administrative districts inthe state of Assam is located in the upper part ofAssam. The district is surrounded by ArunachalPradesh in the south-east, Dibrugarh district in thesouth-west and Dhemaji district in the north. It wasdeclared as the 23rd district of Assam on 1st October1989 when it was split from Dibrugarh with threesub divisions Tinsukia, Margherita (M), and Sadiya.Theancient name of Tinsukia was Bangmara which wasorginally known as Changmai Pathar. It was thecapital of Muttack Kingdom.The ancient name ofTinsukia was Bengmara. It was the capital of theMuttack Kingdom.

In 1823, the British first discovered tea plantsin Sadiya and the first tea plantation was started inChabua near Tinsukia. (The name Chabua comesfrom “Chah-Buwa”/tea plantation).In 1882, the Dibru-Sadiya Railway was opened to traffic by the AssamRailway & Trading Company, centred on Tinsukia,and a turning point in the economic development ofnorth-east India.

In ancient days, there was no place in the nameof Tinsukia, it was a part of Somarpith division ofupper Assam or old Kamrupa kingdom as mentionedin Kalikapuran and Joginitrant. The Somarpith Divisionof Kamrupa was the abode of Chutia, Barahi, Ahom,Kachari, Matak, Moran etc. and this division was ruledby different kings of different races probably from12th century. In 13th century the Tai prince Chukaphaafter crossing Patkai Mountain had first met MoranBarahi in this division. Once a time, Kunti of kingBhismak generation of Sadiya ruled Kuntirajya whichwas a part of Somar and it was near present Tinsukiatown. Because of the fact that the place Kuntigohalior Khamti Gohali, which is about 7 kms from Tinsukiahas acknowledged about existence of Kuntirajya nearto Tinsukia. The last ruler of different races of kingof this area of Somar division was from Matak/Chutia.

In 1786 A.D. the Ahom king Swargdeu GaurinathSingha was defeated by the people of Mawamoriacaste and captured the kingdom from him by burningShingari house at Garhgaon. Some of the leaders ofdifferent localities had established their kingdoms

getting opportunity of weak conditions of Ahom king.Out of these leaders Mezera, son of Marutanandanof upper Assam was worth mentioning. He hadestablished Matak kingdom at Somarpith byChristening Bengmara as the name of his kingdom.Later on Mezera had changed his name to SwargadeuSarbananda Singha and declared himself as a Kingor Matak kingdom. His kingdom was extended wasfrom Soukhowa to Khowang. The area of his kingdomwas 1800 square miles and there were 96000populations. He ruled over 40 years in the kingdom.

There are different opinions about the name ofBengamara. Some are of opinion that it is a Tai wordwhich means the original place of Moran. The kingSarbananda Singha had dug Bengmara pond atBengmara to keep the symbol of Hatichungi Moran.The historians say that the king had dug the pond tosave from drought that prevailed in his country. Nowater had come out in the pond. But, on the otherhand, a large number of frogs died falling in the pond.Hence the pond was termed as Beng (frog) mara(die) phukhuri (pond) and from the name of the pond,the name of kingdom was ultimately changed toBengmara. In 1791, the capital was transferred fromRangagarha to Bengmara and Godha Baruah hasmade the chief minister of the kingdom. TheBengmara pond is still in the heart of Tinsukia town.This pond was dug by the minister Godha Baruah intriangular shape. From this triangular (Tinsukia) pond,the name of the district takes place as Tinsukia. Theking Sarbananda Singh had done many social welfareworks. He constructed Kamgarh, Kareng Ghar, CharaGhar, Mela Ghar etc. in the surrounding areas of hiscapital. Besides, he dug Na-Pukhuri, Choulkhowapukhuri, Mahdhowa pukhuri etc. by his labour forceunder his minister Godha Baruah.

After the death of the king Sarbananda Singha,the oldest son Matibor became the king in 1802 andhe ruled the kingdom upto 1825. As per history, thetitle “Barsenapati (the chief general) was given byPurnanda Buragohain as a reward at the time ofKamaleswar Singha. In 1826 Matibor had signed inan agreement made with the Birtish. According tothis Yabandoo agreement he was provided with 300

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soldiers for the service of the state and he was madegeneral of the Matak part by the British. In 1833, herescued Moamoria Gohain Bhaktananda dev,Bhawanandadev and Jayanandadev from Mana atJorhat and he constructed a Sattra at Rangagarhaand kept them at this Sattra. Later on he shifted themnear to Dinjan river of Chabua where he establishedthe permanent Satra. At present, this Sattra is nowcalled as renowned “Dijaya Mayamara Satta”.

Matibor Barsenapati before his death in 1839had shifted the responsibility of the kingdom to hissecond son Bhagirath Majiu Gohain in 1838 A.D. Butafter the death of Matibor, the British wanted tochange the terms and conditions of agreement madewith him and accordingly the Matak kingdom wasdivided into two parts by the British. Majiur Gohainand the people did not agree with new terms andconditions imposed on them by the British government.As a result in 1839, the generalship of BhagirathMajiur Gohain was withdrawn from him by theCaptain Bhetch Chahab and the whole Matakkingdom was annexed to East India Company.

In 1841 AD a rebellion against injustice was creptin to drive out the British. Majiur Gohain and hisbrother tried to rescue Rangagarha. But sons of theBarasenapati were arrested and put in prison atBiswanath. After few days later, they were set free.The residential places of Borsenapati such asRangagarha, Bengmara etc. were exempted frompaying taxes. Bhagirath was made Amin judge ofsubdivision and given the opportunity to judge minorcases. In 1842, the Matak kingdom was totallyincluded in the British emperor’s dominion by an act.After the death of Bhagirath, Bishaswar, the thirdson of Bhagirath and Lankeswar Gohain the sixthson of Bishaswar was the last and traditional person

of Matak family who had received royal pension fromthe government.

Tinsukia district was originally a part ofLakhimpur district and thereafter it was a part ofDibrugarh district. Tinsukia was finally formed aseparate district in 1989. The district is formedcomprising the area of Tinsukia and Sadiyasubdivisions of the erstwhile Dibrugarh district. It hasanother new subdivision named Margherita.

District Administration:The Deputy Commissioner of the district is the

overall In-Charge of the administration of the entiredistrict. He also acts as the collector in case ofRevenue matters as a District Magistrate in case ofmaintenance of Law and Order and generaladministration as a District Election Officer in caseof conduct of Election as a Principal Census Officerwhile conducting Census and so on. A number ofofficers like Additional Deputy Commissioners, Sub-divisional Officers, Extra-Assistant Commissionersand other assist the Deputy Commissioner in lookingafter the administration of the district.

For the administrative purposes, the entire districtis divided into three sub-divisions viz., Tinsukia,Margherita and Sadiya. Again each sub-division isdivided into revenue circles and under revenue circlesthere are Mouzas comprising revenue villages. Thereare total 4 revenue circles and 1168 villages. Thenames of Revenue Circles are Sadiya, Doom Dooma,Tinsukia, Margherita. It has 86 Gaon Panchayats and7 Community Development Blocks. There are 13towns which includes 5 Statutory Towns and 8Census Towns. Tinsukia district covers an area of3790 Sq.Km (Rural: 3728.504 Sq.Km. and Urban:61.496 Sq.Km.)

