Chapter-4 Socio-Economic Profile of Thane District 4.1 Introduction. 4.2 Basic Features of Thane District. 4.3 Natural Scenario of Thane District. 4.4 Detail Overview of All Talukas in Thane District (As Per 2011 Census). 4.5 Civilization of Thane District. 4.6 Economic Profile of Thane District. 4.7 Demographic Aspect of Thane District. 4.8 Summary of the Chapter. 106 Chapter-4 Socio-Economic Profile of Thane District 4.1 Introduction In this research study ,the main focus is on the problem of population explosion and socio- economic problems in Thane District of Maharashtra.Therefore it is very essential to have a detail study of socio-economic profile in Thane district in Maharashtra.This chapter is totally about the social and economic picture of entire Thane district. As per census 2011, Thane district is the most populous district of India. According to census 2011,there are total 11,060,148 inhabitants in Thane district. Other important cities in Thane district are Kalyan city.Dombivli city, Mira-Bhayander, Ulhasnagar,Bhiwandi Badlapur,Ambarnath, Shahapur and Navi Mumbai. “ Thane district is one of the most industrialized districts in the Maharashtra. First planned industrial estate was setup by the (Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) in 1962 at Thane to promote and develop planned growth of industries in Maharashtra .The district is blessed with abundant natural resources in the form of perennial rivers,extensive seasores and high mountainous ranges.” 1 Thane district is surrounded by Pune and Ahmadnagar and Pune districts towards the east. The Arabian Sea lies to the west of Thane district.while Mumbai City District and Mumbai Suburban District are also the neighbouring areas of Thane district and lie to the southwest of Thane district .From geographical point of view Thane District is an important part of Northern Konkan Region. Which lies between the Sahyadri hills in the east and the Arabian Sea in the West. It has coastal line of about 113 Kms. Its East-West spread is maximum at the South which is about 100 Kms. The North-south length is approximately 140 Kms. Thane taluka which is the headquater of Thane district is nearly 25 Kms from the international airport and 35 Kms from the Mumbai City. It must be noted that “ in konkan region of Maharashtra, Thane district is having 73 percent urban population.Thane district which is adjacent to Mumbai is an industrial hub in self.” 2 107 4.2 Basic Features of Thane District: While conducting a brief research about the socio-economic problems due to growing population in Maharashtra,special reference to Thane district,it is essential to know the general characteristics of Thane district.The followings are the general characteristics of Thane district. 4.2.1 “Thane district is the third most industrialized district in Maharashtra. The Thane Belapur-Kalyan industrial belt is the Centre of highly developed and advanced industries. The industrial development in the district is mainly concentrated in this industrial belt. 4.2.2 The district can be divided into three district parts. The first area includes Thane, Kalyan and Ulhasnagar talukas where a number of organized modern industries are concentrated . These areas are under direct influence of Mumbai metropolis. This areas are more or less suburban to the metropolis. 4.2.3 The second zone comprises the industrially developing areas of Vasai, Bhiwandi, Palghar and Dahanu. 4.2.4 The third part includes the rest of the area of the district having conventional village industries, age-old cottage industries and primary processing agro-industries” 3 4.3 Natural Scenario of Thane District: The natural scenario of Thane district is very beautiful and heart-touching. However,due to rapidly increasing population in Thane district there has been some alteration in the natural scenario of Thane district.Let us explain the natural scenario of Thane district in brie manner. The following points give a brief idea about the natural picture of Thane district. 4.3.1 Location and geographical Area: From geographical point of view ,Thane district is regarded as the, the northern-most district of Konkan region of Maharashtra. Thane district also touches the Arabian Sea in the north-west of Maharashtra States. Geographically Thane district extends between 18*42’ and 20*20’ north latitude and 72*45’ and 73*48’ east longitude. The northern part of Thane district touches the Union territories of Dadra, Nagar Haveli and the Gujarat state. Nasik districts and Ahmednagar districts are to the east of Thane district, Pune district is to the South –East of Thane district. Raigad district lies to the south of Thane 108 district and Mumbai Metropolitan lies to the South –West of Thane district. It means that Nashik,AhmedNagar,Raigad,Pune and Mumbai are the neighbouring areas of Thane district. As far as,the structure of Thane district is concerned , naturally the structure of Thane district is triangular. “The total geographical area of the district is 9558 Sq.KMS which is 3.11% of the total Maharashtra area”. 