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Home , Ahmednagar, Ahmednagar district, Nashik district, Sina River

PROFILE OF DISTRICT CHAPTER 3 PROFILE OF 3.1 Introduction: In this chapter, an attempt is made to review briefly the economy and the geographical facets of Ahmednagar District; it has been tried to tress the important factors contributed in the progress and development of Co-operative movement and credit. The facts and figures given in this chapter are based on the information from Office of Statistics, Ahmednagar and Census Report (2001) for Ahmednagar District. 3.2 Historical Background: Ahmednagar district is known as “Santachi Bhoomi” (Place of Saints) from an ancient period. The holy shrine of Sai Baba at Shridi in tahasil is vary famous and draws millions of devotees belonging to different castes and religions not only from but also from far off places in and abroad. The district of Ahmednagar is named after Ahmednagar town. The town is a famous since the medieval times. In the year 1490 when Ahmed Nizam Shah, the founder of the Nizam dynasty defeated the Bahamani troops under Khan near its site. This victory was called the “Victory of the Garden”. Because on that spot Ahmed Shah built a Palace and laid out a Garden. In the year 1494 he laid the foundation of the city close to the Bag Nizam upon the left bank of the and called after himself Ahmed Nagar or the city of Ahmed. Ahmednagar district popularly called Nagar and came into existence spread between Vani and Dindorl sub division of and Karmala in Sholapur District. In 1830 Sholapur Sub-Collectorate was inducted in the district and continued as such till it gained the status of an independent Collectorate in 1838. During 1837-38, Nashik sub -Collectorate comprising of sub divisions of Sinner, Chandor, Dindore, Nashik, and Peth Tahsil was under Ahmednagar District. Subsequently this sub Collectorate of Nashik was abolished in 1856 and the area reverted to Ahmednagar District. 1869 witnessed the declaration of and as independent

30 district. Thus leading to the shaping and emergence of present Ahmednagar District. In fact the district has had a chequered history of evolution in as much as in 1891 it included the sub divisions of Jamkhed, Newasa, , Shevagaon, , Ahmednagar, Kopergaon, , Karjat, Pamer, and Rahuri. In 1913 Peta was created and the remaining part of Jamkhed Tahasil was renamed as Jamkhed Mahal. Subsequently, Karjat Tahasil was sown graded as Karjat peta during the year 1931-41. The upgrading of Pathardi and Karjat Petas as Karjat Tahasil marked 1941-51. In 1945 Tahasil came into being. Jurisdictional changes of 12950 resulted in the transfer of 21 villages from Bid District to Ahmednagar District on the contrary the district has to lose 26 villages top Bid District and one village to District. With the recognition of States, the district was incorporated in to in 1956, however, since 1960 it constitutes a part of Maharashtra State. 1318 inhabited villages and 5 towns dispersed over 12 Tahasils and one Mahal comprised Ahmednagar district lin 1961. During the decade 1961- 71 with upgrading of Jamkhed Mahal, the number of Tahsil rose to 13 and at the time of 1971 Census there were 1312 inhabited villages 5 uninhabited and 6 towns. The positions continued to be the same till 1981 Census. However within the district some changes did occur during the decade 1971-81 when the number of villages rose to 1503 (excluding two uninhabited villages), and with the declaration of Rahuri and Warwandi as towns the number of towns increased to 8. Rahuri town attained municipal status through a state Government Notification, and Warwandi was declared as Census Town as it qualified the specific criteria laud by census to declare as urban area.

3.3 Location: Ahmednagar district is situated partly in the upper Godavari basin and partly in the Bhima Basin occupying a somewhat central position in Maharashtra state. It extends between 18.0’ and 19.0 “North latitudes and 73.9” and 75.5 “East latitudes, the district is irregular in shape and resembles a slanting cross with length of 200 Kms and breadth of 210 Kms. It is surrounded by Nashik district to the north, Aurangabad District to the North

31 East, Bid district to the east, district and Sholapur district to the south, district to the west and district top the North -East.

3.4 Topography: The total geographical area of the Ahmednagar district is 174 Lakh hectors which is largest in Maharashtra, Topographical district can be divided into three parts as follows, a. A Sahyadri hill ranges North-west that is having highest peak at with a height of 1646 meters in the state. b. The Plateaus: Mainly Akole plateaus, Ahmednagar Plateaus, and Jamkhed plateaus having general elevation of 600 meters. c. The Basins; In between the plateaus there are river basins. The two main basins are Bhima basin in the South and Godavari Basin in the north, which includes the Pravara Mula Basin. In general these basins have an elevation of 500-600 meters

3.5 Climate: The climate of the district is characterized by a hot summer and general dryness expect during south-west monsoon season. The year can be divided into four seasons. The cold season from December to February is followed by the hot season from March to the first week of June. The south west monsoon season is from the second week of June till the end of September while October and November constitute the post monsoon or retreating monsoon season.

