Urban Scenario in Tamil Nadu Introduction State: Tamil Nadu State is situated at the South Eastern extremity of the

Indian Peninsula bounded on the north by Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh on the east by Bay of Bengal, on the South by the Indian Ocean and on the West by Kerala State. It lies between 8o5' and 13o35' of northern latitude and 76o15' and 80o20' of eastern longitude with an area of 1,30,058 square kilometers. It is the 11th largest State in India in area forming 4.11 percent of the country. The State has a coastline of about 1076 Kms, countrys third longest coast line. Administrative Units: The Tamil Nadu State came into existence as a separate State on 01st March 1952. The major administrative units of the state comprise of 32 Districts, with 10 City Corporations, 148 Municipalities, 561 Town Panchayats, 73 Revenue Divisions, 208 Taluks, 1120 Firkas, 16563 Revenue Villages and 12,618 Village Panchayats. The State has 39 Lok Sabha Constituencies, 234 Assembly Constituencies. Chennai (formerly known as Madras) is the state capital. It is the fourth largest city in India and is also one of the five A1 Metropolitan cities of India. It extends over an area of 174 sq. km. As per G.O (D) No.256 Dt. 26.12.2009; it is proposed to expand the limits of the Chennai Corporation by

incorporating 9 Municipalities, 8 Town Panchayats and 25 Panchayats Unions. It is proposed to expand the city during 2011, by which the City will have an area of 426 sq. km.

Population: According to the provisional figures of census of India, 2001, the

population of India is 1027 million and that of Tamil Nadu is 62.11 million. The urban population of India and Tamil Nadu are 285.4 and 27.48 million
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respectively. Tamil Nadu thus accounts for 6% of the country's total population and 9.6% of country's urban population. Tamil Nadu ranks first in urbanisation among the fifteen major States in the country. Urbanisation has been on the increase since 1901. According to the 2001 Census, Tamil Nadu has emerged as the State with the highest level of urbanisation (44%) in the country among the larger States. While the percentage of urban population in the country increased from 10.85% to 27.78% during 1901-2001, Tamil Nadu registered a much higher percentage increase i.e., from 14.15% to 44.04% during the above period. Urbanisation Levels and Growth Trends Over a century period, since 1901 to 2001, it can be witnessed a gradual increase in the urbanisation levels and growth of urban population in Tamil Nadu, comparatively higher than the all Indias level. Table No. 1. Urbanisation Levels and Growth

Tamil Nadu
Year
Urban Population (Millions) Share of Urban Population (%) Decadal Growth Rates (%) Urban Population (Millions)

India
Share of Urban Population (%) Decadal Growth Rates (%)

1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001

2.72 3.15 3.25 4.23 5.17 7.33 8.99 12.46 15.95 19.07 27.48

14.15 15.07 15.02 18.02 19.70 24.35 26.69 30.26 32.95 34.65 44.04

15.51 8.86 23.40 22.30 8.39 22.59 38.64 27.98 19.59 44.06
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25.80 25.86 28.08 33.47 44.2 62.40 78.90 109.10 159.50 217.20 285.40

10.85 10.29 11.18 11.99 13.86 17.29 17.97 19.91 23.70 25.71 27.78

0.36 8.26 19.12 31.98 41.40 26.44 38.22 46.23 36.09 21.36

Source: Census of India

Tamil Nadu State is steadily transforming into a predominantly urban society. At the beginning of this century, Tamil Nadus population was 20.9 million, of which about 0.31 million was living in urban areas. Over the years, the share of urban population has gone up to 44 percent and stood at 27.4 million. The last four decades saw an almost three and a half times increase in urban population of the state (from 8.99 million in 1961 to 27.48 million in 2001). Chart No. 1 Chart No. 2

Population (in Millions)

Tamil Nadu

India

Source: Data from Table No. 1. Urbanisation Levels and Growth

It can be seen from the above chart and table that the urban population in the state has increased from 15.07% during the year 1911 to 34.15% during the 1991 census and further to 44.04% during 2001 census. The decadal growth of the urban population for the state during the period from 1991 to 2001 has shown a massive increase of about 44.06%.

