ERODE DISTRICT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY DISTRICT HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT ERODE DISTRICT

Introduction

 Erode district was part of Coimbatore District before its formation on September 17, 1979 and was known as Periyar district and was renamed as Erode District in 1996.

 Among the thirty two districts of Tamil Nadu, Erode is the one which is known for both agriculture and industrial progress.

 Erode District was a part of Coimbatore and has its history intervened with that of Coimbatore and because of its close linkage with the erstwhile Coimbatore district.

 Erode is known for the biggest textile shandy for marketing the powerloom and handloom products.

 The district has 3 Revenue Divisions and 7 Taluks. It has 20 blocks, 5 Municipalities, 1 Township, 59 town Panchayats and 343 Village Panchayats.

 Bhavani, Cauvery and Noyyal are the main rivers of the district.

 Other significant river is Palar in the North. Palar constitutes the boundary between

1 Erode district and Karnataka State in the North.

 The Bhavanisagar main canal along with the above mentioned rivers provide proper drainage and facilities for assured irrigation in the district.

 Bhavani rises in the silent valley in Palghat ranges in the neighbouring State of Kerala after receiving Siruvani, a perennial stream of Coimbatore District and gets reinforced by the Kundah river before entering Erode District in Gobichettipalayam.

Geography

 Erode District lies on the extreme north of Tamil Nadu.

 Erode District is essentially a land-locked area having no sea-coast of its own. Erode District situated between 10 36" and 11 58" North Latitude and between 76 49" and 77 58" East Longitude.

 The total geographical area of the district is 572,264 hectares.

 It is bounded mostly by Karnataka State and also River Palar covers pretty long distance. To the East lies Namakkal and Karur Districts. Dindigul District is its immediate neighbour to the South and on the West; it has

2 Coimbatore and The Nilgiris Districts, as its boundaries.

 With more than 228,750 hectares of land under dense forest, Erode is one of the few fortunate districts in the State which can boost the forest area. 27.7% of the total district area is under forests.

Topography

 The region comprised in the district can be portrayed as a long undulating plain gently sloping towards the river Cauvery in the south-east.

 The two major tributaries of river Cauvery viz. Bhavani and Noyyal drain the long stretch of mountains in the north. A part of the eastern boundary of the district is formed by river Cauvery, entering the district from Salem and flowing in a south direction.

Soil Condition

 The soils of the district are mostly red sand and gravel with moderate amounts of red- loam and occasional black loam tracts.

 Vast stretches of the upland regions are mostly gravel.  Red-loam occurs mostly in land under Kalingarayan channel and in beds of tanks in Erode Taluk and to some less extent in the

3 valleys in Perundurai taluk. It also occurs in the hilly tracts of Bhavani taluk.

 Soils of Bhavani, Erode and Perundurai taluks are chiefly gravel, stony and sandy of the red variety.

 Soils of Gobichettipalayam and Sathyamangalam taluks are mostly of the red sandy variety.

 Red loam is prevalent mostly in Gobichettipalayam and Perundurai taluks.

Climate

 Erode District has dry weather throughout except during the monsoon season. Generally the first two months of the year are pleasant, but in March, Mercury gains an upward trend which persists till the end of May. Highest temperature is normally recorded during May.

 The scanty showers during this period do not provide any relief to the oppressive heat. There is a slight improvement in the climate during June-August period. During this premonsoon period, the mercury reverses its trend and by September, the sky gets overcast heavily but the rains are meagre. North-east monsoon sets in vigorously only during October-November and by December,

4 the rains disappear rendering the climate clear but pleasant.

 The district in general is characterized with a scanty rainfall and a dry climate. Maximum rainfall is recorded in Gobichettipalayam and Bhavani taluks.

 The Palghat gap in the Western Ghats, which has a soothing effect in the climate of Coimbatore District, does not render much help in bringing down the dry climate in this area. The cool-wind that gushes out of the west coast through Palghat gap loses its coolness and becomes dry by the time it reaches Erode region.

Status of Human Development

 The top three blocks in Human Development Index (HDI) are Erode Municipal corporation (0.95) Erode (0.79) and Kodumudi (0.71).

 The bottom three blocks in HDI are Thalavadi (0.28) Bhavanisagar (0.43) and Nambiyur (0.45).

 The HDI reveals the vast differences in human development across the blocks in Erode district.

