By Our Reporter
SHILLONG:Meghalaya witnessed 27 per cent growth in rural population among states followed by Bihar with 24 per cent as per the census of India 2011.
An official of the state census department while talking on the increase said, ‘Migration may be a factor as poor people continue to move in rural areas for getting employed in coal mines and other mining activities.
Incidentally, Meghalaya with nearly 30 lakh population had reported highest decadal growth not only among all the north-eastern states but also among all the special category states and even states with vast international borders like Punjab and Rajasthan.
The state with a population of 29,64,007 reported 27.82 per cent decadal growth which is higher than the national average in the provisional census of 2011.
The official, however maintained that influx of outsiders cannot be considered a factor for the increase of population in the rural areas.
“The department is currently assessing whether influx is also a reason for the increase in rural population,”the official added while talking to this scribe on the request of anonymity.
Taking strong cognizance of the unexpected decadal growth, various NGOs of the state have already expressed their concern on the matter.
According to sources, another reason for the increase in rural population may be the high percentage of child population in the age group 0-6 years.
Meghalaya was second with regard to the child population in the 2001 census with a percentage of 20.18. However, Meghalaya has beaten all states in the 2011 census as it recorded a percentage of 18.75 in the child population
Even a state like Bihar has percentage of 17.90 in the child population with age –group 0-6 years while the percentage of child population in rural areas is 20.16 while in the urban areas it is 13.15 percent.
It may be mentioend that of the 121 crore Indians, 83.3 crore live in rural areas while 37.7 crore stay in urban areas, said the Census of India 2011 Provisional Population Totals Rural-Urban Distribution in the country, released by Union Home Secretary RK Singh here on Friday.