4 4.3.2 TOPOGRAPHY of Thane District: Topography refers to the arrangement of natural and artificial physical features of an area.On the basis of topography, Thane district can be divided into 3 parts: 1 In the Eastern area of Thane district, Sahyadri hills are spread and in the northern region of Thane district dense forest area is situated. 2 The Central Region of the Thane district is mostly flat area .This area is well-known for Rice . 3 In the coastal part Vegetables , Fruits and high quality of grass are cultivated . 4.3.3 Soil in Thane District: As far as soil in Thane district is concerned,there are mainly three types of soil inThane district. Regur soil, red soil and brownish black soil are types of soil which are found in Thane district. These three type of soils have different uses. Regur soil is fertile and useful for horticulture and for cultivation of paddy and vegetables. This soil is found mainly in Dahanu, Palghar, Vasai and Thane tehsils. Red soil another important soil in Thane district. It is very useful for growing coarse millets. This soil is found in Mokhada, Talasari and some parts of other tehsils on the eastern slopes Brownish black soil is found in Bhiwandi, Kalyan and Shahapur tehsils.This soil is used mainly for paddy cultivation. 109 4.3.4 Mountainous Region in Thane District: The Sahyadri ranges, having unbroken boundary run North South in the Eastern region of the district. There are also spurs running laterally to the main ranges. The heights of the mountains are maximum on the East and diminish gradually Westwards. The mountain ranges also spread unevenly in the Central region of the district. But none of them rises higher than Sahyadries. Yeoor Hills or Mama Bhanja Hills is a hill station in Thane district. This naturally beautiful and pollution free area attracts lot of people. 4.3.5 FOREST Area in Thane District: It is very important to study about the forest area of Thane district.So that we can get idea about the areas occupied by the forest in Thane district. In Thane district,the forest area extends upto 3463 Sq.kms.It means that 37.10 % of the total area of Thane district is occupied by forest. Out of this total forest area, 80.51% area is spread in Shahapur, Palghar, Jawhar, Wada, Murbad, Dahanu and Vasai talukas and in remaining talukas it is spread only 19.49%.In Thane district, the important forest products are Hirda,Sag, Ain, ,and Timber wood which is used generally for construction purpose. Thus in Thane district, the forest products are very valuable. Forest are the important source of raw material to those industries which are manufacturing wood products in Thane district. Also there are many medicinal plants in the forest area of Thane district. But it is very shocking to note that the forest area has been decreasing in Thane district due to growing population. Decrease of forest area area in Thane district will lead to ecological imbalance in Thane district.Some urgent steps are required to protect the forest areas in Thane district. 4.3.6 Climate of Thane District: As far as climate of Thane district is concerned , in Thane district there are two distinct climates .one climate is on the western coastal plains and the other climate is on the eastern slopes of Sahyadri.There is great difference between the climate on western coastal plains and the climate on the eastern slopes of Sahyadri. On the western coastal plains of Thane, Palghar, Dahanu and Vasai talukas, Climate is tropical, and extremely hot and humid. In Vada, Ulhasnagar, Bhiwandi,Ambarnath, Kalyan and Talasari talukas 110 and on the eastern slopes of Sahyadri,that is, in Shahapur,Murbad,Vikramgad,Jawhar and Mokhada talukas climate is comparatively less humid. The temperature variation is more in the eastern part of the district comparing to the western coastal areas.Geographically, there are four seasons in Thane district . In Thane district, winter season starts from December and ends in February, summer season is from March to June. Monsoon starts from June and ends in September. In Thane district , June to september is a season of southwest monsoon. October and November are called as the post-monsoon period, which is hot and humid in the coastal areas. In coastal area of Thane district, maximum temperature in summer season is nearly 32.9 °C and in winter season daily minimum temperature is 16.8 °C . But in the inner areas of Thane district, the average daily minimum temperature is little-bit lower in the winter season and the average daily maximum temperature is higher in the summer.