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ANALYTICAL NOTE

ANALYTICAL NOTE

3

(i) Physical featuresThe district Tinsukia lies between approximately

27degree 14 inch and 28 degree 1 inch North latitudeand 95 degree 14 inch and 96 degree 1 inch eastlongitude. The district is bounded on the north byDhemaji district and Arunachal Pradesh, east andsouth by Arunachal Pradesh and west by Dibrugarhdistrict. The district covers a total area of 3790 kms.of land . In terms of total area covered, the districtoccupies 6th rank among the districts of the state.The district of Tinsukia with its headquarters atTinsukia is constituted by 4 Revenue Circles.

Physiography :It is a broad plain and rises to the foothills of

Arunachal Pradesh on the north. The district as awhole is a flat level plain and a few isolated hills inthe Makum and Buridihing Mouzas, there is nothingto break even level of the plain. The district issituated on the head of Brahmaputra valley. Thegeneral physical feature of the district is both variedand picturesque in nature.

The soil is composed of loose sandy texture withoccasional sands and gravels. The extensible plain ofthe district which is fairly high and fertile is coveredwith fields of waving rice which changes vivid greenluster into a rich gold as harvest time draws near orwith stiff bushy tea bushes that spread over like adark green carpet. Water is scarce in the upland ofthe district, primarily because the turbulent hill riversdo not inundate large tracts for long and the rainwater is quickly soaked in the sandy soil. Acidity isthe general characteristic of the soil of the districtand more in case of older alluvium soil. Thephosphoric content is found in the soil which is goodfor tea cultivation. Acidic alluvial soils are suitablefor tea cultivation.

The district comprises mainly of plain areasdotted by small hillocks to the south of the district,the hills are only a few thousand feet above the levelof the sea whereas the hills on the eastern end of thevalley are considerably higher and on a clear day aview of continuous chain of snowy peaks can beseen. The view is bounded on the north by the bluestof the blue hills. The sides of hills are covered withdense evergreen forests from the base to the snowline. There are no such high hills in the main land ofthe district.

Like the rest of Assam, Tinsukia is a seismicarea and is liable to earthquake. The greatearthquake of 1897 was felt all over the district. Itdamaged many houses and buildings of the people aswell as of the government. Heavy damage was doneto the raised roads.

The earthquake of August 15, 1950 hasparticularly damaged houses and buildings. But thegravity of this earthquake was less than the earlierone. The quantity of damage was less than that of1897. Many houses and edifices in Tinsukia towncollapsed. The Saikhowa ghat and Sadiya Townwere either submerged or eroded by theBrahmaputra. The after-effect of the earthquakebrought a vast change to the topography of thedistrict and the river Brahmaputra became the agentor destruction.

Drainage and River system:A large number of rivers and their tributaries,

streams locally called jans and juris flew through thedistrict and create havoc by inundating vast areasduring rainy season. The whole of the drainage ofthe district ultimately finds its path through aboveoutlets into the mighty river Brahmaputra. The riversare wide and deep here and remain navigablethroughout the year. The Buridihing is one of theimportant tributaries of the river Brahmaputra.Dighai, Tingrai, Doomdooma, Laldukajan, Loohit arethe important rivers of district which carry of thedrainage of the hills into the Brahmaputra.

The district of Tinsukia is not free from theincidence of flood and erosion. The Sadiyasubdivision of the district is the flood effected area.The Buridihing rises in the Patkai and flows atortuous course with a westerly direction till it fallsinto the Brahmaputra after meandering for about 240kms, which creates flood in vast areas of the districtmore particularly in Sadiya and Doomdooma.

The heavy water and silt discharges occurringin the hilly region during the peak monsoon periodfind their way through streams and rivulets whichwere spilled along the banks during floods.The waterlogging in the hill areas gives further momentum topeak discharges and contributes toward aggravation

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of the flood situation. The flood brings untoldmiseries to the people of the district. Floods thatoccurred in Tinsukia district destroyed crop in manyareas, damaged thousands of houses and loss of lifeof several domestic animals and damagedcommunications caused untold miseries to the peopleand also greatly affected the economy of the district.

As the floods are unavoidable in the district,sufficient precautionary measures are necessary tobe taken to minimise the gravity of the flood. Theentire state machinery works in full co-operationwith during the time of flood to minimise the losscaused to life and property during floods.

As soon as the flood submerges the low-lyingareas, the relief operation starts with full vigour.Evacuation of people and cattle to safer places,providing food and shelter till flood recedes,distribution of gratuitous relief in areas whereevacuation is not necessary are the important reliefmeasures.

Climate and Rainfall:The climate of the district is characterised by the

absence of a dry hot summer season, the highesttemperatures being experienced during the monsoonseason alongwith abundant rains and highly humidatmosphere throughout the year. Winter starts fromDecember and end in February which is followed bya season of thunder storms from March to May.From June to the beginning of October is the seasonof south-west monsoon and October and Novemberare marked as post monsoon season.

The annual rainfall varies marginally from oneyear to other. As per Statistical Hand Book Assam2012, the highest rainfall occurred 515.30 mm in themonth of July, 2011. Lowest rainfall occurred 18.9mm in December, 2011.

Temperature:The temperature is a metrological observatory at

Digboi in the district but records are meager. Thecold season starts towards the end of Novemberwhen both day and night temperatures begin todecline. December and January are the coldestmonth of the year with the mean daily maximumtemperature at about 24 degree centigrade and themean daily minimum at 9 degree C to 11 degree C.In association with low pressure waves during thewinter season, district experiences cold spells of aday or two when the minimum temperatures may fall

below 5 degree centigrade. Temperature begins torise from the beginning of March. The rise intemperature continues up to August. The highestmean daily temperature experienced in July andAugust when the mean daily maximum temperaturegoes upto 32 degree C and the mean daily minimumtemperature remains at 25 degree centigrade or less.This together with high humidity makes the seasonrather unpleasant particularly due to non availabilityof rainfall. With the termination of the monsoonseason the weather becomes gradually pleasant andcool. The air remains highly humid throughout theyear except during the period of February to Marchwhen the relative humidity is comparatively lessparticularly in the afternoons. Skies appear heavilycloudy to overcast in the south-west monsoonseasons. There is a decrease in cloudiness after themonsoon and during the period December to Aprilskies remain usually clear or lightly clouded. Windsare light throughout the year except for short spellsof strong winds during thunder storms in the periodfrom March to May.

Flora and Fauna :Evergreen and semi evergreen forests flourish

soil throughout the district. The main species foundin the forests of the district are sam, Gonsoroi, PamaSopa, Titasapa, Maleai, Nahar, Khair, Ajhar, Kathal,Sanalu, Gumari, Amari, Uriam etc. These are usedfor various purposes. In addition to above species,bamboos, canes, Ekara, Thatch etc. are alsoavailable in the forests of the district.

The forests of this district were full of wildanimals. But with the passage of time various kindsof animals have been disappeared from the forestsdue to cruelty of human and also spread of diseasesand flood. Still then, there are Elephants, Tigers,Dears, Mithuns, Buffaloes, Bears, Pigs, andMonkeys etc. in the forest of the district.Mongooses, Otters, Squirrels, Weasels, various kindsof mice and rats are also found everywhere in thedistrict.

