NUAPADA DISTRICT OVERVIEW

Nuapada district lies to the west of Orissa, bordering Chattisgarh. It is a small district of only 3,852 km2. There are 5 administrative blocks in the District: Khariar, Nuapada, Komna, Boden, and Sinapali and a total of 643 villages. The district was created in 1992 through division of Kalahandi District.

SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC FEATURES

The population of Nuapada is 5,30,000 of which 98% are Hindu, 0.7% are Muslim, 0.1% are Christian, the remainder are Buddhist, Jain and others.

The main dialect spoken in Nuapada is Kosali. The local dialect is strongly influenced by Loria which is the main language spoken in the state of Chattisgarh. The main tribes living in the District are: Gonds; Bhunjias; Chakotias; Dals; and Souras. The schedule castes are the Ghasis; Chamars; and Doms. Other backward castes are Praharias.

The district is one of the poorest in Orissa. According to the district statistical handbook, 83% of families live below the Government of India poverty line of Rs.15,000 (US$300) per annum. Of the families living below the poverty line over 50% are ‘very poor’ with an income of only Rs.6000 (US$120) per annum.

LAND AND IRRIGATION

Forest cover in Nuapada is 185 km2, equivalent to 3.2% of the entire state and 48% of the district. The land utilization pattern of Nuapada district is as follows:

• misc. rice, permanent pastures, land put to non-agricultural use, barren & uncultivable land is 16,000 sq. km;
• cultivable waste land is 4000 sq. km
• current fallow land is 10,000 sq. km
• other fallow is only 2000 sq. km
• net area sown is 168,000 sq. km
• cultivable land under irrigation is only 9%.

LITERACY

The male literacy rate of Nuapada is 58%. Among women, the literacy rate is 24%. Among children, only 25% of scheduled cast and 19% of scheduled tribes are enrolled in schools.

DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS

Below are listed few of parameters that help to define Balangir's present human development status:

THE DROUGHT FACTOR

Despite the fact that average annual rainfall is as high as 1378 mm, Nuapada is a very drought prone area. It has suffered repeated drought; in 1972-73, 1979-80, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1987-89, and 2002.

A majority of the population in the district are landless. They earn their livelihood by working as agricultural labourers. During drought affected years, large farmers and landowners are unable to cultivate their entire land. This leads to a decline in employment opportunities for nearly 85% of the people. Reducing forest cover, absence of pro-poor NTFP policies, and substitution of traditional craft items by cheaper factory goods have resulted in a dramatic fall in non-agricultural employment opportunities. All this has forced several families in Nuapada, especially in rural areas, to migrate to urban areas in search of employment opportunities.

Agriculture in the district is mainly rain-fed. Because of a host of factors, including variable and unpredictable rainfall, agricultural productivity in Nuapada can be best characterized as low and uncertain. As a result, an average non-irrigated farm produces about seven month’s worth of food grains for the food and nutritional needs of an entire family. For the remaining months, male members of the family mainly seek work on the fields of bigger land owners or migrate in search of employment. In some instances, especially among the tribal communities, entire families forage for food in the forests. This adds to their existing problems of not being able to access minimum benefits in relation to education, nutrition, health security. Instances of malnutrition, sometimes severe, are fairly common among these groups.