 The gender inequality index is a negative index. Hence, the value closer to ‘O’ (zero) shows lower gender inequality and the value

5 close to ‘I’ (one) shows higher gender inequality.

 The three top blocks with lower gender inequality in 2013-14 are Thukkanaikenpalayam (0.01) Bhavanisagar (0.01) and Kodumudi (0.01).

 The three bottom blocks with higher gender inequality in 2013-14 are Erode (0.06) Erode Municipal Corporation (0.06) and Perundurai (0.05).

 The three top blocks in Child Development Index (CDI) during 2013 – 14 are Erode Municipal Corporation (0.91), Erode (0.87) and Perundurai (0.82).

 The bottom three blocks in Child Development Index during 2013 – 14 are Thalavadi (0.59), Anthiyur (0.50) and Sathyamangalam (0.46) Sathyamangalam is at the bottom because it has a large number of malnourished children and lower gross enrolment rate at secondary level.

 The top three blocks with lower multidimensional poverty index value are Erode Municipal Corporation (0.03). Erode (0.24) and Chennimalai (0.31).The bottom three blocks with higher MPI value are Thalavadi (0.87) Sathyamangalam (0.62) and Bhavanisagar (0.60).

6  Thalavadi has the highest MPI value (0.87) because the block is located in the hills and people there depend mostly on agriculture. The people there lack education, employable skills and have poor access to health facilities. This block needs special attention.

Employment, Income and Poverty

 The WPR of Erode district (53.10) registered a marginal decline in 2011 from 54.54% in 2001.

 Even though, Nambiyur block had the highest WPR, the WPR of the block declined from 64.59% in 2001 to 60.14% in 2011.

 Erode Municipal Corporation registered the lowest WPR (43.91) in 2011. But in the HDI, it tops the list. The reason why the total population, workers and non-workers are low in Erode Municipal Corporation is that it has been bifurcated from Erode block in recent years. For the District as a whole, the WPR is 53.10.

 The male and the female worker participation rate in the district are 64.79 and 41.33 respectively.

 Female WPR is higher in Kodumudi (51.96%) and Ammapet (51.95%) blocks than in other blocks. Rural – Urban worker Participate Rate.

7  The rural WPR is 58.07. The male and the female WPR in rural areas is 65.85 and 50.12 respectively.  The urban WPR is 48.42. The male and the female WPR in urban areas are 64.79 and 41.33 respectively.  WPR of women is higher in rural areas than in urban areas.  The main reason why the female WPR is high in rural areas is that the principal workers (main workers) in rural areas get low wage.  59% of male workers and 39% of female workers were engaged in non-farm sector.  The SSA survey in 2003 identified 2243 child labourers in Erode district and the number has considerably declined in recent years because of the vigilance of the district administration.  In 2013-14, 1,90,087 households in Erode district were provided employment under MGNREGA.  The per capita income of Erode district (at constant prices) in 2011 – 12 was Rs.75670 and it was higher than that of the state (Rs. 63996).  During 2011 – 12, the contribution of primary, secondary and tertiary sectors to GDDP was 14.43%, 32.48% and 53.09%.

8  In the district 31.42 percent of households were below poverty line in 2003. Thalavadi block had the highest percentage of BPL households in the district (41.42%) followed by Thukkanaickenpalayam (40.2%) and Ammapet (36.89%) blocks.  In Erode district, in 2014, 6.37.886 households had family cards to avail the benefits of public distribution system. Demography, Health and Nutrition  According to 2011 census, Erode district had a population of 22,51,744.  The sex ratio of the district was 993.  The population of the district increased by 11.66 percent during 2001-2011.Thalavadi block had the highest increase in population during 2001-2011 (19%).  The Crude Birth Rate of the district marginally increased from 12.64 in 2009 to 12.84 in 2014. Among the blocks, Modakurichi has the lowest CBR of 10.4.  The CDR of the district declined from 12.1 in 2009 to 6.5 in 2014.Among the blocks, Thalavadi had the lowest CDR (4%) if we do not take into account Erode Municipal corporation which had the CDR of 0.8 Sathyamangalam and Thukkanaikenpalayam each had the highest death rate (8.2).

9  It is heartening to note that the sex ratio in Gobichettipalayam, Kodumudi, Modakuruchi, Nambiyur, Thalavadi and Thukkanaicken palayam blocks is above 1000.

 The Child sex ratio of the district increased from 968 in 2001 to 993 in 2011 Ammapet had the lowest child sex ratio (931). Whereas Thalavadi had the highest sex ratio.

