TOP OF THE CLASS
Districts that excelled, and ones that turned around in the past decade
The india today State of the State (SOTS) districts awards are based on a sophisticated methodology founded on rigorous reporting and big data analysis of development parameters carefully collected over a decade. Aware that modernisation and development are often a corollary of urbanisation, and therefore that urban districts would invariably have an advantage over rural ones, the india today research team also sought to capture the pace of progress and award acceleration in action. As a result, economically backward districts in regions that have historically proved resistant to technological and cultural change are the surprise winners in some categories.
BEST OVERALL VARANASI
POPULATION: 3.67 MILLION; AREA: 1,535 SQ. KM
In the past five years, Varanasi district has made notable progress in infrastructure, building world-class roads, express trains, waste treatment plants and modern traffic control systems. In a bid to promote riverborne commercial transport in India, the central government, in November 2018, inaugurated a multi-modal river terminal system on the Ganga, with one of three ports/ container depots in Varanasi city. The city is also the site of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham project, a revival of about 30 ancient temples. “This is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship project for his parliamentary constituency,” says
Ashutosh Tandon, district in-charge and state government cabinet minister. Varanasi district won the overall ‘best district’ category because it had the highest overall rank—#1 in infrastructure, #3 in services, #4 in health, #6 in prosperity, #8 in industry and #9 in education and law and order.
MOST IMPROVED OVERALL SULTANPUR
P: 2.43 MILLION; A: 2,673 SQ. KM Winning this category in part because of its significant effort in implementing government schemes, Sultanpur has shown visible results in the recent past. A substantial portion of the state government’s flagship Purvanchal Expressway—a 350 km+ highway connecting Lucknow to Ghazipur and Varanasi,
passing through nine of the state’s districts—goes through Sultanpur. In SOTS 2016, Sultanpur stood at #3 in health and #4 in the most improved industry categories. This year, it has topped the most improved list, having scored the top spot in law and order and also ranking in the top 10 in three out of nine parameters—infrastructure, agriculture and health. Predominantly agricultural, the major crops grown here include sugarcane, rice and wheat.
BEST IN EDUCATION KANPUR DEHAT
P: 1.79 MILLION; A: 3,021 SQ. KM This district is overwhelmingly rural, with a consistently high literacy rate—75.8 per cent as of Census 2011. It has 2,384 primary schools (1,604 government-run) with 674 higher primary schools. R.K. Singh, district magistrate, highlights Kanpur Dehat’s educational achievement, saying, “Libraries have been established in every school in the district.” Ramesh Chaurasiya, headmaster at the primary school in Akbarpur says, “The education department has taken many steps to increase the registration rate of students, [including] drinking water facilities and indoor and outdoor sports in each school.” Kanpur Dehat ranks #1 in pupil-teacher ratio, #12 in number of schools per 1,000 people, #16 in dropout rate and #22 in the ratio of boys to girls. In UP, the central districts lead the way in education. Of the top 5, three districts—Kanpur Dehat, Unnao and Fatehpur—are from this area.
MOST IMPROVED IN EDUCATION KUSHINAGAR
P: 3.56 MILLION; A: 2,906 SQ. KM This district has emerged as a major education hub in the past decade. It has 2,971 primary schools and 822 higher primary schools. Bhupendra S. Chaudhari, district magistrate, says, “265 schools in this district were renovated under the Kayakalp Yojana, [which refurbished] all basic facilities related to education and teaching. About 70 new English-medium schools were started last year to strengthen the private education system.” Kushinagar had the second-highest improvement in the pupil-teacher ratio and the ninthhighest improvement in the ratio of boys to girls in primary schools. The district ranks #17 in the number of schools per 1,000 people, and stood #23 in terms of the dropout rate. It has made substantial progress in education by setting up hundreds of new private and government institutes as well as boosting enrolment numbers.