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Tamil Nadu Urban Rural Share 1911-2001 Over the decades the share of incremental population going to urban areas has shown a fluctuating trend. Of the total increment in the population during the period 1991-2001 a gigantic 128 percent went to urban areas pushing back the rural areas. Table No. 2 Tamil Nadu population Urban Rural Share 1911-2001
% of Population added during the decade

Year

Population

Addition during the decade

Total (Numbers) 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2,09,02,616 2,16,28,518 2,34,72,099 2,62,67,507 3,01,19,047 3,36,86,953 4,11,99,168 4,84,08,077 5,58,58,946 6,24,05,679

Rural (Numbers) 1,77,53,479 1,82,00,439 1,92,41,717 2,10,93,825 2,27,85,522 2,46,96,425 2,87,34,334 3,24,56,202 3,67,81,354 3,49,21,681

Urban (Numbers) 31,49,137 32,48,079 42,30,382 51,73,682 73,33,525 89,90,528 1,24,64,834 1,59,51,875 1,90,77,592 2,74,83,998

in Total Population (Numbers) --7,25,902 18,43,581 27,95,408 38,51,540 35,67,906 75,12,215 72,08,909 74,50,869 65,46,733

in Rural Population (Numbers) --4,46,960 10,41,278 18,52,108 16,91,697 19,10,903 40,37,909 37,21,868 43,25,152 -18,59,673

in Urban Population (Numbers) --98,942 9,82,303 9,43,300 21,59,843 16,57,003 34,74,306 34,87,041 31,25,717 84,06,406

in rural popn. (%) --61.57 56.48 66.26 43.92 53.56 53.75 51.63 58.05 -28.41

in urban popn. (%) --13.63 53.28 33.74 56.08 46.44 46.25 48.37 41.95 128.41

Source: Census of India

During the period 1901-1911 a meager 13 percent went to urban areas. The subsequent decades revealed a mixed trend of increasing and declining growth of percentage of population added to urban areas. With a slowdown during 1981-91, it stood at a massive high during 19912001. With these trends continuing, forecasts suggest that, by 2026, 54 million people constituting nearly 74.8 percent of the state population would be residing in urban Tamil Nadu (Source: Population Projections for
India and States 2001-2026, Census of India). Page 4 of 18

Table No. 3 Tamil Nadu Urban Population Growth, 1901-2001 Year 1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 No. of Towns 133 162 189 222 257 297 339 439 434 469 832 Total Population 1,92,52,630 20,902,616 2,16,28,518 2,34,72,099 2,62,67,507 3,01,19,047 3,36,86,953 4,11,99,168 4,84,08,077 5,58,58,946 6,24,05,679 Urban Population 27,24,247 31,49,137 32,48,079 42,30,382 51,73,682 73,33,525 89,90,528 1,24,64,834 1,59,51,875 1,90,77,592 2,74,83,998 Percentage to Total Population (%) 14.15 15.07 15.02 18.02 19.70 24.35 26.69 30.26 32.95 34.15 44.04

Source: Census of India

During the period 1991 to 2001, inclusion of Town Panchayats has increased the urban towns 363 (77 %) as well as urban population. With the introduction of the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act in 1994, all Town Panchayats irrespective of whether they satisfy the demographic and economic criteria were brought under the urban fold with Municipal Corporation, Municipality and Cantonment by 2001 Census. This resulted in great boost in the number of towns during 1991 to 2001 period for Tamil Nadu, increased from 469 to 832 urban towns.

Index of Primacy Tamil Nadu has a very dispersed pattern of urbanisation with municipalities in virtually every district. The boundaries of Chennai District are contiguous with the Chennai Municipal Corporation. However, the Chennai Metropolitan Area is a larger area which includes several municipalities and Town Panchayats in Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram Districts. The spatial distribution (by district) of the Ten City Corporations,
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148 Municipalities, and 561 Town Panchayats, clearly illustrates that urbanization is not limited to anyone part of the State. However the urban population is concentrated along certain urban corridors. Table No. 4 Index of Primacy Population Percentage to Within Municipal Limits State Urban Population (2001) 43,43,645 9,30,882 9,28,869 7,52,066 6,96,760 4,11,831 3,89,906 3,86,746 3,44,543 2,16,054 94,01,302 15.8 3.39 3.38 2.74 2.54 1.5 1.42 1.41 1.25 0.79 34.21 Population of Urban Agglomeration 65,60,242 14,61,139 12,03,095 8,66,354 7,51,438 4,33,352 3,89,906 3,86,746 5,50,826 2,43,415 1,28,46,513 Percentage to State Urban Population 23.87 5.32 4.38 3.15 2.73 1.58 1.42 1.41 2.00 0.89 46.74