 The life Expectancy at Birth in the district during 2013-14 was 72.7. The male life expectancy at birth during the year was 71.8 years and for females, it was 73.7.

 The IMR of the district during 2013–14 was 6.7 Chennimalai and Thalavadi had the highest IMR of 14.9 and 16.4 respectively.

 There is need for developed infrastructure facilities in maternity and children’s wards at government hospital and PHCS in the blocks with higher number of IMR.

 The Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) of Erode district during 2013 – 14 was 89.33. But in some blocks, namely, Nambiyur (360). Bhavanisagar (200). Gobichettipalayam (190) and Thalavdi (120) had very high MMR. This is a matter of serious concern and urgent steps are needed to reduce the MMR in these blocks. At the same time, it is very interesting to note that MMR is zero in Ammapet,

10 Chennimalai, Modukurichi, Perundurai and Erode Municipal Corporation.

 The district has made significant progress in increasing the proportion of institutional deliveries. 3.6% of deliveries take place in Primary Health Centres, 30 percent in government hospitals and 36.8 percent take place in private hospitals. Thus, the institutional deliveries account for 99.4 percent in the district.

 The Still Birth Rate sharply declined in the district from 16.4 in 2007 to 8.5 in 2014. During 2013-14, Bhavanisagar had the lowest SBR (2.2), followed by Erode Municipal Corporation (2.9) and Erode (3.4). Thalavadi block had the highest SBR (17.4) in 2013 – 14, followed by Anthiyur (16.6) and Sathyamangalam (13.6).

 The immunization programme for those below 5 years of age is highly satisfactory. During 2013-14. 103.75% of children got immunized.

 All the women (100 percent), 54% of children and 96 percent of adolescent girls were provided with IFA tablets in the district.

 Water and sanitation are two important non- nutritional factors that have great impact on

11 nutrition. There is ground water pollution in Perundurai block.

 It is encouraging to note that all habitations in the district are provided with safe drinking water facilities.

 During 2013-14, Sathyamangalam (81.23%) followed by Anthiyur (76.48%) and Erode Municipal Corporation (71.32%) had very high percentage of households with toilet facilities. But Thalavadi block had the lowest percentage of households with toilet facilities (16.99%) followed by Gobichettipalayam (29.11%). The district administration should pay special attention to these blocks and provide more toilet facilities.

 HIV Positive persons in the district came down from 1702 in 2007 to 597 during 2013 – 14.

 The number of HIV Positive Persons is the highest both among male and female during 2007 and 2011 in the age group 30-39. But in 2013 – 14, while the number of female HIV Positive Persons continued to remain higher than that of females in 40-49 age group the HIV persons among the males in 30-39 age were lower (98) in 2013 -14, than that of males (129) in the age group 40-49 during 2013 – 14.

12  Though the number of HIV Positive persons declined over the years, there is need for strengthening health education and prevention of the incidence of HIV Positive persons.

 The number of positive TB persons in the district declined from 1234 in 2007 to 1150 in 2013 – 14 and the Leprosy patients declined from 306 in 2010 to 127 in 2013 – 14.

 Leprosy curative services are now available in all PHCs, Corporations, and Municipal Hospitals and government dispensaries.

Literacy and Education

 The literacy rate of Erode district which was 64% according to 2011 census was lower than that of the state of Tamil Nadu and all – India rate.

 Both male and female literacy rates 71% and 56% respectively were lower than that of the State.

 As nearly one – third of the population is illiterate in the district, there is need for appropriate strategies like ‘each one teach one’ and adult education policies.

 In 2011, Erode Municipal Corporation had the highest literacy rate (76.42), whereas Thalavadi had the lowest literacy rate (54.88)

13 for the block as a whole as well as for males (62.27) and females (47.54).

 As a result of the steps taken by the government, the gender gap in literacy has come down during 2001 and 2011.

 The GER in the district at Primary level remained static at 99 percent during 2012- 13 and 2013-14.

 There is marginal increase in GER at upper primary level in the district from 99.16 in 2013 -14 to 99.43 in 2013-14.

 While the GER of boys at upper primary level in the district during 2012-13 is slightly higher at 99.26 than that of girls (99.09). during 2013-14, the GER of girls (99.60) slightly higher than that of boys (99.27) during 2013.14.