Various kinds of colorful land and water birdsare available in this district. Birds like fowls, Crow,Seven Sisters, Parakeets or Bhatau, Horn bills orDhanesh, Maina Charai, Gray mynas, Pigeons,Doves or Kapon charai, Bulbuls, Wood-peckers,Salika etc are some of the various kinds of otherjungle birds and hill birds. The birds who live in theneighbourhood or human habitation are Crows,

ANALYTICAL NOTE

5

Sparrow, Ghanchirika, Salika, Balimahi, Owls etc.There are Vultures or Sagun, Chalani, Kuruha in thedistrict. Water birds or both indigenous and migratorynature are seen in the beels, swamps and rivers.Storks or Bartokola, Bagali, PaniKauri, Kam Charai,Ganga Chilani, Manihari (snake bird) are some ofthe water and marsh birds seen in the district. Ducksare generally found in the beels as winter visitors.Chakai chakua, Saralihanh, and Pintail ducks aresome of the winter visitor birds which come to thedistrict in winter season. There are some residentducks found in the district.

Tortoises, crocodiles, lizards and sakes aregrouped as reptilian. Tortoises of various kinds arefound in the beels and Rivers of the district.Crocodiles are rarely seen in the Brahmaputra. Thegreen lizards are found almost in every part of thedistrict. Among the snakes the most common are

king cobras, adders and water snakes of the district.Pythons are normally found in the forest areas of thedistrict. Among the amphibians frogs and toads arefound in all part of the district.

Fishes of various kinds are found in the beelsand rivers. The bigger fishers are Rau, Barali, Chital,Bahu, Kalijara , Ari, Gagal, Bhakuwa, etc.

Land and Land use pattern.Out of total geographical area of 379,000

hectares of land in Tinsukia district, about 29.9% ofthe land is not available for cultivation and 9.4% iscategorised as other non-cultivated land. Further,about 34.9% is under forests. The net area shown inthe district is about 24.3% of the total geographicalarea. The following table shows the area of land putto different uses and their percentages to the totalareas.

Table-ILand use Pattern in Tinsukia District, 2010-2011

Sl. no. Land put to different uses Area in hectares

1 Total Geographical area 379000

2 Forest area 131595

3 Land not available for cult ivation 114883

a Land put to non-agricultural uses 78086

b Barren and un-cultural land 36797

4Other non-cultivated land excluding fallow land 24932

a Permanent pastures and other grazing land 3560

bLand under misc, trees, groves etc. not included in net area 19786

c Cultivable waste land 1586

5 Fallow land 2876

a Fallow other than current fallow 1159

b Current fallow 1717

6 Net area sown 104714

7 Total cropped area 146916

8 Area sown more than one 42202

(Source: Statistical Hand Book Assam, 2012.)

Geology and Mining :The entire district is covered by alluvial deposits

of recent and sub-recent origin. In many places ofthe district, there are terrace deposits. These areknown as the older or high level alluvium consists ofboulders, pebbles and cobbles or quartzite, sand

stone, shale, slate and gneisses embedded in acourse sandy clay matrix.

The district is very rich in mineral deposits andhas huge deposit of coal, petroleum and natural gaswhich play an important role in the economy and

DISTRICT CENSUS HANDBOOK : TINSUKIA DISTRICT

6

industrial development of the state since long back.Besides, clays for brick making and pottery andgravels for road melting and other useful purposesare abundantly found in Tinsukia.

Huge deposits of bituminous coal exist in twodifferent fields lying along the south part of thedistrict. The well developed and most important oneis the Makum coal field near Margherita, the field ofwhich is kms. long and about 5 kms. wide betweenDirak and Tirap river. Good exposures of coal arealso found in Namdang and Ledo coal field areas ofthe district.

Oil and gas seepage are very common in thedistrict. A big oil seepage was discovered in Digboiwhich led to the discovery of Digboi oil field. Untildiscovery of other oil fields Digboi was the only oilproducing area in the country. The Assam Railwayand Trading Company started exploration of oil inDigboi area from 1888 and 1899 the Assam OilCompany was formed to take over the management.In 1921 the Burma Oil Company took over themanagement to gear up the production of oil, throughsome new and developed techniques. TheNaharkatiya Oil field was also discovered by theAssam Oil Company during 1925 & 1938 and cameout as a good producer of oil in 1953. The Oil IndiaLimited took over the management of NaharkatiyaOil Field in 1961.

Large reserves of natural gas are found inassociation with Oil in Naharkatiya. For utilization ofthis gas a Thermal Power Project has beencompleted by the Assam State Electricity Board anda Fertilizer Factory has been constructed by theFertilizer Corporation of India.

Some quantities of alluvial gold were recoveredfrom Buri-Dihing river during the period of Ahomkings. The mode of collection of gold was bywashing river sands and gravels and alluvialterraces. But the practice of collection of gold hasbeen abandoned for economic reason.

Forest :The hills of the district are encircled by dense

and evergreen forests. These forests are rich in

bamboo, plantains, palm trees and many big andmost valuable trees.

The forest of the district can be divided into twoboard heads viz-the Reserve Forest and unclassedState Forest. However, management of theunclassed State Forest is regulated by the AssamForest Regulation VII, 1891. The class of forests isprimarily government waste land. The reserveforests have been constituted under provisions ofAssam Forest Regulation VII, 1891 which prohibitsa number of activities in the forests. The mainobjective of the management of forest is to conserveforest for the maintenance of climate balance and toprovide protection from erosion.

As per record published in the StatisticalHandbook, Assam, 2012 by the Government ofAssam, there are 32677.785 hectares of landcovered under reserved forest. Protected areacovers 34722.000 hectares and total forest(Excluding unclassed state forest) occupies an areaof 67399.785 hectares

The forests are scattered all over the district butthe most valuable forests are concentrated on thesouth and the east of Railway line from Naharkatiyato Saikhowaghat. The main marketable species ofthese forests are Hollong (Diperocar pusmacrocarpass) Hollock (terminalia myrolarpa),Makai (Strorea anamica), Nahar (Mesua fuel),Uriam (Bischoffa Javanica) and Outenga (Dolleniaindica).

The other resources of revenue earned from theforests are cane, thatch, bamboo, ekra, elephantmahal, fisheries etc. The government earns landrevenue from the forest villages. The out turn oftimber from the saw mills in the district is quiteconsiderable. The district has a numbers of forestbased industries. The animals and birds are alsoanother source of income of the government.Agriculture and plantation:

Crops : Paddy , Jute , Sugarcane , tea , pulses andmustard are the major crops of the district. Tobacco ,potato , vegetable and various fruits are found in thedistrict as subsidiary crops . Rice is the staple food.

ANALYTICAL NOTE

7

Table-IIArea and Production of important crops in Tinsukia district

for the year 2011-2012

Sl. No. Types of Crop Area under cultivation (hectare)

Production (Tones)

1 2 3 4

1 Autumn Paddy 6202 201792 Winter Paddy 58355 163206

3 Summer Paddy 86 3784 Wheat 34 41

1 Matikalai 2020 11232 Jute 9 833 Rape and Mustard 5766 3032

4 Potato 2442 195815 Sugarcane 197 7300

6 Masur 30 16

A - Cereals

B- Miscellaneous

Source: Website of Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government of Assam.

Horticultural cropsBanana, Papaya, Orange ,Pine-apple , Arecanut

and coconut are the important horticultural crops ofthe district. There are some vegetables grown in the

district and common among these are spinach, lai,raddish lafa , cabbage, cauliflower , tomato , onion ,paleng,lady”s finger etc.

