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Research Paper | Geography | India | Volume 13 Issue 4, April 2024

Analysing Growth Dynamics of Census Towns and Access to Drinking Water: A Case Study of Murshidabad District, West Bengal

Sanjoy Mandal | Amit Chatterjee

Abstract: Access to safe drinking water is recognized as an indicator of human rights and is also included in the recent ambitious global targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). India is going through rapid urbanization, where significant urban growth is evident in urbanization beyond statutory towns, particularly census towns. Often, the growth dynamics of these census towns are unacknowledged, and the condition of basic services, such as access to water, needs to be explored more. Murshidabad is one of West Bengal?s fast-growing districts, where 65 census towns were present as per the 2011 census. In the Murshidabad district, census town growth occurs near Berhampore, the biggest town and the district-headquarter large cities, and in clusters of census towns far away from Berhampore. This paper analyzes the growth dynamics of Murshidabad district temporally and spatially through Geographic Information System (GIS) software based on Census of India information. The paper also focused on access to water and water-related issues to understand the ground realities in selected census towns based on primary surveys and field observations. People in these census towns primarily depend on water tankers for drinking water and have raised concerns about poor water quality and health issues. The results can help the decision-makers understand the unprecedented growth in census towns and the related deprivation of access to safe drinking water that can help plan for a sustainable future.

Keywords: Census town, Murshidabad, GIS, spatial, growth, drinking water, access

Edition: Volume 13 Issue 4, April 2024,

Pages: 1865 - 1872