 The completion rate in the district at the primary level remained more or less statics at 98 percent during 2012 – 13 and 2013 - 14, There is marginal improvement in completion rate from 91.91 in 2012 – 13 to 92.86 percent in 2013–14.  There is gradual increase in dropout rate at primary level, upper primary level and secondary level. In 2013 – 14, it increased from 1.35 at primary level, 2.22 at upper primary level and 5.65 at secondary level.

14  Sathyamangalam had the highest dropout rate at primary level.

 For 5165 habitations in Erode district, there are 1000 primary schools and 706 upper primary, secondary / Higher secondary schools having 6 – 8th standard. On an average, the accessibility ratio of habitation to primary school is 1:5 and to secondary school, it is 1:7.

 Transition Rate from primary to upper primary: Erode district achieved 100 percent transition rate in 2012-13 and it was sustained during 2013-14.Pupil : Teacher Ratio (PTR) and Pupil – School Ratio (PSR) Primary and upper primary.

 Pupil – Teacher Ratio at primary level in the district marginally decreased from 1:24 in 2012 – 13 to 1:23 in 2013 – 14.For upper primary level, PTR increased from 1:23 to 1:28 during the same period.

 Pupil - School Ratio (PSR) in the district at the primary level decreased from 1:139 in 2012 - 13 to 1:72 in 2013 – 14. At the upper primary level, the PSR decreased from 1:134 to 1:80 during the same period.

 The GER in secondary education during 2012-13 was 58.17 and it increased to 93.37 in 2013-14. The major reasons for the big

15 jump in GER during 2013-14 is the impact of Govt. of India’s Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) which was introduced to expand and improve the quality of secondary education.

 The Erode district administration reports that during 2012-14, almost all blocks had negligible percentage of never enrolled children.

 During 2013-14, among out of school children, there were larger number of boys (132.6) than girls (125).In terms of percentage, 0.61 percent of children were out of school during 2013-14.

 Availability of good drinking water, toilet facility especially for girls and teachers, playground, electricity, desks and benches and compound wall are essential features of school infrastructure.

 During, the district had 1212 schools. About 43 percent of government schools had more than three classrooms. Modakkuruchi block had the highest number of schools (65) with more than three classrooms.

 But Nambiyur and Anthiyur blocks had the highest number of schools 72 and 68 with less than three classrooms respectively. The insufficient availability of classroom facilities

16 lead to handling of classes under the shades of trees and during rainy season, conducting classes is a problem.  Almost all the schools, except in a few blocks, have separate toilets for girls. Only 49 schools had no separate toilets for girls. In Modakkurichi alone, there were 16 schools, followed by Bhavani (8 schools) and Bhavanisagar (7schools) without toilet facilities for girls. The district administration should focus on these schools in those blocks.  Except 6 schools (4 in Anthiyur block and 2 in Sathyamangalam), all schools in the district have electricity.  Steps may be taken to construct compound walls in 219 schools. A few schools without compound walls were there in all the blocks of the district.  A few schools (47) were there in the district without chairs and benches.  During 2013-14, in 1376 schools, 16 percent of school going children received scholarship.

 The government provides hostel facilities for students from disadvantaged groups (SC/ST, BC, MBC and Denotified communities).  During 2013-14, 3551 students from 1248 schools, stayed in the free hostels. Only 3

17 percent of students stayed in hostels. Most of the hostel inmates were boys. Only 0.73 percent of girls stayed in the hostel. This may be due to the reluctance of the parents to allow their girls to stay in the hostels.

 During 2011, in Erode district, there were 18 Arts and Science colleges, 12 Engineering college, 10 Polytechnics.

 As the number of students who pursue higher education form a small percentage, the government may encourage the establishment of more Polytechnics.

 The special problems faced by students of Thalavadi block, which is a hilly area may be analyzed in depth. And appropriate steps may be taken.

Gender

 Women constitute nearly half (49.82%) of the population of Erode district.

 The sex ratio of the district is 993.

 Female literacy rate is 56 percent.

 Maternal Mortality Ratio is 64.

 The percentage of women workers in agricultural sector is 50.71%.

 The percentage of women in non – agricultural sector is 22.96%.

18  In 2011, the female literacy rate (56%) was lower than that of males (71%).

 The female work participation rate (41%) in 2011 was lower than that of male workers.

· There is only marginal difference in enrolment ratio among boy and girls at primary level during 2013-14 (Boys 99.53 and girls 99.73).