Table- III Area and Production of Horticulture crops in Dhemaji

district, 2011-2012

S l .No. Type of c r ops

A r ea un de r c ul tivator (in He ctare )

P rodu ction (in Ton ne s )

1 B rin jal 7 5 7 99 242 C ab bage 12 5 2 2 82 70

3 C au lif low er 7 7 8 1 13 704 O k ra 3 6 8 45 76

5 O n io n 4 1 2 226 P ap ay a 1 6 7 25 05

7 Sw eet P o t at o 8 7 2 07

8 T om at o 3 0 8 63 25

V eg etable s

contd....

DISTRICT CENSUS HANDBOOK : TINSUKIA DISTRICT

8

Sl.no. Type of crops

Area under cultivator (in

Hectare)Production (in

Tonnes)

1 Banana 2112 29022

2 M ango 110 848

3 Orange 1189 18710

4 Guava 213 4192

5 Jackfruit 748 5737

6 Pineapple 256 3465

7 Lemon 439 3049

8 Litchi 143 1337

Fruits

Table- III Area and Production of Horticulture crops in Tinsukia

district, 2011-2012

Source : Website of Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government of Assam.

Sericulture:Silk industry in Assam has flourished since time

immemorial. The art of sericulture and rearing ofcocoons for manufacture of various silk cloths wereunknown to the Assamese since early time

Three principal varieties of silk called Pat, Eri andMuga are still produced in Assam. These varieties areproducing in Tinsukia also. The first variety is the finestand costliest. Eri is of coarser quality and is generallyused by common people. Muga is stouter and moredurable than any other cloths.

The pat, Muga and Eri are being produced by thepeople of Tinsukia district. The State government andthe Central silk Board have taken various measuresfor the development of sericulture in Assam to increasethe production of seed cocoons as well as the qualityof yarn.

Following table gives the picture of familiesengaged in silk production, total areas covered, yieldof cocoon and yearn

Weaving:It is most important cottage industry that run in

Assam from the days of yore. In the past there washardly an Assamese family without a loom. Normallythe handloom cloths were not produced on acommercial scale and as such every family attainedself-sufficiency in respect of cloths.

Table- IVSericulture Activities in the District, 2011-12

TypeNo. of Families

Engaged

Total Area under S ilk Worm Food Plants (in Hect)

No.of Sericulture villages

Eri 5000 179.01

M uga 3318 311

M ulberry 1392 263

284

(Source: Statistical Hand Book Assam, 2012.)

During the British rule, the weaving industry faceda keen completion from the mill made goods whichdominated the markets situated even in the interiorareas. However, the weaving industry still thrivedamong the people of Assam. Mahatma Gandhi ablyremarked that the Assamese women could weave fairy

ANALYTICAL NOTE

9

Table-VHandloom &Textiles in Tinsukia (2011-2012.)

Handloom training Centre(HTC)

Number of Trainees in HTC

Handloom Production Centre

(No)

Production

5 65 - -Source: Statistical Hand Book, Assam, 2012

Bamboo and Cane work: It is also another type of cottage industry in the

district. The cane mats produced by the people weregenerally used by all section of the Assamesepeople. The products made of bamboo and cane isused in every household which are most essential forday to day life. Fishing implements made of bambooused in the district from the days of old are Jakai,Khalai, Chepa etc. which are still being used by thepeople of the district. Cane furnishers are nowgaining markets even outside the states. These havea high potentialities of development.

Saw mill:The small scale saw mills are playing an

important role in the exploitation of the forest wealthof the district. The products of the saw mills mainlygo to meet the demands of local constructional worksuch building, house, bridge, furniture etc. Therailway sleepers and various other industrial usesoutside the State are met by these mills. To meet theever increasing demand for seasoned timber, atimber treatment and seasoning plant has beenestablished by the forest department at Makum. Toutilize the waste from the local saw mill and plywoodfactories, a factory at Makum has also beenestablished which produce hard board and chip-boards.

Besides above industries, there are some moreindustries which are traditionally associated with thevillage economy are – (1) rice mill/rice pounding (II)Ghani (III)Blacksmith (IV) Pottery (V) Goldsmith(VI) Bakery (VII) Printing Press etc.

Tea Industry:The history of the tea industry in Assam dates

back of the year 1823, when the British discoveredtea plants near Sadiya and in Chabua (currentlynearby the Tinsukia town) where the first teaplantation took place. It is mentioned in theEconomic Development of Assam by P.C. Goswamithat a tea garden was started by the Government in1833 in the Lakhimpur district. On 1835 a fewindigenous plants were taken from the forest at‘Nimgroo’ bordering the Singphoe country andgrown at Koondilmukh at Sadiya. A Company wasfound in 1939 known as the Assam Company. Thiswas the first Company in India to undertake thecommercial production of tea and was the districtsuccessor of the East India Company. Theheadquarters of this Company was formed at Naziraof present Sivasagar district and remained till theshifting to Calcutta in 1956. The Government gardenwas carried from 1840 to 1849. But due to certaindifficulties the garden was sold to a China mannamed ‘Among’. This China man failed to improvethe garden. The early sixties of 19th century i.e.from 1859 to 1860 was a period of steady boom.After this period the tea industry received a greatsetback. But this trend was checked by 1878. In1881, the North India Tea Estate owners formed theIndian Tea Association. The industry grewcontinuously till 1890 and thereafter it under wentthrough depreciation for a short period but soonrecovered from this State of affairs. The majorimprovements have been made in the field of tea inthe grouping gardens under a limited number of

tales in their cloths. The Chaddar, Mekhela andGamocha are the most important products of handloomweaving.

The Government of Assam has opened severalcentres in the district for skill development and to assist

and promote the existing weaving units. It also helpsthe weavers by ways of giving training, aid, assistantetc. for improvement of products.

In Tinsukia, there were 5 centres providing trainingin Handloom with 65 trainees, in 2011-2012.

DISTRICT CENSUS HANDBOOK : TINSUKIA DISTRICT

10

Companies in the progressive mechanization andrationalization of production and in increasing theirefficiency of productivity of labour.

The Guwahati Tea Auction centre:Marketing of Tea has always been a great

problem for the industrialists. Before opening of TeaAuction Centre at Guwahati, Tea Auction Centre inCalcutta arranged for sale of Assam Tea. TeaAuction Centre, third of its kind in India startedfunctioning at Guwahati from Sept., 1970.

Tea which is subject to direct taxation by way ofexcise duty, export duty and a user under Tea Act,the industry makes substantial direct contribution tocentral Revenues. Besides, these taxes tea industryis also subject to central income tax, supper tax(corporation) and agricultural income tax. Incometax alongwith sales tax leased upon it inflates theincome of the State Government to a great extent.

Tea is the mainstay of the plywood industry. Teagrown in different parts of Assam is packed in thegarden factories in plywood chests for dispatch. Teaestates require huge quantity of fertilizers for healthygrowth of tea. Thus it gives a strong support tofertilizer industry also.

The labour force that engaged in the industry isbrought mainly from Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissaand Madras. The industry provides ample scope foremployment from higher to lower grade workers.The tea estate in Assam is in different geographicalsize. It varies from small garden to large tea estate.

The administration is also generally same from eachother. The sole responsibility of a tea estate is vestedon the Manager of the estate. He is the head of theestate. He is assisted by 2/3 Assistant Managers.The Assistant Managers are given separateresponsibility such as production, supervision ofgarden and labours, financial affairs, stock/store andfactory etc. Each garden has a office in which thereis a head clerk called ‘Borobabu’ and he is assistedby some clerks and peon. Social service provided toits employees by hospitals run by qualified medicalofficer and staff. Most of the gardens have theirambulances to carry serious patient for bettertreatment to outside the gardens.