BEST IN HEALTH GORAKHPUR
P: 4.44 MILLION; A: 3,321 SQ. KM After the encephalitis outbreak in March 2017, which left over 500 children dead, the Gorakhpur administration made major improvements to its health facilities. A new 71-bed hospital with a paediatric intensive care unit was established in 2018 in BRD Medical College and a neonatal ICU was set up in the paediatric department of the Gorakhpur Medical College (GMC). A new 500-bed hospital, especially for children, is also under construction on the premises. In this category, the SOTS study analysed variables such as immunisation of children aged 12-23 months, infant mortality rate, number of allopathic hospitals/ dispensaries
and primary health centres per 100,000 people. On average, Gorakhpur performed well in all variables, although it did not top in any one.
MOST IMPROVED IN HEALTH JHANSI
P: 1.99 MILLION; A: 5,024 SQ. KM The district won this award as a result of major improvements in women’s and children’s health. Jhansi was ranked #2 in infant mortality, #14 in women’s awareness of HIV/ AIDS and #16 in the number of allopathic hospitals/ dispensaries and community/ public health centres per 100,000 people. Though Jhansi has only one medical college and two district hospitals (aside from smaller health centres), the district has seen a significant reduction in maternal and child mortality rates through effective patient management techniques. Andra Vamsi, district magistrate, says: “There has been a significant increase in the number of beneficiaries coming to district hospitals. In 2018-19, 676,265 patients were treated here; by 2019-20, the number had gone up to 713,989. The number of patients managed in emergency care has also gone up by more than three times.”
BEST IN INFRASTRUCTURE VARANASI
P: 3.67 MILLION; A: 1,535 SQ. KM Since 2014, Varanasi has seen a complete transformation of its infrastructure. With Phase 1 of construction of a ring road bypassing the city completed in November 2018, traffic movement across the city has become much smoother. The recently developed 17-km-long airport road—called the gateway of Varanasi—has made travel to and from the airport much easier. From superhighways and express trains to underground cabling and waste treatment plants, Varanasi’s infrastructure has been comprehensively upgraded. In SOTS 2020 analysis, Varanasi ranks #2 in the connectivity index in the state, #3 in total length of surfaced roads per 1,000 sq. km, #5 in the number of bus/ railway stations and #13 in households with electricity connections.
MOST IMPROVED IN INFRASTRUCTURE SONBHADRA
P: 1.86 MILLION; A: 6,905 SQ. KM Ranked #1 in the state for new bus/ train stations in the past decade and #2 in the total length of surfaced roads per 1,000 sq. km, Sonbhadra has massively improved its infrastructure in the recent past. In 2006, it was listed among India’s 250 most backward districts; today, it is referred to as the energy capital of India because of the number of hydroelectric and thermal power stations located here (aside from many cement, aluminium and chemical plants). The National Thermal Power Corporation has three power plants here, generating 11,000 MW. Bhupesh Chaube, MLA for Robertsganj in Sonbhadra, says: “The government is trying its best to develop roads, schools and hospitals here. These will change the lives of the people.”
BEST IN WATER & SANITATION MEERUT
P: 3.44 MILLION; A: 2,559 SQ. KM One of the first in UP to be declared ‘open defecation free’, the district saw 109,810 toilets constructed from 2013-14 to 2017-18, with an estimated 100,000 families benefiting. The administration has also offered financial support of Rs 12,000 per family to over 8,000 underprivileged families for the construction of sanitation facilities. It has also launched a widespread rainwater harvesting campaign, covering 220 schools and panchayat offices, 12 blocks, 296 private buildings and all government buildings. About 200 water bodies have been revived in urban areas. In SOTS 2020, aside from topping the Water & Sanitation category, Meerut ranked #4 in percentage of households with improved sanitation, #6 in number of households with tap water (piped) as their main source of drinking water and #11 in percentage of households with improved drinking water facility.
MOST IMPROVED IN WATER & SANITATION AMBEDKAR NAGAR
P: 2.39 MILLION; A: 2,350 SQ. KM Located in northeastern UP, this district ranked #2 in improvement in percentage of households using improved sanitation facilities, #11 in households
with tap water (piped) as their main source of drinking water, and #21 in percentage of households with improved drinking water facilities. The local administration here has done extensive work to improve the supply of such facilities. For instance, Rakesh Kumar Mishra, district magistrate, says: “The administration surveyed all primary and secondary schools, and found that hundreds of schools lacked proper water and sanitation facilities. Under Mission Kayakalp, water facilities were installed in 664 [such] schools.” In UP, the eastern districts lead the way in improvements in water & sanitation. Of the top five, four— Shravasti, Pratapgarh, Fatehpur and Kushinagar—are in this region.
