Socio-economic disparity in development of Maldah district, West Bengal: A block level appraisal

Maldah district of West Bengal is recognized as one of those backward districts with a low HDI of 0.44 (West Bengal Human Development Report, 2004). This district is marked by low literacy rate, inferior quality of life and seasonal migration in search of livelihoods, along with the devastation of annual floods and riverbank erosion, which may have an impact on the socio-economic development of this district. The aim of the present study is to illustrate the level of development and to highlight the inter-block disparity in Maldah using 39 socio-economic variables. The simple Composite Development Index (CDI) was obtained from 39 indicators to quantify the cross-block level development. In addition, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was carried out in order to identify the prime variables that affect regional disparities in development. The CDI reveals that the eastern and northern parts of the district are more developed compared to the southern and western parts of the district. The study indicates that there are wide disparities in socio-economic development among different blocks within the district