Irrigation:The district receives sufficient amount of rainfall

during monsoon season but the major crops likepaddy, jute, sugarcane etc. have to depend on someother sources of water during the major part of theyear. The system of jan or dong (a canal) to irrigatepaddy field by constructing small canals is still inpractice in some part of the district. Some minorirrigation project like construction of bunds acrossthe streams and rivulets, drainage channels and siltchannels etc. are implemented in the district by theGovernment. Lift irrigation with electric pump-setshas also been operated in some parts of the district.

The following table indicates the irrigationpotential created and the targets and achievementsetc. in Tinsukia district.

Table-VIIrrigation

Target and achievement of Additional Irrigation Potential createdin Tinsukia District

Sl.no ParticularsLand areas in

(hectares )1 Irrigat ion Potential utilized

during 2011-2012801

i During Kharif crop 743ii During Rabi and p re kharif crop 58

2 Irrigat ion p otential 6585

i M inor 6585

ii M ajor and M edium

3 T arget of addition irrigation p otent ial 140

i M inor 140

ii M ajor M edium contd.....

ANALYTICAL NOTE

11

Large Scale Industry:The district is very rich in natural resources and

consequently is a highly industrialized district in theentire state. The industries in the district are mainlyleased on petroleum, coal, tea and forest.

Petroleum Industry :

Assam, more particularly Upper Assam is wellknown as an oil area. The oil found in Tinsukiadistrict had led to the installation of the first oilrefinery at Digboi. The existence of Petroleum inthis area was first discovered in 1828 by Wileox andMr. C.A. Brace. The first successful oil strike in thecountry took place at Makum on March, 1867. Thiswas the first successful mechanically drilled oil wellin Asia. In 1882 which constructing the railway linefrom Dibrugarh to Ledo, Petroleum was discoveredat Digboi and the exploitation of field was started bythe Assam Railway and Trading Company in 1889.After passing various phases, Oil Refinery at Digboistarted functioning in December, 1901. By 1916more than a million tones of crude oil has beensupplied by the Digboi oil fields and currentproduction stands between 170000 to 180000 tones ayear.

Naharkatiya Oil Field :The next and the important oil field in the district

had been discovered at Naharkatiya. It opened up anew era of oil exploration in the alluvial area withinthe country. This oil field meets about 50% of India’srequirement of Petroleum. The preparation forexploration of oil at Naharkatiya was made in 1951.Gradually, the number of wells drilled in Naharkatiyaarea has gone upto 144 in 1964.

Oil India Pipe line Project:To transport crude oil, Oil India has constructed

an 1152 km long pipeline from Naharkatiya toBarauni. The pipe line is capable of carrying 2.75million tones of crude a year upto Guwahati & 2.00million tones a year thereafter to Barauni. Now itcan carry upto 4.00 million tones of crude oil peryear.

Natural Gas:The Assam Gas Company located at Duliajan

which is a State Government undertaking has startedfunctioning on April 2, 1971. It undertook thedistribution of the Gas to various users. To utilize thisGas, a thermal power station has been established atNamrup in Dibrugarh district. The company alsosupplies gas to a number of tea gardens for runningfactories and other allied works.

Coal Industry:The coal industry in Assam is more than one

hundred year old. The existence of coal deposits inUpper Assam had been known from early days ofthe British Rule. As early as in 1828 a good quantityof coal is dug in this district. The Makum coal fieldnear Margherita is 30 kms. long and 5 kms. wide.The working collieries found in the district are atBorgolai, Ledo, Namdang and Tipong. Assamproduces about 1.3% of the total Indian output ofcoal of which about 85% comes from Makum coalfields. Due to its inferior quality of Assam coal, itbecomes less attractive for the markets elsewhere inIndia. But whole of it goes to tea gardens andrailways.Medium size industry:

The number of registered industries in thedistrict as in 2010 is indicated below:

Sl.no ParticularsLand areas in

(hectares)4 Achievement of addition irrigation

potential102

i Minor 102

ii Major Medium

Source: Statistical Hand Book, Assam, 2012

Table-VIIrrigation

Target and achievement of Additional Irrigation Potential created in Tinsukia District

DISTRICT CENSUS HANDBOOK : TINSUKIA DISTRICT

12

Table-VIIDistrictwise distribution of registered factories and workers in Tinsukia

district

Factory Worker Factory Worker

1 Agriculture, Hunting and related Service Activities 32 545 1 0

2 Mining of coal and Lignite, Extraction of Peat 2 10 2 10

3 Manufacturing of food products and Beverages. 1559 71123 226 12930

4 Manufacturing of Textiles. 60 4394 3 40

5 Manufacuring of wood and products of wood and cork 420 8175 100 4033

6 Manufacturing of paper and paper products 68 4111 4 57

7 Publishing , printing and reproduction of recorded media 43 1048 2 40

8Manufacturing of coke,Refined pe troleum products and natura l fuel 68 5877 6 706

9 Manufacturing of chemica ls and chemical products 152 7751 7 661

10 Manufacturing of Rubber and Plastic products 177 3643 20 1175

11 Manufacturing of other non-metalic mineral products 8416 36101 95 1774

12 Manufacturing of basic metals 172 4070 20 435

13Manufacturing of Fabricated metal products(except Machinery and Equipments) 109 1420 26 324

14 Manufacturing of machinery and equipment,N.E.C 50 966 20 410

15Manufacturing of office accounting and computing machinery 61 1274 6 65

16 Manufacturing of furniture ,Manufacturing of N.E.C 26 611 2 115

17 Electricity,Gas,steam and Hot water supply 43 1406 6 83

18 Collection, Purification and distr ibution of water 3 37 3 37

19Sale,maintenance and repair of Motor vehicles and motor cycles,retail sales of automotive fuel 113 2307 15 368

20Retail trade,except of motor vehicles and motor cycle repair of personal and household goods 19 107 3 36

21Supporting and auxiliary transport activities,activities of travel agencies(including sorage and householding) 31 475 5 106

Sl no Type of industry

Assam Tinsukia

Source: Statistical Hand book Assam, 2012.

Plywood factory:Plywood industry occupies an important place in

the economy of the district. Tea is the mainstay ofthis industry. Plywood is manufactured by combiningseveral piles or veneers. In 1924 the AssamRailways and Trading Company started theirplywood factory at Margherita. Gradually, thenumbers of Plywood Factory has gone up in thedistrict. There were nine such factories in 1968 inthe undivided Lakhimpur district and all these werelocated in then Dibrugarh sub-division. Simul,

Hollock, Hollong and Mango are the species whichare used in manufacture of plywood. The district isrich in these species and hence such factories areestablished time to time.

There are some other registered industrieswhose number varies from 1 to 3 only.

Animal Husbandry :The following two tables depict details of the

livestock and poultry and veterinary facilities in Tinsukia.

ANALYTICAL NOTE

13

Table-VIIILivestock and poultry population in Tinsukia district

Cattle Buffaloes Sheep Goats Horse and Ponies

Pigs Total live stock

Fowls Ducks

321189 23591 0 130754 99 81084 556717 611328 127766Source: Statistical Hand Book, Assam, 2012

Pisciculture:Fisheries in Assam are of various types. Fish is

reared on commercial basis in the beels, rivers,swamps, forest derelicts, ponds and tanks. There areregistered fisheries as well as some unregisteredones. Private tanks, marshy areas, dead rivers andcanals generally fall in the unregistered group.