BEST IN AGRICULTURE MEERUT
P: 3,44 MILLION; A: 2,559 SQ. KM Meerut has emerged as UP’s best agricultural district by ranking #1 in district agricultural GDP at #3 in the foodgrains yield and gross irrigated area to gross sown area categories. With adjoining Muzaffarnagar and Baghpat, this district has been at the centre of the green revolution in western UP—major crops grown in this district include sugarcane, potato, wheat, maize, rice and sugarcane. Agriculture in Meerut district benefits both from the abundant groundwater resources in this area, as well as the rainfall it receives. Two districts in its immediate vicinity—Shamli and Baghpath—are also among the top 5 in this category.
MOST IMPROVED IN AGRICULTURE CHITRAKOOT
P: 0.99 MILLION; A: 3,216 SQ. KM Chitrakoot has been ranked #1 in this category because it tops the ranks in gross irrigated area to gross sown area, and the fact that it consistently came in at #1 from 2006-2016 in the ranking of increasing foodgrains yields—despite being a drought-prone district. From 2011-2017, it ranked #18 in improvement in agricultural district GDP. Recent efforts by the state administration in micro-irrigation and rainwater conservation from 2017 onward also contributed to its rank in this category. “To conserve rainwater, 1,773 ponds were constructed in farms across Chitrakoot in the past three years. This reduced direct dependency on rainwater for irrigation,” says Shesh Mani Pandey, Chitrakoot district magistrate.
BEST IN INDUSTRY GHAZIABAD
P: 4.68 MILLION; A: 1,179 SQ. KM
In SOTS 2016, Ghaziabad district stood #2 in this category. This year, it claims the top spot—ranked #3 in industry-toGDP ratio and percentage of workers employed and #2 in industry GDP per capita. A rapidly industrialising urban area, Ghaziabad city has experienced a population boom in recent years, and is home to a leading MSME cluster in products like chemicals, mechanical engineering equipment and packaging material. The state government has also planned a new urban development—the Trans Delhi Signature City in Loni, just 2.5 km from the Delhi border. Rajiv Gupta, a senior officer in Udyog Bandhu, describes it as an “integrated industrial township developed over 1,600 acres of land and powered by a captive power plant”.
MOST IMPROVED IN INDUSTRY FIROZABAD
P: 2.49 MILLION; A: 2,407 SQ. KM
In SOTS 2020, Firozabad has emerged as UP’s most improved district in terms of industry, mainly because of the strength of its glass sector, with about 400 businesses registered in this district. It ranks #4 in industry GDP per capita, #7 in industry to GDP ratio and #10 in percentage of workers employed in industry. Following the closure of environmentally dangerous factories in the district over the past five years, the administration has started programmes for craftsmen to help regulate the handicrafts industry. “The administration is providing training to the workers of glass industry under the Kaushal Vikas Yojana,” says district magistrate Chandra Vijay Singh. Four of the top five districts in this category are from the state’s western region.
BEST IN LAW & ORDER SULTANPUR
P: 3.7 MILLION; A: 4,436 SQ. KM Sultanpur ranks well in police statistics for checking serious crimes. Though an economically weak district, it ranks among the top 25 in the state in policing four categories—the number of kidnapping and abduction cases as a percentage of total cognisable crimes, murder as a percentage of total cognisable crimes, rape as a percentage of total cognisable crimes and total cognisable crimes per 1,000 people. In this category, three of the top five western districts are from the western region. Sultanpur has shown remarkable improvement in the recent past—to check crime, the district police have put up check posts at 32 points across the district, and have brought in police vans to keep a moving eye on suspected criminals. Shiv Hari Meena, superintendent of police,
says, “As a result, in 2020, 19 wanted criminals have already been arrested.” Most of Sultanpur’s 17 police stations function effectively.