Municipality / Corporation Chennai Coimbatore Madurai Tiruchirappalli Salem Tirunelveli Erode Vellore Tiruppur Thoothukkudi Total of 10 Cities

Source: Census of India, 2001 http://www.citypopulation.de/India-TamilNadu.html (Note: All towns and agglomerations in Tamil Nadu having more than 20,000 inhabitants.)

The state of Tamil Nadu has a very wide urban base. Unlike some other states, the problem of over dependency on one city does not exist. From the index of primacy Chennai, the largest city, which is de-facto state capital, accounts for over 15.8 percent of urban population. About one third of the urban population of the State lives in ten municipal corporation areas and their urban agglomeration.
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Effect of Urbanisation in Tamil Nadu On account of Industrial revolution and technological

breakthrough during the last two centuries, the employment potential and industrial production have promoted the development of urban centres. This has resulted in the concentration of social, economic and commercial activities in the towns and cities, thereby necessitating the creation of an effective mechanism for managing the urban planning and development with provision of adequate basic amenities. Urbanisation results in the growth of small and medium towns and mega cities. The effects are: Land prices have increased tremendously, Increase in sale of land for commercial uses Kuchcha houses are being converted to pucca houses. As there is highly accelerated phase of urbanization, the cities and the towns are exposed to the problems of overcrowding, congestion, slums and inadequate transportation facilities. In order to find solution to the problems of urban areas the Government have initiated a series of measures which would certainly improve the urban profile and regulate urban expansion. Urban Local Bodies in Tamil Nadu The Municipal Administration in Madras, was first introduced in the year 1687, on 30th December in India, when a corporation was set up to levy certain direct taxes and to provide certain amenities like education, cleaning the roads etc. The 74th Amendment Act aims transformation in the structure of urban service delivery. The starting point for the same is municipal governance. The Act envisages three types of Municipalities: Municipal Corporations for large cities, Municipal Councils for smaller cities and towns, and Nagar Panchayats for areas in transition form rural to urban. Accordingly, the state governments have re-categorized different areas by notifying the criteria for classification of municipal bodies.
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Table No. 5 Urban Local Bodies of Tamil Nadu 1991-2001 Number Category 1991 Corporation Municipalities Town Panchayats Census Towns Total 3 108 224 134 469 2001 6 104 561 111 782 Population (in Lakh) 1991 71.35 72.37 37.81 N.A. 181.53 2001 79.12 82.46 95.75 N.A. 257.33 Increase in population (in Lakh) (1991-2001) 7.77 10.09 57.94 N.A. 75.80 Decadal Growth Rate (%) 10.90 13.95 60.07 -40.03

Source: Tamil Nadu Development Report, 2005

As evident from the Table No. 5 the inclusion of all the Town Panchayats resulted in an increase from 1991-2001 of 57.94 lakhs in that category alone. The increase in the Town Panchayat population accounted for about 76 per cent of the total increase of 75.80 lakh from 1991-2001. Classification of Municipalities and Town Panchayats in Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu has 5 different categories of Municipalities based on the annual income /population. Grade III Municipalities have been added when some of the Town Panchayats were upgraded as

Municipalities. The Government under the Tamil Nadu Municipalities (Norms for Classification of Municipalities) Rules 2008, has reclassified and upgraded 26 Municipalities. Table No. 6 Classification of Municipalities in Tamil Nadu Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 Grade Special Grade Municipality Selection Grade Municipality First Grade Municipality Second Grade Municipality Third Grade Municipality Total
Reference: Municipal Administration & Water Supply (Election), Department G.O. (Ms.) No. 237, MAWS Dept dated 2.12.2008.