Various types of breed are found in beels andrivers in the district. Fishes like Rohu, Barali, Chital,Kaliajora, Kurhi, sol etc are found in big beels. Fishesthat are found available anywhere are Kawoi, Magur,Singra, Puthi, Darikana etc.

The development of Agriculture in the districtwas initiated by the Government after independenceand a number of schemes were started for promotionof fisheries. These are (1) seed collection and

distribution (II) Survey of fisheries and reclamation(III) Renovation of ancient and inferior quality ofTanks (IV) Fish farming (V) Providing loans andsubsidies. The Department of Fisheries hasestablished the commercial-cum-Demonstration FishFarm at Na-Pukhuri consisting of stocking, rearing andnursery of tanks. The department also renovated anumber of old and ancient tanks. Besides, theCommunity Development Blocks have undertakenschemes for development of fisheries in theirrepresentative areas. Forest fishing in the district playsa significant role in meeting the local demand of fish.

In the district there are 36 registered Beelfisheries and 2513 Ponds with 5 registered forestfisheries as on 2011 – 12.

Table-IX Fisheries

Number and area under Fisheries in Tinsukia district (2011-12)

Numbers Area Numbers Area Numbers Area Numbers Area Numbers Area36 2957 2513 486 7 10 0 0 5 240

Beel fisheries Ponds & Tanks Derelict Water Bodies/swamps

Reservoir Fisheries

Forest Fisheries

Source: Statistical Hand Book, Assam, 2012

Power and Electricity:The development of agriculture as well as

industry is largely depended upon availability ofelectricity. The use of electricity becomes anessential part of the modern society. The district hashigh power potential based on natural gas. The largepart of demand for electricity in the district meets upfrom the thermal project at Namrup in Dibrugarhdistrict.

In Tinsukia District, as per the StatisticalHandbook, Assam, 2012, the number of villages to getelectricity provisions is 1075 out of 1162 in 2011-12.

Trade and Commerce:The district is rich in natural wealth.

Theimportant industries like petroleum, Gas, Tea and

Plywood are established in the district. ThePetroleum and other products of Digboi areexported from the district to various parts of thecountry and even to the international markets. Teais the most important commodity of export andearns a great amount of foreign exchange. Thecrude oil is another most important item of export.

Coal is another important item of export fromthe district. About 85% of coal in Assam comesfrom the Makum coal field of the district. Makumcoal is costlier than other coal produced in India.Plywood is a very important commodity of exportand plays a good role in the economy of the State.The Urea and Ammonium sulphate are also sent toother parts of the country from the district.

DISTRICT CENSUS HANDBOOK : TINSUKIA DISTRICT

14

In addition to above items of the district timberand timber products, cane and cane products,bamboo and bamboo products, tea chests, jute,paddy and some other products of small scaleindustries of the district are exported outside thedistrict.

The principal items of import to the district arevarious raw-materials and machineries, wheat,pulses, gram, peas, rice, grain, peas, ground nut,species, oil, sugar, cement, C.I. Sheets, fertilizers,iron, paints, all kinds of vehicles, garments cloth etc.The stationery articles also come from outsideAssam.

Tinsukia town is the main trade centre of thedistrict. Both the wholesale and retail sale businessis transacted in Tinsukia town. Tinsukia has nowachieved prominence as an industrial town of thestate. The importance of Tinsukia has increasedrecently because of establishment and expansion ofsteel processing and light engineering industries andvarious fabrication workshops.

Other important trade centres of the district areDigboi, Doomdooma, Margherita, Chapakhowa,Makum and Naharkatiya where both the types oftrades are carried considerably. Never-the-less,majority of trade is transacted in Tinsukia town.

A great deal of business is also operated at thelocal markets or hats. The villagers and tea gardenlabourers are mainly depended on these markets/hats. The villagers sell their products at the hats andthe wholesalers coming from towns purchase theproducts of the villagers. The petty traders alsocome to these hats and sell various items to thebuyers.

Banking and Finance:As observed by the Assam provincial Banking

Enquiry Committee in 1929, the history of indigenousbanks in the district is shrouded in obscurity. Upto1929-30 there were no co-operative or joint stockbanks in the district. The moneylender played animportant role in the rural credit system in the past.However, with the expansion of the tea industry andexploration of oil and coal, the credit structure of thedistrict took a concrete shape. Several banks havebeen set up in various parts of the district. Inaddition, co-operative credit societies are also inoperation. However, even now, the moneylendercontinues to be an important source of rural credit.

The following table explains the number ofbanks in the district and the position of deposits andcredits.

Rs in crores

Offices Deposit Credit Ratio

Regional Rural banks ,Assam 8 56 25 44.64

Scheduled Commercia l bank 82 2429 798 32.85

Name Of the Bank2011, March

Table-XPosition of Deposits and Credits in Banks as on March 2011 and March

2012 in Tinsukia district

Source: Statistical Handbook Assam, 2012

Transport and Communication:In ancient days overland trade routes of the

district is very meagre. The old accounts of Assamwitnesses that the most of the travellers used horses,elephants, ponies, bullock carts, palanquins, countryboats and rafts to travel our place to other. However,with the passage of time, the situation has changedconsiderably. With the advent of the British and afterindependence tremendous improvement in road andother communication facilities have taken place.

Road:The road transport makes headway in Ahom

rule. Some important roads were constructed by theAhom which are known as Dhodar Ali and GohainKamala Ali linking many places of undividedLakhimpur district. Similarly the British alsoconstructed some roads in the district.

The following table indicates the present positionof the length of roads of different types in thedistrict.

ANALYTICAL NOTE

15

Table-XIRoad length in Tinsukia District (2012)

Sl no. Category of roads Road

length(kms) 1 State Highway 63

2 Major District road 171

3 Rural Road 1005

4 Urban Road 52

Source: Economic Survey, Assam, 2011-2012

Rails:The development of rail communication in the

district can be attributed to the tea industry whichwas heavily concentrated in the Tinsukia district. In1881, the Assam railway and Trading Company tookup the construction of Dibru-Sadiya Railway line.The first railway line in Upper Assam fromDibrugarh to Jaipur was opened in 1882 which wasconnected with the coal fields. In 1904, through railcommunication was established between Chittagongand Dibrugarh. The Dibrugarh-Sadiya Railway linewas extended by another line from Talap toSaikhowaghat. Gradually, the rail lines wereextended touching different places and variousRailway stations were opened in different places ofthe district.

Waterways-Ferry service:The Government of Assam runs thirteen ferries

along the Brahmaputra including ferry plying in theTinsukia district. The main ferry ghat of the districtis Sadiya Saikhowaghat. The ferry is auctioned outby the government of Assam private contractors.The general maintenance and supervision of the ghatare done by the public works department.

Tenancy:The two acts namely the Assam Temporarily

Settled Districts Tenancy Act, 1935 and the AssamAdhiar Protection and Regulation Act 1948,prevailing earlier are now replaced by the Assam(Temporarily Settled Areas) Tenancy Act 1971which is in force in Tinsukia district alongwith allplain districts of Assam.

The broad features of the Act are –

(I) Share coppers are treated as tenants.

(II) Right to occupancy acquire on occupationfor 3 years against 12 years prescribed earlier.

