WikiDwarf at 04:27, 12 March 2026

2026-03-12T04:27:20Z

New page

{{Short description| a category of places in India and some other countries}}
In India and some other countries, a '''census town''' is designated as a town that satisfies certain characteristics.

==India==
In [[India]], a census town is one which is not statutorily notified and administered as a town, but nevertheless whose population has attained urban characteristics.<ref name=thbl>{{cite news|last=Ramachhandran, M.|title=Rescuing cities from chaos|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/article2889750.ece|access-date=8 March 2012|newspaper=The Hindu Business Line|date=13 February 2012}}</ref> They are characterized by the following:
* Population exceeds 5,000
* At least 75% of main male working population is employed outside the agricultural sector
* Minimum [[population density]] of 400 persons per km<sup>2</sup><ref>{{cite web|title=Census of India: Some terms and definitions|url=http://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/paper2/data_files/kerala/13-concept-34.pdf|publisher=Census of India|access-date=8 March 2012}}</ref><ref>"[http://origin-www.livemint.com/Politics/HQzcUy1meBiq2aeaS9dAZO/New-census-towns-showcase-new-India.html New Census Towns Showcase New India]", ''Mint''.</ref>

Examples of Indian census towns include [[Greater Noida]] and [[Chakeri]] in [[Uttar Pradesh]]; [[Indranagar]] in [[Tripura]];[[Begampur, India|Begampur]], [[Chandpara]], [[Nandigram]],[[Chittaranjan]] and [[Beliatore]] in [[West Bengal]], [[Chevella]] in [[Telangana]], [[Amini, India|Amini]] in [[Lakshadweep]], [[Deolali]] in [[Maharashtra]], [[Ghatshila]] in [[Purbi Singhbhum district|Purbi Singhbhum District]] of Jharkhand; and [[BGR Township, India|BGR Township]] ([[BGR Township, India|Bongaigaon Refinery Township]]) in [[Bongaigaon district|Bongaigaon Urban Agglomeration]] in [[Assam]]; [[Pileru]] in [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[Chikhli, Gujarat|Chikhli]] in [[Gujarat]], [[Ichgam]] in [[Jammu and Kashmir (Union territory)| Jammu and Kashmir]].

=== Census 2011 ===
The number of census towns (CTs) in India grew from 1,362 in 2001 to 3,894 in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/paper2/data_files/India2/1.%20Data%20Highlight.pdf|title=Census of India 2011 - Paper 2|access-date=28 September 2016}}</ref> As per Pradhan (2013),<ref>[http://www.epw.in/journal/2013/36/special-articles/unacknowledged-urbanisation.html Pradhan (2013)]</ref> these CTs account for 30% of the urban growth in the last decade.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2015-06-05|title=Unacknowledged Urbanisation|url=http://www.epw.in/journal/2013/36/special-articles/unacknowledged-urbanisation.html|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=48|issue=36}}</ref> Pradhan also notes that the largest increase in the number of CTs was in the states of West Bengal and Kerala.

==== Ministry of Urban Development Notification ====
The Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, in May 2016 asked the 28 states in India to take action to start the process of recognizing CTs as urban areas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=145405|title=States asked to convert 3,784 urban areas into statutory Urban Local Bodies|website=pib.nic.in|access-date=2016-09-29}}</ref> The argument given for this conversion was that a statutory Urban Local Body (ULB) is required to ensure planned development of these areas. In this notification, Rajiv Gauba, Secretary (Urban Development) notes:<blockquote>The opportunity of planned urban development might get lost if unplanned construction and ad hoc provisioning of infrastructure is allowed to take place over a long time.</blockquote>Additionally, the Ministry, in the notification, has informed the states that they stand to gain from according statutory status to these towns. With a greater number of statutory towns, the states would be able to get more money from the Centre as per the 14th [[Finance Commission]] Report. Additionally, under [[Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation]] (AMRUT), 50% weightage is given to the number of statutory towns in the state/UT to determine the allocation of funds to these states/UTs.

Following this notification, Maharashtra state government converted 19 CTs in the state to statutory ULBs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/19-new-civic-bodies-to-boost-urbanization-in-Pune/articleshowprint/52381346.cms?null|title=19 new civic bodies to boost urbanization in Pune - Times of India|website=The Times of India|access-date=2016-09-29}}</ref> These 19 CTs are in close proximity to the town of Pune and this conversion is expected to lessen the infrastructure and population pressures on the town.

==Ireland==
{{main|List of census towns in the Republic of Ireland}}
According to [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]'s [[Central Statistics Office (Ireland)|Central Statistics Office]], a census town by definition has a "cluster of fifty or more occupied dwellings, not having a legally defined boundary, in which within a distance of 800 metres there is a nucleus of either thirty occupied houses on both sides of the road or twenty occupied houses on one side of the Road". Census towns were distinct from [[List of cities, boroughs and towns in the Republic of Ireland|municipal towns]]; the latter, which had legally defined boundaries and local government powers, were abolished by the [[Local Government Reform Act 2014]].

==References==
<references />

==External links==
*{{cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999|archive-date=2004-06-16|title= Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)|access-date=2008-11-01|publisher= Census Commission of India}}

[[Category:Types of towns]]

Census town - Revision history

WikiDwarf at 04:27, 12 March 2026