Annual Income (Rs. in Crore) Above 10.00 6.00 10.00 4.00 6.00 Below 4.00 Population Exceeding 30,000

No. of Municipalities 20 29 29 21 49 148

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The following table highlights the population of the municipality and municipal corporations, District wise and Municipality wise.

Table No.7 District wise population in Tamil Nadu (as per 2001 census)
% of urban population to total population (Level of Urbanisation) Population in the Municipality and corporations % of municipality and corporation population to Total population % of municipality and corporation population to urban population

Sl. No.

Districts

Total Population Total Rural

0 1342502 1254674 1531034 2533456 2169319 1785364 1626162 948230 2400354 1387537 1451653 307532 1279204 624430 414426 616539 1467577 1158557 932231 1211217 1134025 502109 1249762 885210 973956 829272 1415742 907500 582107 34921681

Urban
4343645 1534966 1500082 754361 426917 1307998 400761 1390184 545232 455946 1193963 2820203 454609 1139162 311256 79220 78985 748561 330282 237243 248384 1444176 591841 673252 302394 777345 326084 1308246 664773 1093927 27483998

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Chennai Kancheepuram Thiruvallur Cuddalore Villupuram Vellore Thiruvannamalai Salem Namakkal Dharmapuri Erode Coimbatore The Nilgiris Tiruchirappalli Karur Perambalur Ariyalur Thanjavur Nagapattinam Thiruvarur Pudukottai Madurai Theni Dindigul Ramanathapurem Virudhunagar Sivagangai Tirunelveli Thoothukudi Kanyakumari
Total

4343645 2877468 2754756 2285395 2960373 3477317 2186125 3016346 1493462 2856300 2581500 4271856 762141 2418366 935686 493646 695524 2216138 1488839 1169474 1459601 2578201 1093950 1923014 1187604 1751301 1155356 2723988 1572273 1676034 62405679

100.00 53.34 54.45 33.01 14.42 37.62 18.33 46.09 36.51 15.96 46.25 66.02 59.65 47.10 33.27 16.05 11.36 33.78 22.18 20.29 17.02 56.01 54.10 35.01 25.46 44.39 28.22 48.03 42.28 65.27 44.04

4343645 834426 1123389 376099 199985 900726 256193 875417 281075 213477 581497 1875316 229116 854269 179526 37631 59090 420801 241508 163719 143351 1167346 333702 297155 214751 504401 167313 772447 336168 272544 18256083

100.00 29.00 40.78 16.46 6.76 25.90 11.72 29.02 18.82 7.47 22.53 43.90 30.06 35.32 19.19 7.62 8.50 18.99 16.22 14.00 9.82 45.28 30.50 15.45 18.08 28.80 14.48 28.36 21.38 16.26 29.25

100.00 54.36 74.89 49.86 46.84 68.86 63.93 62.97 51.55 46.82 48.70 66.50 50.40 74.99 57.68 47.50 74.81 56.21 73.12 69.01 57.71 80.83 56.38 44.14 71.02 64.89 51.31 59.04 50.57 24.91 66.42

Source: Census of India, 2001.

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Table No. 8 Area and Population of the Municipalities and Corporations

Sl. No. Name of the Municipality / Corporation Grade Area (in Sq.K.M.) Population 2001 Census 5 4343645 146287 153140 62582 144623 137933 29059 31918 48463 49999 30422 834426 Tiruvallur District Spl 40.36 spl 65.00 sel 4.76 spl 21.42 spl 17.40 I 10.75 III 4.00 III 25.55 III 12.36 III 28.50 III 8.00 III 16.00 Cuddalore District spl 27.69 sel 4.82 I 18.03 I 25.57 II 21.49 Vellore District I 9.06 I 4.71 sel 4.66 I 7.49 310967 229403 32590 212281 76093 45732 43609 42604 38314 32221 30978 28597 1123389 158634 57733 55346 60164 44222 376099 78686 91452 60876 49953 Total No. of wards