(III) The Govt. is empowered to acquire theright of ownership and the intermediary right ofownership and the intermediary rights in favour ofoccupancy and non-occupancy tenants. Till theGovernment do so, a right is given to the tenantcultivating their own land to acquire such right bypayment of compensation.

(IV) Illegally ejected tenants are restoredpossession of the land through circle court.

(V) A limited right to mortgage by non-occupancy tenants to obtain credit from financialinstitutions is provided. The occupancy tenants aregiven permanent heritable and transferable right ofthe land of his holding.

The Assam Urban Area Rent Control Act 1972was enacted to regulate relation between thelandlord and the tenant in so far as the tenancyrelates to a house in urban areas i.e. areas coveredby municipality and small towns constituted underthe Municipal Act, 1956. The Act has two foldobjectives.

(1) To give the tenant a security of tenure at afair rent and

(2) To prevent the landlord from evicting thetenant except on specified grounds. ‘Fair rent’mentioned in the Act is the amount not exceeding thefigure of “standard rent” which is calculated underthe procedure specified in the Act. The civil courtwill decide any dispute between the land-lord and thetenant in respect of the rent payable by the tenant tothe land-lord and ejection of the tenant by land-lordunder certain circumstance.

District Administration:The Deputy Commissioner of the district is the

overall In-Charge of the administration of the entire

DISTRICT CENSUS HANDBOOK : TINSUKIA DISTRICT

16

district. He also acts as the collector in case ofRevenue matters as a District Magistrate in case ofmaintenance of Law and Order and generaladministration as a District Election Officer in caseof conduct of Election as a Principal Census Officerwhile conducting Census and so on. A number ofofficers like Additional Deputy Commissioners, Sub-divisional Officers, Extra-Assistant Commissionersand other assist the Deputy Commissioner is lookingafter the administration of the district.

From the developmental angle, Tinsukia districtis divided into – Development Blocks. Below theblock level set up, there are – Gaon Panchayatseach comprising a number of villages and governedby local-self bodies. From the angle of Policeadministration, the district area is divided into –Police Stations.

Revenue Administration:The revenue administration has historically been

the primary responsibility of the DistrictAdministration. This involves collection and fixing ofland revenue registration, mutation and overallmanagement in regard to land, both private andpublic. The Revenue Branch of the DeputyCommissioner’s office is looked after by theAdditional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue).Besides, there are outlying Revenue Circles in thedistrict supervised by Circle Officers. TheMauzadars under the Circle Officers are responsiblefor collecting land revenue (Khazana) from landowners (Pattadars). All the Circle Officers arerequired to submit ‘Doul’ (demand of revenue) to theDeputy Commissioner and after his approval,Mauzadars are to collect revenue as per the demand

Development:The district development is one of the important

objectives of the District Administration. The DeputyCommissioner being the head of the district is mainlyresponsible to look after over all developmentalactivities in the district undertaken on variousschemes such as MP’s Local Area Fund (MPLAD),MLA’s Fund, United Fund, Sub-Divisional PlanScheme Fund, Border Area Development Fund andetc. For these activities, the Deputy Commissionerassigns one Additional Deputy Commissioner(Development) the specific task or looking after andcoordinating various developmental activities undergoing in various sectors. The additional DeputyCommissioner (Development) is aided in this matter

by the decentralized Planning Cell of the DeputyCommissioner’s office. All departments involved inthe developmental activities of the district, like PWD,Irrigation, Health, Education and many others workin co-ordination and a District DevelopmentCommittee (DDC) headed by the DeputyCommissioner has been in place to ensure this co-ordination. Under the Government Policy of rapidupliftment of rural population, a District RuralDevelopment Agency (DRDA) is functioning in thedistrict which has the Deputy Commissioner as theChairman and one Project Director as its functionalhead. All schemes for Rural Development areimplemented by agencies in co-ordination with someDevelopment Blocks situated in outlying rural areasof the district. These Development Blocks aresupervised by Block Development Officers andSenior Block Development Officers.

Local Administration:The elected bodies of Corporation, Municipality

and Town Committee are responsible formanagement and implementation of variousdevelopmental programs of urban areas andPanchayat Bodies for the rural areas. Tinsukiadistrict has four urban local administration bodies asfollows:-

1. Tinsukia Municipal Board.

2. Doom Dooma Town Committee.

3. Makum Town Committee.

4. Digboi Town Committee.

As for the rural areas in Tinsukia district, ahierarchy or local administrative bodies is in placewith Zila Parishad at the top (Sub-division level)followed by Gaon Panchayats which cover a totalnumber of 1168 villages in the district.

System of Local Self Government:The present system of local self government is

a legacy of the British administration. However,some forms of local self government were inexistence even during the pre-British days such asinstitution like Namghar etc. Initially thesePanchayats were constituted as Local Boards in1882. The Assam Panchayats Act, 1959, whichcame into force in 1960, abolished the Local Boardsand under this Act a three-tier Panchayat RajSystem was introduced in Assam. However, the

ANALYTICAL NOTE

17

Panchayat Act 1972, which came into operationfrom 5th May 1973, changed over the system to two-tier system of Panchayats instead of the three-tiersystem and the intermediary Anchalik Panchayathaving been abolished.

The urban units are categorized as MunicipalBoard, Town Committee and Municipal Corporation.In Tinsukia district, there is one Municipal Board andthree Town Committees. There will be oneChairman and Vice-Chairman in Municipality andthe Chairman is the head of the administration. Hepresides over meetings of the Municipality. He isentrusted with the implementation of the schemestaken up by the Municipality. He is also investedwith the financial powers to manage the affairs ofthe Municipality. The Municipality has varioussources of revenue, and in addition, regularlyreceives annual grants from the government.Besides government grants, they earn revenues fromlevies, taxes on holdings, rickshaws, carts, bicycles,stalls, open space markets, cinema houses etc.

Some important duties of the Municipalities andTown Committees are to maintain road and bridgeunder their jurisdiction and to look after thesanitation of public health, laying out of parks,

establishment of veterinary of dispensaries, libraries,fire brigades, supply of protected water, streetlighting etc.

Law and Order:Maintenance of Law and Order is another

important aspect of the district administration and theDeputy Commissioner also being the DistrictMagistrate is responsible for proper maintenance ofthe same. The Deputy Commissioner is aided by theAdditional District Magistrate and Sub-divisionalMagistrate. The Circle Officers of the Circles alsofunction as Executive Magistrate and are responsiblefor maintenance of Law and Order in theirrespective circle areas. The District Magistrate andother magistrate take the necessary assistant fromthe police department for any necessity. Policeadministration of the district is headed by theSuperintendent of Police. The Police department hasan infrastructure of some police station and some outpost with other auxiliary establishment in the district.

The incident of crime in the district is not lesscompare to the other parts of the State. Thenumbers of different cases of the crimes reportedare presented in the following table.

Table-XIIDistrict-wise incidents of crime under I.P.C in Tinsukia, 2011

Mur

der

Rap

e

Kid

napp

ing

Dac

oits

Rob

bery

Bur

glar

y

Rio

t

Cri

min

al B

reac

h of

T

rust

Che

atin

g

The

ft

Cou

nter

feiti

ng

othe

r

Tot

al

23 62 157 6 35 114 45 53 60 453 2 1259 2348

Source: Statistical Hand Book, Assam, 2012

As may be seen in the above table, the incidentsof theft, kidnapping and burglary are relatively morecompared to the other type of crimes where as very

few case of dacoits are found reported. However,the rates of conviction are very less in the district aswell as in the State as a whole.