3.6 Rainfall: The average annual rainfall in the district is 578.88 mm. The distribution of rainfall is uneven. About 77% of the annual rainfall is received during the southwest monsoon season but the distribution rainfall is mostly uneven. Ahmednagar district is known for chronically drought prone and receives very scanty rainfall which is unevenly distributed over the period of the year.

32 3.7 Temperature: Seasonal variation in temperature is quite large. Maximum temperature goes up to 410c during April & May and Minimum down up to 9 to lOOC during December.

3.8 Minerals: Ahmednagar District does not possess any mineral of economic importance. However, stones, loose rocks and sands are available in abundance. But in the soil of the district these shortcoming are accomplished by the nature.

3.9 Soil: In Ahmednagar district the examination of soil reveals that there are relatively more fertile and deep black in Shrirampur, Newasa and . There are such as Ahmednagar, Pamer, Sangamner, Pathardi, Jamkhed and Shrigonda that have relatively a higher proportion of shallow soil. The Shevgoan and Karjat blocks have comparatively much less proportion of shallow soil. In Akole block the soil is reddish, soppy and poor in texture.

3.10 Population Growth: Ahmednagar District is the central place of the Western Maharashtra State. The total area of the District is 17412 Sq. Km., which comes 5.56 % of the total area of the Maharashtra State (307583 Sq. Km.). Ahmednagar district comprises of 14 blocks (i.e. Tahasils, 18 Cities and 1581 villages. According to the 2001 census, the total population of the district is recorded as the 40.88 Lakh out of which 32.84 Lakh population is in rural area i.e. 80.34 % of the total population and 8.04 Lakh is in urban area i.e. 19.66% of the total population. Out of the total population of the district, the male population of the district is 21.06 lakhs and Female population is 19.82 lakhs that means sex ratio is 941 & total population growth rate is 21.20%.

3.11 Literacy Rate among Men and Women: Per 2001 census literacy rate of the district is 65.27% (Literate Population: 26.685 lakhs) to the total population. In the District literacy rate

33 among men is 73.89% (15.56 lakhs) and among women is 56.12% (11.12 lakhs) to the total population. Literacy rate in urban areas is more than rural area. In urban area literacy is 85% (Men: 91.70% and Women: 77.66) and in Rural area literacy is 73.53% (Men: 84.80% and Women: 61.77%)

3,12 Socio Economic Conditions: Ahmednagar District is endowed with three major economic resource viz. Agriculture land, Industries and Forest produce. The district is famous for sugarcane and cotton produce. In addition to ginning pressing and weaving industries there are small scale industries like utensil-making, pottery, brick- making, carpentry, tanning, oil pressing etc. in the district Table: 3.1 Work Participation rate of total workers to population Occupation Percentage Agriculture (47.35%) Agriculture labor (26.59%) Agriculture Allied activities (1.48%) Household Industries (1.38%) Manufacturing Processing (7.56%) Construction (1.57%) Trade & Commerce (5.05%) Transport, Storage & Comm. (1.81%) Other Services (7.07%) Mining & Quarrying (0.14%) Source: Culled from Census Report, 2001

It clear from above table that, out of total working population 75.42 percent participated in agriculture and allied activities.

3.13 Agriculture in Ahmednagar District: The present position sugar and dairy industries in the district is having the over all affect on the agro-economic environment. Therefore, it becomes inevitable to make a mention of agriculture environment of the district.

34 3.13.1 Distribution of Land Holding: As per socio-economic survey 2006-07 the total number of landholder (Khatedars) and the size of landholding on their name are presented in the following table. Table: 3.2 Size of landholding in Ahmednagar district (2001-02) Sr. Size of land Landholders Area No hectares Numbers Percentage Hectares Percentage 1 Up to 1 239151 35.14 127900 9.49 01 to 1.99 213899 31.42 312445 23.19 02 to 3.99 157906 23.20 423553 31.44 04 to 9.99 61517 9.04 352165 26.14 10 and above 8136 1.20 131259 9.74 Total 680609 100.00 1347322 100.00 Source: Socio Economic Abstract of Ahmednagar District, 2006-07, p.7

