CHAPTER-II

2. SOCIO ECONOMIC PROFILE

2.1 GENERAL
The feasibility study report is prepared by including the salient features of each of
the aspects of study like socio economic profile, traffic, hydrology, survey and
investigation, geology, seismology, economic appraisal etc.

2.2 SOCIAL PROFILE

The state is spread over an area of 78.4 thousand square kilometers and consists
of 27 districts. The area, number of blocks, number of towns is shown in Table 2. 1

Table 2.1 Area and Administrative Setup

State/ District Area in sq. km Number of Blocks Number of Towns

Assam 78438.0 219 125

Sonitpur 5320.0 14 5

2.3 POLITICAL PROFILE

The demographic profile of Assam and Sonitpur district is presented in the Table
2.2. Density of population of the state is 397 persons per square kilometers, while
it is 365 for Sonitpur district. The literacy rate for Assam is 73.18% while the
literacy rate for Sonitpur is 69.96%.

Table 2.2 Demographic Profile, 2011 Census

Classification Assam Sonitpur

Population 31,169,272 19,25,975

Population Density (population per sq. km) 397 365
Sex Ratio 954 946
Literacy Rate 73.18% 69.96%

Workforce participation rate in the state of Assam stood as 35.8% while it is

substantially higher in the district of Sonitpur district at 40%. Majority of the
workforce in the state is employed in the agriculture sector (52%). Engagement

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in the industrial sector is as low as 3.6% of the total workforce. The following
table 2.3 presents workforce participation in the state of Assam and the district of
Sonitpur.

Table 2.3 Workforce participation in Assam and Sonitpur 2001

Classification of Workers Share of Total Workforce (%)

Assam Sonitpur
Cultivators 39.10 31.20
Agricultural Labourers 13.20 6.20
Household Industrial Workers 3.60 1.80
Other Workers 44.10 60.80

2.4 ENGINEERING PROFILE

2.4.1 LAND USE

Land use pattern of Assam and Sonitpur is presented in the Table 2.4. Forest
coverage in the state and the district of Sonitpur are 25% and 29%. Net sown
area is limited to 35% of the state and 31% in the district. Share of area sown
more than once is also low.

Table 2.4 Land use pattern in Assam and Sonitpur

Classification Assam Sonitpur
Area % of Area % of
(hectare) Total (hectare) Total

Total Area 7843800 532400

Forest 1954012 24.91 154977 29.10

Land put to non-agricultural 1080570 13.78 165100 31.01
uses
Barren and uncultivable land 1452463 18.52 21814 4.10
Other uncultivated land 445255 5.67 19535 3.69
excluding fallow land
Fallow land 186398 2.38 5827 1.09
Net area sown 2724936 34.74 165147 31.01
Total cropped area 3956842 50.44 269006 50.52
Area sown more than once 1204241 15.35 103859 19.51

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 2.4.2 TRANSPORT
All the four modes of transportation system i.e. road, rail, water and air are
operative in the state.

2.4.2.1 ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE

Length of total road network is around 37795 kilometers. In the total road length
34947 kilometers falls in the category of PWD roads and the remaining 2848
kilometers is National Highway. One fifth of the PWD roads are surfaced.
Classification of PWD roads is presented in the following table 2.5.

Table 2.5 Classification of APWD Roads in Assam, 2008

Classification of Road length Percentage of Total Road

Roads km Length

National Highways 2848 7.54

State Highways 3134 8.29
Major District Roads 4413 11.68
Rural Roads 26223 69.38
Urban Roads 1177 3.11
Total 37795 100.00

2.4.2.2 RAILWAYS
Railway route in Assam comprises both broad and meter gauge tracks. Total
route length is 2517.23 kilometers in Assam with length of broad gauge being
1227.70 km and length of meter gauge being 1289.53 km as in 2003-2004.

2.4.2.3 AIR TRANSPORTATION

Airports at Guwahati, Jorhat, Tezpur, Dibrugarh and Silchar are important in
Assam for passenger and cargo movement. Airport wise inward and outward
movement of cargo are presented in Table 2.6

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 Table 2.6 Airport wise inward and outward movements of goods of inland trade
by air in Assam

Airport Inward Movement Outward Movement (MT)

(MT)

Guwahati 1768.20 354.90

Jorhat 20.40 5.30
Silchar 157.50 36.60
Dibrugarh 180.80 145.90
Tezpur 11.70 2.60

Tezpur airport is closest to the project site and quantum of both inward and
outward cargo movement are reasonable.

2.4.2.4 WATER TRANSPORTATION

The Bramaputra and Barak are the two most important navigable rivers of Assam.
There area also numerous tributaries of these two rivers, which are navigable by
country boats. The Brahmaputra has already beer declared as No. 2 National
Waterways. At present, two public sector organisations, viz. the State Directorate
of Inland Water Transport (IWT) and Central Inland Water Transport Corporation
(CTWTC) are operating water transport services between Guwahati and Kolkata
exclusively for movement of goods.
The Department of Inland Water Transport, Assam is operating 61 ferry services
for the purpose of public utility. These ferry services carried around 30.91 lakh
passengers and 2.82 lakh M.T. cargo everyday during 2001-2002.