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18

(ii) Census concepts

Building:

A ‘Building’ is generally a single structure onthe ground. Usually a structure will have four wallsand a roof. Sometimes it is made up of more thanone component unit which are used or likely to beused as dwellings (residences) or establishments suchas shops, business houses, offices, factories,workshops, work sheds, Schools, places ofentertainment, places of worship, godowns, stores etc.It is also possible that building which have componentunits may be used for a combination of purposes suchas shop-cum-residence, workshop-cum-residence,office-cum-residence etc. But in some areas the verynature of construction of houses is such that theremay not be any wall. Such is the case of conicalstructures where entrance is also provided but theymay not have any walls. Therefore, such of theconical structures are also treated as separatebuildings.

Pucca houses:

Houses, the walls and roof of which aremade of permanent materials. The material of wallscan be any one from the following, namely, Stones(duly packed with lime or cement mortar), G.I/metal/asbestos sheets, Burnt bricks, Cement bricks,Concrete. Roof may be made of from any one of thefollowing materials, namely, Machine-made tiles,Cement tiles, Burnt bricks, Cement bricks, Stone,Slate, G.I/Metal/Asbestos sheets, Concrete. Suchhouses are treated as Pucca house.

Kutcha houses:

Houses in which both walls and roof aremade of materials, which have to be replacedfrequently. Walls may be made from any one of thefollowing temporary materials, namely, grass, Unburntbricks, bamboos, mud, grass, reeds, thatch, plastic /polythene, loosed packed stone, etc. Such houses aretreated as Kutcha house.

Dwelling Room:

A room is treated as a dwelling room if ithas walls with a doorway and a roof and should bewide and long enough for a person to sleep in, i.e. itshould have a length of not less than 2 meters anda breadth of at least 1.5 meters and a height of 2meters. A dwelling room would include living room,bedroom, dining room, drawing room, study room,

servant’s room and other habitable rooms. Kitchen,bathroom, latrine, store room, passageway andverandah which are not normally usable for living arenot considered as dwelling rooms. A room, used formultipurpose such as sleeping, sitting, dining, storing,cooking, etc., is regarded as a dwelling room. In asituation where a census house is used as a shop oroffice., etc., and the household also stays in it thenthe room is not considered as a dwelling room. Butif a garage or servant quarter is used by a servantand if she/ he also lives in it as a separate householdthen this has been considered as a dwelling roomavailable to the servant’s household. Tent or conicalshaped hut if used for living by any household is alsoconsidered as dwelling room. A dwelling room, whichis shared by more than one household, has not beencounted for any of them. If two households have adwelling room each but in addition also share acommon dwelling room, then the common room hasnot been counted for either of the households.

Census House :

A ‘census house’ is a building or part of abuilding used or recognized as a separate unit becauseof having a separate main entrance from the road orcommon courtyard or staircase, etc. It may beoccupied or vacant. It may be used for residential ornon- residential purpose or both. If a building has anumber of Flats or Blocks/Wings, which areindependent of one another having separate entrancesof their own from the road or a common staircase ora common courtyard leading to a main gate, theseare considered as a separate Census house.

Village:

The basic unit for rural areas is the revenuevillage, which has definite surveyed boundaries. Therevenue village may comprise of one or more hamletsbut the entire village is treated as one unit forpresentation of data. In un surveyed areas, likevillages within forest areas, each habitation area withlocally recognized boundaries is treated as one village.

Rural-Urban area:

The data in the census are presentedseparately for rural and urban areas. The unit ofclassification in this regard is ‘town’ for urbanareas and ‘village’ for rural areas. The urbanarea comprises two types of towns viz; Statutorytowns and Census towns. In the Census of India2011, the definition of urban area adopted is asfollows:

ANALYTICAL NOTE

19

(a) Statutory Towns : All places with amunicipality, corporation, cantonment board or notifiedtown area committee, etc are known as statutorytowns.

(b) Census owns: All other places satisfyingthe following three criteria simultaneously are treatedas Census Towns.

i) A minimum population of 5,000;

ii) At least 75 per cent of male workingpopulation engaged in non-agricultural pursuits; and

iii) A density of population of at least 400 persq. km. (1,000 per sq. mile)

For identification of places which wouldqualify to be classified as ‘urban’ all villages, which,as per the 2001 Census had a population of 4,000and above, a population density of 400 persons persq. km. and having at least 75 per cent of maleworking population engaged in non-agricultural activitywere considered. To work out the proportion of maleworking population referred to above against b) (ii),the data relating to main workers were taken intoaccount. In addition the above stated towns, urbanareas also constitutes of OGs which are the parts ofUAs.

Urban Agglomeration:

An Urban Agglomeration is a continuousurban spread constituting a town and its adjoiningurban outgrowths (OGs) or two or more physicallycontiguous towns together with or without urbanoutgrowths of such towns. In some cases, railwaycolonies, university campuses, port areas, militarycamps etc; may come up near a statutory townoutside its statutory limits but within the revenue limitsof a village or villages contiguous to the town. Eachsuch individual area by itself may not satisfy theminimum population limit to qualify it to be treated asan independent urban unit but may qualify to beclubbed with the exiting town as their continuousurban spread (i.e., an Out Growth). Each such towntogether with its outgrowth(s) is treated as anintegrated urban area and is designated as an ‘urbanagglomeration’. For the purpose of delineation ofUrban Agglomerations during Census of India 2011,following criteria has been adopted:

(a) The core town or at least one of theconstituent towns of an urban agglomeration shouldnecessarily be a statutory town; and

(b) The total population of an UrbanAgglomeration (i.e. all the constituents put together)should not be less than 20,000 as per the 2001 Census.In varying local conditions, there were similar othercombinations which have been treated as urbanagglomerations satisfying the basic condition ofcontiguity.

Out Growth (OG):

The outgrowth is a viable unit such as a villageor a hamlet or an enumeration block and clearlyidentifiable in terms of its boundaries and location.While determining the outgrowth of a town, it hasbeen ensured that it possesses the urban features interms of infrastructure and amenities such as puccaroads, electricity, taps, drainage system for disposalof waste water etc., educational institutions, postoffices, medical facilities, banks etc and physicallycontiguous with the core town of the UA.

City:

Towns with population of 100,000 and aboveare called cities.

Household:

A ‘household’ is usually a group of personswho normally live together and take their meals froma common kitchen unless the exigencies of workprevent any of them from doing so. Persons in ahousehold may be related or unrelated or a mix ofboth. However, if a group of unrelated persons livein a census house but do not take their meals fromthe common kitchen, then they are not constituent ofa common household. Each such person was to betreated as a separate household. The important linkin finding out whether it was a household or not wasa common kitchen/common cooking. There may beone member households, two member households ormulti-member households.

Institutional Household:

A group of unrelated persons who live in aninstitution and take their meals from a commonkitchen is called an Institutional Household. Examplesof Institutional Households are boarding houses,messes, hostels, hotels, rescue homes, observationhomes, beggars homes, jails, ashrams, old age homes,children homes, orphanages, etc. To make thedefinition more clearly perceptible to the enumeratorsat the Census 2011, it was specifically mentioned thatthis category or households would cover only those

DISTRICT CENSUS HANDBOOK : TINSUKIA DISTRICT

20

households where a group of unrelated persons livein an institution and share a common kitchen.

Houseless household : Households who do not livein buildings or census houses but live in the ope