 At upper primary level also during 2013-14, there is only marginal difference among boys and girls in enrolment ratio (boys 99.27 and girls 99.60).

 Erode Municipal Corporation has the highest percentage (86%) of female WPR in the non- agricultural sector.

 SHGs in the district are playing a vital role in mobilizing financial resources for women. They increase the total family income. By 2011, over 5563 exclusively women SHGs were operating in the district with a membership of 72000 women.

 In 2013, Erode had the highest number of SHGs (706) and Ammapet had the lowest number of SHGs in 2013 (54) with a membership of 702.During 2013-14, in the district as a whole, there were 2938 SHGs, with a membership of 38,454 and they availed credit worth Rs. 6531.34 lakhs.

19  The active participation of women in political sphere is integral to empowerment of women. The percentage of participation of women in local bodies in all the blocks of the district is above 35%.  Though there is not much variation in the percentage of participation of women in local bodies, across the blocks, Chennimalai (39.58%), Nambiyur (39.29%) and Sathyamangalam (39.08%) registered higher percentage of participation. Social Security

 In the district, those above 60 years among the males constituted 6.45 percent of the population and female population above 60 years constituted 6.52 of the population.  Financial security is provided by government to the aged under various schemes. During the year 2013-2014, 539209 persons received old age pensions. Further 74431 destitute widows and 82190 disabled persons are also benefited from the state government.  In Erode district, 2311 differently-abled persons were financially assisted by the District administration.  During 2013-14, 17275 women in the district received marriage and maternity assistance from the government.

20  In Erode district, during 2012-13, 134 crimes against women were reported and they declined to 119 during 2013-14.Of all the crimes against women, cases of women harassment, Kidnapping and molestation were larger in number.

Infrastructure

 The total road length of the district is 4346.7 Km. Modakkuruchi with 441.32 km has the longest road length, followed by Anthiyur (441.o4 km) Chennimalai (397.28) Gobichettipalayam (393.40km) Bhavani (349.78km) and Perundurai (342.78km.).

 In the district, B.T. Roads constitute 62%, WBM 20% Mud roads 18% and CC Road 0.02%.

 Thalavadi block has no improvement in road length. This may be largely due to the fact that it has large area under forests.

 Erode is a major turmeric marketing centre in Tamil Nadu. The success of business development mainly depends upon road infrastructure. But roads connecting Erode with other cities are not upto the mark.

 More than 50% of the blocks in Erode district are provided with electricity, where 90% of households have electricity.

21  During 2013-14, Erode district had 121 Telephone Exchanges 80 PCOs, and 79245 Land lines.  Sixty four thousand households have telecommunication facilities.  During 2013-14, there were 314 commercial bank branches with nearly 17 lakh account holders and 272 cooperative societies with a membership of more than 6 lakhs.  In the district, during 2013-14, there were 7 L.I.C. Branches, 4 United India Branches and 4 National Insurances Branches and the total number of polices during the year were 2,37.226.  There is need for spreading awareness about the benefits of insurance among larger section of people.  The transportation system in the district is well developed. The district being a prominent commercial centre is connected by road and rail from the state capital and other cities.  The district has a major railway station, namely Erode junction.  The major tributaries of Cauvery, and rivers Bhavani, Noyyal and Amaravati run across the district in the north; Palar river constitutes the boundary between Erode district and Karnataka in the north.

22  The Bhavanisagar dam and Kodiveri dam provide storage facilities and numerous canals provide proper drainage and facilities for irrigation in the district.

 Micro irrigation system is gaining popularity in the district.

 During 2007 -2008, only 3500 hectares were covered under drip irrigation and sprinkler system. But during 2011-13 farmers installed micro irrigation system in more than 600 hectares. The poor rainfall has made many farmers to realize the importance of water management techniques such as micro irrigation.

 More than 60 percent of the drip system in the district is utilized for the cultivation of sugarcane. Drip irrigation has the potential to save upto 60 percent of water.

Conclusion

 As some blocks in the district lag behind other blocks in the indicators of dimensions of human development, there is need for focusing on them by different wings of district administration.

 The blocks at the bottom in the HDI in the district, namely Thalavadi, Bhavanisagar and Nambiyur deserve priority in the allocation of

23 funds. Not only that, they should be properly monitored to see whether there is proper and effective utilization of funds.

 The backward blocks, should be developed in different dimensions of HDI. Only then, the district will have balanced development.

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