Chennai Corporation
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Alandur Kancheepuram Chenglepet Pallavapuram Tambaram Madurantagam Anakaputhur Maraimalainagar Pammal Ullagaram Puzhuthivakkam Total Ambattur Avadi Kathivakkam Thiruvottiyur Madhavaram Tiruvallur Maduravayal Poondamalle Thiruthani Thiruverkadu Valasaravakkam Manali Total Cuddalore Chidambaram Panruti Virudhachalam Nellikuppam Total Arakonam Gudiyatham Tirupathur Arcot spl spl I spl spl II III III III III

4 174 19.50 11.72 6.09 18.00 20.42 21.67 4.00 58.08 13.80 8.50

6 155 42 45 33 42 39 24 18 21 21 18 303 52 48 24 48 30 27 15 21 21 18 18 18 340 45 33 33 33 30 174 36 36 33 30

Kancheepuram District

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30 31

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Sl. No.

Name of the Municipality / Corporation

Grade

Area (in Sq.K.M.)

Population 2001 Census 5 99624 47243 85752 29475 30070 27167 36757 41499 44942 177230 900726

Total No. of wards

1 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

2 Ambur Ranipet Vaniyambadi Walajapettai Dharapadavedu Jolarpet Melvisharam Pernambut Sathuvachari Vellore corporation Total Thiruvannamalai Arani Thiruvathipuram Vandavasi Total Villupuram Tindivanam Kallakurichi Total Mettur Attur Idappadi Narasingapuram Salem corporation Total Namakkal Tiruchengode Komarapalayam Rasipuram Pallipalayam Total Dharmapuri Krishnagiri Hosur Total Karur

3 sel sel sel II III III III III III

4 17.97 8.52 9.53 2.64 12.94 13.06 8.67 7.61 16.06 11.65

6 36 30 36 24 18 18 21 21 21 48 408 39 33 27 24 123 36 33 21 90 30 33 30 18 60 171 30 33 33 27 21 144 33 33 30 96 36

41 42 43 44

45 46 47

48 49 50 51

52 53 54 55 56

57 58 59

Thiruvannamalai District spl 13.64 130567 I 11.62 60815 II 10.76 35201 II 9.71 29610 256193 Villupuram District sel 8.36 95455 sel 22.33 67737 III 11.69 36793 199985 Salem District sel 14.55 53633 sel 27.62 57519 I 28.22 48815 III 14.83 18690 91.34 696760 875417 Namakkal District sel 10.24 53055 sel 25.20 80187 I 7.10 65868 I 8.16 46330 III 4.70 35635 281075 Dharmapuri District sel 11.65 64496 I 11.50 64587 sel 11.71 84394 213477 Karur District Spl 5.96 76336

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Sl. No.

Name of the Municipality / Corporation

Grade

Area (in Sq.K.M.)

Population 2001 Census 5 26161 45437 31592 179526 215314 139954 65533 420801 84505 93148 32228 31627 241508 61478 56341 22905 22995 163719 109217 34134 143351 31005 35770 35428 752066 854269 37631 37631 31268 27822 59090 43631 33881 30601 38310

Total No. of wards

1 61 62 63

2 Kulithalai Inamkarur Thanthoni Total

3 II III III

4 11.16 13.50 13.50

6 24 21 18 99 51 45 33 129 36 36 24 21 117 33 30 24 24 111 39 27 66 24 27 21 60 132 21 21 21 18 39 27 27 24 18

64 65 66

Thanjavur Kumbakonam Pattukottai Total Mayiladuthurai Nagapattinam Sirkazhi Vedaranyam Total Mannargudi Tiruvarur Thiruthuraipoondi Koothanallur Total Pudukottai Aranthangi Total

Thanjavur District Spl 36.31 Spl 12.58 sel 21.83 Nagapattinam District sel 11.26 sel 14.90 II 13.21 III 36.26 Tiruvarur sel I II II District 11.55 10.47 11.93 12.31

67 68 69 70

71 72 73 74

75 76

Pudukottai District sel 12.95 I 15.36

77 78 79

80

81 82

83 84 85 86

Tiruchirappalli District sel Thuraiyur 14.55 I Manaparai 20.85 III Thuvakudi 14.37 Tiruchirappalli corporation 149.90 Total Perambalur District II Perambalur 20.59 Total Ariyalur District III Jayankondam 28.49 III Ariyalur 7.62 Total Madurai District II Thirumangalam 10.70 II Melur 15.02 II Usilampatti 13.85 III Anaiyur 10.00

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Sl. No.