2.5 ECONOMIC PROFILE

2.5.1 AGRICULTURE
Economy of Assam is primarily agrarian and followed by service sector and
industrial sector. Index numbers in terms of area, production and productivity
shows that there is very small quantum of improvement in the agriculture sector
of the state. This is mostly because of the fact that productivity did not improve
in line with the rest of the country. However, recent development thrusts are
aiming to improve the agriculture sector. Index numbers of area, production and
productivity are presented in the Table 2.7

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Table 2.7 Index number of area, production and productivity, Assam (Base 1980-
1981)

Classification Year Food Non-food All

Grains Grains Commodities
Area 2000-2004 114.65 119.74 115.82
2001-2005 110.50 119.44 112.54
2002-2006 110.25 116.81 111.75
Production 2000-2004 173.63 162.34 168.31
2001-2005 168.17 160.46 164.17
2002-2006 163.02 166.14 164.64
Productivity 2000-2004 151.44 135.49 144.97
2001-2005 141.65 110.71 138.46
2002-2006 136.45 113.82 134.15

Rice is the principal agricultural crop and accounts for 74% of the total cropped
area and coupled with other cereals viz. maize, wheat etc. and pulses, food
grains, account for 80% of total cropped area. Oilseeds, fruits and vegetables,
and fiber account for 9%, 4.8% and 2.2% of the total area respectively.
Important other miscellaneous crops include areca nut, turmeric, chilies and
sugarcane. Area under different crops in the state of Assam is presented in the
Table 2.8.

Table 2.8 Area under different crops in Assam, 2006

Name of the crop Area (thousand Share of total area

hectare) (%)

Rice 2540 74.0

Other cereals 97 2.8
Pulses 111 3.2
Total food crops 2748 80.1
Oil seeds 308 9.0
Fibers 75 2.2
Fruits and vegetables 164 4.8
Other miscellaneous 137 4.0
crops
Total area 3432 100.0

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 2.5.2 INDUSTRIES
There are 2691 registered factories in Assam. Majority of industrial
establishments are concentrated in the district of Kamrup where 21% of the total
registered factories are located. This is followed by Tinsukia (14%) and Dibrugarh
(10.6%). Other industrially developed districts of the state are Sonitpur, Golaghat
and Jorhat.
Around 42% of the registered factories are in the category of food and beverages.
Other areas are production of non-metallic mineral products (19.5%) and
plywood and wood products (15.9%).
Important industrial products in the state are of Assam are tea, crude, petroleum,
fertilizer, jute and cement. Production for last two consecutive years and change
over the previous year is presented in the Table 2.9. Change in the production of
fertilizer and coal is noticeable.

Table 2.9 Production of selected items in Assam

Items 2005-2006 2006-2007 Change (%)

Tea (tones) 438864 454141 3.5

Crude Oil (000 tonnes) 4746 4571 -3.7
Fertilizer (000 tonnes) 186500 240590 29.0
Coal (tonnes) 629 738 17.3
Jute (000 tonnes) 7285 7291 0.1
Cement (000 tonnes) 313 336 7.3

Total number of small scale industrial units in the state was 44.2 thousand as on
March, 2002 and increased to 47 thousand as on March 2003. Thus the number
of small scale industries in the state registered a growth of 6.3%. Majority of the
units are located in the districts of Kamrup and followed by Dibrugarh, Nagaon,
Sivasagar and Sonitpur.
To facilitate the process of industrial development, the state has established 15
industrial estates and 8 growth centers across the state.
Important minerals in the state are coal, natural gas, petroleum and lime stone.
General index of mineral production in the state fell to 95.31 in 2003-2004 (base
1993-1994 = 100). However, production of natural gas and limestone is
satisfactory with movement of index number to 160.82 and 155.93 respectively
in the said year.

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Khadi and village industries are labour intensive and very important for the state
of Assam. In 2005-2006 value of output from this sector was 60.74 crores by
engaging 1.2 lakhs of workforce.

2.5.3 STATE INCOME

Net state domestic product and per capita income of the state of Assam in
constant prices is presented in the Table 2.10. It is observed that over the years,
the state economy is going through a structural change. The focus of the
economy is shifting from primary and secondary sector to tertiary sector. As
evident from Table 2.11, the share of primary sector decreased from 48% in
1993-1994 to 40% in 2003-2004. Similarly, the share of secondary sector
decreased from 13% to 11% during the same period. The resultant effect is that
the contribution of the tertiary sector to the state economy increased from 38.6%
to 48.5%.

Table 2.10 Net State Domestic Product and Per Capita Income, Assam
Sector 1993-94 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04

Primary 647448 678239 664870 692637 717738 720064

Secondary 180100 180973 205709 176174 165334 198005
Tertiary 520135 648612 696510 748470 795765 865610
Total 1347683 1507824 1567090 1617281 1678837 1783678
PCI 5715 5785 5943 6066 6221 6520

Table 2.11 Sectoral Composition (% of total) of Net State Domestic Product,

Assam

Sector 1993 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 -

94 00 01 02 03 04

Primary 48.0 45.0 42.4 42.8 42.8 40.4

Secondary 13.4 12.0 13.1 10.9 9.8 11.1
Tertiary 38.6 43.0 44.4 46.3 47.4 48.5
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

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During the analysis period of 1993-94 to 2003-04, the growth rate of the different
sectors of the state economy and per capita income is presented in Table 2.12. It
is observed that the growth rates are showing a rising trend during these analysis
periods of 1994-00 and 2000-04. Highest growth rate has been observed in the
tertiary sector.

Table 2.12 Growth Rate of Net State Domestic Product, Assam

Sector Growth Rate Growth Growth Rate

1994-2000 Rate 2004-2007
2000-2004

Primary 1.07 0.78 1.51

Secondary 0.95 0.08 2.27
Tertiary 5.23 3.75 7.48
Total 2.84 1.89 4.29
PCI 1.33 0.20 3.04

Since the project stretch is proposed to be constructed in a backward area where

the economic activities are less resulting in lesser vehicular traffic, economic
analysis has given more emphasis on potential traffic (suppressed demand)
rather than on the projection from the existing trend.

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