MOST IMPROVED IN LAW & ORDER AMROHA
P: 1.84 MILLION; A: 2,249 SQ. KM One of UP’s western districts, Amroha tops this category because it has seen the greatest reduction in total cognisable crimes per 1,000 people and rape as a percentage of total cognisable crimes and the fifth highest reduction in murder as a percentage of total cognisable crimes in the state. Much like the office of the superintendent of police (SP) in Sultanpur, the Amroha SP’s office also has a strong public grievance redressal system—citizens are sent ‘postcards’ that can be filled and mailed directly to a senior authority to register complaints against government officers. Vipin Tanda, Amroha’s superintendent of police, says: “Citizens can use these postcards to write their complaints to the SP’s office. These are then looked into.” Complaints from women are handled by the Nari Utthan Kendra, so those facing domestic violence are legally empowered and supported.
BEST IN SERVICES LUCKNOW
P: 4.58 MILLION A: 2,528 SQ. KM Retaining its 2016 SOTS rank in services, Lucknow comes in at #1. This is because the state capital ranks #1 in the percentage of workers employed in the service sector and #2 in district GDP ratio and the services GDP per capita. The bureaucracy in Lucknow has also begun setting up welfare services. Abhishek Prakash, district magistrate, has launched an initiative known as ‘Prashasan apke dwaar (Administration at your door)’ to improve governance. “Under this initiative, on the second and fourth Saturday of every month, district-level officers visit rural areas to address public grievances,” he says. The Lucknow police have also launched ‘Operation Lucknow’ to cultivate a people-friendly image.
“Many people do not reach out to the police. Under this campaign, police reach out to the public instead, to hear their grievances,” says police commissioner Sujit Pandey.
MOST IMPROVED IN SERVICES SONBHADRA
P: 1.86 MILLION; A: 6,905 SQ. KM Sonbhadra ranks #1 in most improved district in services for its performance from 2011-2018. The district is ranked #2 in services-to-district GDP ratio, #15 in services GDP per capita and #29 in the percentage of workers employed in the sector. In a rare showing for this analysis, UP’s services sector is dominated by districts in the eastern part of the state—all of the top five are from that region. Sonbhadra in particular has also ranked #1 in most improved district in industry. The government had been expanding power distribution in the district’s rural areas, which has notably boosted its services sector. Under the Saubhagya Yojana, a total of 181,000 electricity connections have been distributed in the past three years, and under the Ujjwala Yojana, over 87,000 LED bulbs have been distributed to beneficiaries.
BEST IN PROSPERITY GAUTAM BUDDH NAGAR
P: 1.64 MILLION; A: 1,282 SQ. KM
In SOTS 2016, Gautam Buddh Nagar ranked #1 in four categories, including best overall and best prosperity. Since then, other districts like Varanasi have raced ahead in overall development. Even so, SOTS 2020 finds Gautam Buddh Nagar, which accounts for 25 per cent of the state’s total revenues, ranked #1 in prosperity once again. This district attained the #1 rank in two of six critical variables (per capita GVA and bank credit per 1,000 people), rank #2 in population served by fair price shops and rank #3 in the percentage of households earning less than Rs 75,000 per annum. “The district administration has provided favourable facilities to companies working here, which attracts private companies and enhances the prosperity in the district,” says B.N. Singh, Gautam Buddh Nagar district magistrate.
MOST IMPROVED IN PROSPERITY BUDAUN
P: 3.68 MILLION; A: 5,168 SQ. KM
In SOTS 2016, Budaun had ranked #3 in most improved prosperity. In SOTS 2020, it ranks #1. It scores well on several parameters, ranking #3 in most improved district in the percentage of households earning less than 75,000 a year, #8 in the employment rate and #7 in most improved district in terms of per capita spending. The district administration is known for its effective ration distribution—63.6 per cent of the urban population and 73.15 per cent of the rural population in the district receive rations under the National Food Security Act, 2013. Kumar Prashant, the district magistrate of Budaun, says: “Videography is used to confirm every step of food distribution to beneficiaries. Brokers are out of the system.” Swami Prasad Maurya, cabinet minister in the state government and minister in-charge of this district, says: “The district administration is providing all the needed facilities to people to enhance the prosperity of the district. I am trying to develop it as one of the model districts of Uttar Pradesh.”