Name of the Municipality / Corporation

Grade

Area (in Sq.K.M.)

Population 2001 Census 5 53006 39048 928869 1167346 85498 42012 38360 58891 73410 35531 333702 86596 40497 40220 167313 62050 84321 30412 37968 214751 196955 32969 67231 297155 64984 55158 33722 38778 52369 32024 14832 31948 72703 34438 150541 581497

Total No. of wards

1 87 88

2 Avaniapuram Thiruparangundram Madurai corporation Total Theniallinagaram Periyakulam Chinnamanur Cumbum Bodinayakanur Gudalur Total Karaikudi Devakottai Sivagangai Total Ramanathapuram Paramakudi Keelakarai Rameswaram Total Dindigul Kodaikanal Palani Total Dharapuram Gobichettipalayam Sathiamangalam Bhavani Kasipalayam (E) Periyasemur Punjaipuliyampatti Surampatti Veerappanchatiram Vellakoil Erode corporation Total

3 III III

4 16.00 13.26 51.96

6 21 21 72 210 33 30 27 33 33 21 177 36 27 27 90 33 36 21 21 111 48 24 33 105 30 30 27 27 21 18 18 18 21 21 45 276

89 90 91 92 93 94

Theni-Allinagaram District sel 22.23 II 2.11 II 25.95 I 6.58 I 7.23 III 32.00 Sivaganga District sel 13.75 I 12.42 I 6.97 Ramanathapuram District I 6.33 I 13.00 III 2.45 III 53.00 Dindigul District Spl 14.01 Spl 21.45 sel 6.63 Erode District I 7.02 sel 7.51 I 29.24 II 2.17 III 48.64 III 10.10 III 4.54 III 3.85 III 30.72 III 64.75 8.44

95 96 97

98 99 100 101

102 103 104

105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114

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Sl. No.

Name of the Municipality / Corporation

Grade

Area (in Sq.K.M.)

Population 2001 Census 5 88302 66595 48276 58900 77853 29495 95107 45679 30016 59668 930882 344543 1875316 93987 50196 43096 41837 229116 75612 53606 63432 60080 26838 32739 48309 411831 772447 87450 32664 216054 336168 208179 23787 20503 20075 272544 122307

Total No. of wards

1 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124

2 Pollachi Mettupalayam Kavundampalayam Kuniamuthur Kurichi Nallur (S) Valparai 15-Velampalayam Palldam Udumalaipetai Coimbatore corporation Tiruppur corporation Total Uthagamandalam Coonoor Gudalur Nelliyalam Total Kadayanallur Sankarankoil Tenkasi Puliangudi Sengottai Ambasamudram Vikramasingapuram Tirunelveli corporation Total Kovilpatti Kayalpattinam Tuticorin corporation Total Nagercoil Colachel Kuzhithurai Padmanabhapuram Total Rajapalayam

3 4 Coimbatore District Spl 13.87 sel 7.20 III 10.50 III 23.54 III 20.30 III 26.00 III 217.87 III 14.00 III 19.42 sel 7.41 105.60 27.19 Nilgiri District Spl 30.67 sel 15.05 III 47.71 III 94.28 Tirunelveli District I 52.25 I 12.37 I 26.13 II 55.16 II 2.68 III 17.84 III 38.57 108.65 Tuticorin District spl 12.58 III 12.50 13.47 Kannyakumari District Spl 24.27 I 5.18 II 5.15 II 6.47 Virudhunagar District spl 11.36

6 36 33 18 21 21 15 21 21 18 33 72 52 361 36 30 21 21 108 33 30 33 33 24 21 21 55 250 36 18 51 105 51 24 21 21 117 42

125 126 127 128

129 130 131 132 133 134 135

136 137

138 139 140 141

142

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Sl. No. 1 143 144 145 146 147 148

Name of the Municipality / Corporation 2 Aruppukottai Sivakasi Srivilliputhur Virudhunagar Sattur Thiruthangal Total Grand Total

Grade

Area (in Sq.K.M.) 4 14.96 6.89 5.72 6.60 3.83 13.00

Population 2001 Census 5 84029 72168 73183 72081 31443 49190 504401 18256083

Total No. of wards 6 36 33 33 36 24 21 225 4853

3 I sel I sel II III

Source: Census of India, 2001.