The above table 3.4 reveals that in Ahmednagar district, 35.14% landholders had only 9.49% of area of landholding having a land size up to one hector only. Whereas 31.44% landholders had 23.19% landholding having a land size up tol .99 hectors. In other words, 66.56% of the total cultivators in the district own less then 2 hectors of land and other 33.44% landholders own more than 2 hector of land. In this way, it is evident that more 66% of the landholders of the district belong to the small and marginal farmer’s category. 3.13.2 Cropping Pattern & Irrigation: In Ahmednagar District there are main three seasons for crop production i.e. Kharif, Rabbi and Summer. In Kharif generally cereals (Bajari, Jowar, Paddy etc.). Pulses (Green-gram, black gram etc.). Oil-seeds (Groundnut, Sunflower) crops are cultivated. In Rabbi Jowar, Wheat, Vegetables, horse-gram etc. and in Summer season vegetables, groundnut, sunflower, fodder-crops, maize etc. are cultivated where irrigation facility is available.

35 Following table presents the cropping pattern and area under each category for the year 2000-01 and 2006-07. Table: 3.3 Cropping pattern and area under crops Area in Hectare S.N. Types of Crop category 2000-01 2006-07 1 Cereals 1031100 1000800 2 Pulses 100400 83800 3 Oil-seeds 77300 42400 4 Sugarcane 79100 81200 5 Cotton & Fiber Crops 4500 5900 6 Horticulture & Vegetables 33605 37562 7. Spice Crops 3714 4680 8. Other crops 60261 69748 Source: Socio Economic Abstract of Ahmec nagar District, 2006-07, p. 16

3.13.3 Irrigation: In Ahmednagar District, Major, Medium & small irrigation projects. schemes and wells are major sources of irrigation. In 2006-07 there were 5.97 lakh hectares total area under irrigation i.e. 32.40% of total area under crop cultivation. In 2006-07, 4.32 lakh hectare area is irrigated out of which Canal irrigation was for 0.96 lakh hectares and well irrigation was 3.36 lakh hectares.

3.13.4 Land Utilization: Agriculture is the main occupation of the people of the Ahmednagar district which is evident from the fact that 75.42% of the working population is engaged in agricultural. The total geographical area of district is 17, 02,000 hectors.

36 Table: 3.4 Ahmednagar district: land utilization (2004-05) Sr. Area Percentage to total No Pattern of land use (Hectare) geographical area 1 Forests 131593 7.66% Barren and uncultivable land 196557 11.44% Other fallow lands 78661 4.58% Total fellow (current& other) 125133 7.28% Net area under cultivation 1185846 69.03% Total geographic area 1667788 100.00% Source: Socio Economic Abstract of Ahmednagar District, 2006-07, p.7 In Ahmednagar district 69% of the geographical area is cultivated, whereas forest, barren lands cultivable waste and grazing land etc. put together account for 31%. In 2004-05, the total cultivated area was 13.26 lakhs hectares. Out of this, the single cropped area was 11.85 lakhs hectares and the multiple cropped area of the total cropped area was 11.16 % of the total cropped area. 3.14 Co-operatives and Co-operative Institutions: The Ahmednagar District has developed a network of various Co­ operative institutions. There are 18 Cooperative Sugar factories in the district are often described as a sugar bowl of Maharashtra as it produces nearly 1/3'^^' of the sugar in the state. There are various types of Cooperative intuitions in the district. There is Ahmednagar District Central Co-operative (ADCC) Bank having 421 branches in the district. Following table shows the various co­ operative institutions;

37 Table: 3.5 Co-operative Institutions in Ahmednagar District

Sr. Percentage of Category of institution No. of institution No. institutions

1 District co-operative bank 1 0.01

2 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies 1287 10.39

3 Adiwasi Cooperative Societies 38 0.31

4 Urban Co-operative Banks 24 0.19

5 Urban Credit Co-operative Societies 3111 25.12

6 Employee Credit co-operative Societies 215 1.74

Other Non-Agricultural credit co-operative 7 706 5.70 Societies

8 Marketing Cooperative Societies 60 0.48

9 Production Cooperative organizations 4541 36.66

10 Social Service Co-operative 2403 19.40

Total 12386 100.00 Source: Socio Economic Abstract of Ahmednagar District, 2006-07, p. 69

From table 3.5 it is observed tiiat there were 12386 cooperative institutions, whereas 1287 (10.39%) are Primary Agricultural Credit Societies in the district, as on 2006-07.

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