Rajganj is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Jalpaiguri Sadar subdivision of Jalpaiguri district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Geography
Rajganj is located at .
The Rajganj CD block lies in the south-western part of the district. It is situated between the Mahananda River and the Teesta River. The northern portion is part of the central tract locally called Bhaber and the southern portion is a gently sloping alluvial plain locally called Terai.
The Rajganj CD block is bounded by the Mal CD block on the north, Jalpaiguri and Kranti CD block on the east, Panchagarh Sadar Upazila of Panchagarh District in Rangpur Division in Bangladesh on the south, Siliguri city, and Phansidewa, Matigara and Kurseong CD blocks in Darjeeling district on the west.
The Rajganj CD block has an area of 614.82 km2. It has 1 panchayat samity, 12 gram panchayats, 220 gram sansads (village councils), 29 mouzas, 26 inhabited villages and 3 census towns. Rajganj and Pradhan Nagar police stations serve this block. Headquarters of this CD block is at Rajganj.
Gram panchayats of Rajganj block/ panchayat samiti are: Binnaguri, Dabgram I, Dabgram II, Fulbari I, Fulbari II, Kukurjan, Majhiali, Mantadari, Panikouri, Sanyashikata, Shikarpur and Sukhani.
Demographics
Population
According to the 2011 Census of India, the Rajganj CD block had a total population of 373,766, of which 190,645 were rural, and 183,131 were urban. There were 193,185 (52%) males and 180,591 (48%) females. There were 48,038 persons in the age range of 0 to 6 years. The Scheduled Castes numbered 185,246 (49.56%) and the Scheduled Tribes numbered 15,386 (4.12%).
According to the 2001 census, Rajganj block had a total population of 287,615, out of which 150,481 were males and 137,134 were females. Rajganj block registered a population growth of -8.43 per cent during the 1991-2001 decade.
Census towns in the Rajganj CD block are (2011 census figures in brackets): Dabgram (119,040), Binnaguri (58,840) and Chakiabhita (5,251) .
Large villages (with 4,000+ population) in the Rajganj CD block are (2011 census figures in brackets): Simulguri (4,315), Mantadari (5,362), Kamarbhita (5,219), Shikarpur (9,969), Guzrimari (9,094), Chhat Guzrimari (8,127),Kismat Sukani (5,911), Pani Kauri (6,613), Sannyasikata (27,044), Sukani (35,276) and Kukurjan (11,995) .
Other villages in the Rajganj CD block include (2011 census figures in brackets): Ambari Falakata (3,105).
Literacy
According to the 2011 census, the total number of literate persons in the Rajganj CD block was 234,799 (62.82% of the population over 6 years) out of which males numbered 132,348 (78.52% of the male population over 6 years) and females numbered 102,451 (65.18% of the female population over 6 years). The gender disparity (the difference between female and male literacy rates) was 13.35%.
See also – List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate
Language and religion
In the 2011 Census of India, Hindus numbered 295,907 and formed 79.17% of the population of Rajganj CD block. Muslims numbered 72,333 and formed 19.35% of the population. Christians numbered 3,976 and formed 1.06% of the population. Others numbered 1,560 and formed 0.42% of the population. Others include Addi Bassi, Marang Boro, Santal, Saranath, Sari Dharma, Sarna, Alchchi, Bidin, Sant, Saevdharm, Seran, Saran, Sarin, Kheria, and other religious communities.
At the time of the 2011 census, 81.43% of the population spoke Bengali, 5.09% Hindi, 2.98% Rajbongshi, 2.11% Nepali and 1.70% Sadri as their first language. 3.77% were recorded as speaking 'Other' under Bengali.
Poverty level
Based on a study of the per capita consumption in rural and urban areas, using central sample data of NSS 55th Round 1999-2000, Jalpaiguri district was found to have relatively high rates of poverty of 35.73% in rural areas and 61.53% in the urban areas. It was one of the few districts where urban poverty rate was higher than the rural poverty rate.
According to a World Bank report, as of 2012, 26-31% of the population of Jalpaiguri, Bankura and Paschim Medinipur districts were below poverty line, a relatively high level of poverty in West Bengal, which had an average 20% of the population below poverty line.