Town Panchayats: Tamil Nadu has introduced a classification called Town Panchayat, which are a transitional body between Rural and Urban Local Bodies. The Town Panchayats are governed by Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Act 1920. There are 561 Town Panchayats in the state which are classified into four grades, based on the income criteria: Table No. 9 Classification of Town Panchayats in Tamil Nadu Grade Special Grade Selection Grade Grade I Grade II Income Criteria Above Rs. 20 Lakhs Above Rs.16 Lakhs Above Rs. 8 Lakhs Above Rs. 4 Lakhs Total No. of Town Panchayats 13 245 221 82 561

Source: http://www.tn.gov.in/dtp/introduction.htm Town Panchayats are under the administrative control Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department, at the government level and are administrated by the Directorate of Town Panchatays. The Town Panchayats are places of importance such as Division / Taluk

headquarters, Tourist Spots, Pilgrim Centers and Commercial/Industrial towns. This has necessitated special attention to the civic needs of the Town Panchayats.
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Explanatory Note Census of India defines all Towns, Cities and Urban Agglomerations as below: i. Statutory Towns i.e. Municipal Corporation, Municipal Board, Cantonment Board, Notified Area etc. ii. Census towns which are non-statutory towns and are actually rural areas but satisfy following criteria: Minimum Population of 5000 Density of population of at least 400 per sq.km 75 percent of the male working population engaged in nonagricultural activity iii. City: Class Class Class Class Class Class

I Town - Population of 100000 and above II Town - Population of 50000 - 99999 III Town - Population of 20000 - 49999 IV Town - Population of 10000 - 19999 V Town - Population of 5000 - 9999 VI Town - Population below 5000

iv. Urban Agglomeration: The JNNURM provides both incentives as well as support for undertaking reforms and infrastructure development at State and Cities level. Three classes of cities/urban agglomerations have been identified for assistance under JNNURM: 1. Category A: Cities/urban agglomeration with population of 4 million and above as per 2001 census. 2. Category B: Cities/urban agglomeration with population of 1 million and above as per 2001 census. 3. Category C: Other selected cities/urban agglomeration, including state capitals and cities/UA of religious/historic and tourist importance Sometimes two or more towns may be contiguous to each other, making it necessary to consider them together for studies on

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urbanisation in the area. In some other cases there are large railway colonies, university campuses, port areas, military camps etc., just outside the statutory limits of a town, but adjoining it. Though these areas may not themselves qualify to be treated as towns, it would be realistic to treat them as urban. Such areas are termed as outgrowths (O.G.). The above two types of contiguous urban areas are called Urban Agglomerations. An urban agglomeration may comprise: A town and contiguous outgrowths; or Two or more towns and their outgrowths, if any; all of them forming a contiguous spread of urban area.

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Reference 1. Economic Appraisal 2003-04, 2004-05, Evaluation and Applied Research Department, Government of Tamil Nadu. 2. Tamil Nadu Development Report, 2005, Planning Commission, Government of India. 3. Statistical Handbook of Tamil Nadu 2008, Economics and Statistics, Chennai 600 006. Department of

4. National Institute of Urban Affairs (Urban Agglomerations 2001 Data) http://www.niua.org/indiaurbaninfo/tablenew/table4.htm 5. Census of India http://www.census.tn.nic.in/ 6. http://www.citypopulation.de/India-TamilNadu.html 7. http://jnnurm.nic.in 8. http://www.tn.gov.in/dtp/introduction.htm 9. Government of Tamil Nadu, Municipal Administration & Water Supply Department G.O. (D). No.256 Dt. 26.12.2009. 10. Government of Tamil Nadu, Municipal Administration & Water Supply Department (Election), Department G.O. (Ms.) No. 237, dated 02.12.2008.

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