Chapter 1 PROFILE OF THE DISTRICT - Kerala is one of the fourteen revenue districts of Kerala. Its geographical position, historical background, rural nature, educational status, tourist

District Spatial Plan - Palakkad PROFILE OF THE DISTRICT

Department of Town & Country Planning, KeralaDepartment of Town & Country Planning, Kerala

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Chapter 1PROFILE OF THE DISTRICT

Palakkad is one of the fourteen revenuedistricts of Kerala. Its geographical position, historicalbackground, rural nature, educational status, touristattractions and above all, the developmental activitiesthat are carried out, are wide and varied.

This district, situated almost in the centre of theState, has no coastal line. The district opens the Stateto the rest of the country through the Palakkad gap.This 32 to 40 kms wide natural gap in the Western Ghatsis perhaps the most influential factor for the uniquecharacteristics of the district such as climate,commercial as well as cultural exchanges between theState and the rest of the country. Palakkad witnessedinvasions of historical importance that have leftindelible impressions on the history of Kerala.Bharathapuzha, the longest river in Kerala, originatesfrom the highlands and flows through the entire district.

Palakkad is bordered on the northwest by theMalappuram District and on the southwest by the ThrissurDistrict (fig 1.1). To the east is the Coimbatore District ofTamil Nadu. It is a predominantly rural district. Thegeographical area of the district is 4480km² which is 11.5%of the state’s area.

The district is one of the main granaries of Keralaand its economy is primarily agricultural. Agricultureengages more than 44 per cent of the workers and 88.9per cent of the district’s population is rural in nature.The proximity and easy approach to Tamil Nadu havecaused the blend of Malayalam and Tamil cultures here.

The District is perhaps the foremost in fosteringCarnatic music. Great musicians like ChembaiVaidyanatha Bhagavathar and Palakkad Mani Iyer, whohave enriched Carnatic music by their contributions,

hailed from this district.

fig.1.1.Profile of Palakkad District

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Forests, numerous streams, several dams and thegardens in them have made this district a touristdestination.

1.2 LOCATION

Palakkad district is bounded on the North by

Malappuram district, in the East by Coimbatore district

of Tamilnadu, in the South by Thrissur and in the West

by Thrissur and Malappuram districts. It lies between

10021’ and 11014’ North latitude and 76002’ and 76054’

East longitude. The total geographical area of the district

is 4480 sq.km representing 11.53 per cent of the State’s

geographical area (fig 1.2). The forest land covers 136257

hectares.

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PROFILE OF THE DISTRICT District Spatial Plan - Palakkad22


Fig 1.2: location of Palakkad District

1.3 ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS

At present Palakkad district consists of tworevenue divisions,five taluks and 163 villages. Therevenue divisions are Palakkad and Ottappalam.Palakkad, Alathur and Chittur Taluks form the Palakkadrevenue division and Ottappalam and Mannarkkadtaluks form the Ottappalam revenue division. Thereare 13 block panchayats and 91 grama panchayats in thedistrict.

The names of revenue divisions and taluks areshown in table 1.1 and figure 1.3 respectively.

1.3.1 LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN PALAKKAD DISTRICT

The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments

and the Kerala Municipalities Act/Panchayat Raj Act,1994 provided the institutional back ground for thedemocratic decentralization and participativedecentralized planning in Kerala. Under the provision

Fig 1.3: Taluks of Palakkad District

The list of Grama Panchayats in the District isgiven in Annexe 2. Fig 1.5 depicts the gramaPanchayats/municipalities of the District.

1. District Panchayat 1

2. District Panchayat Constituencies 26

3. Block Panchayats 13

4. Block Panchayat Constituencies 141

5. Grama Panchayats 91

6. Grama Panchayat Constituencies 1178

7. Municipal Councils 4

8. Municipal Constituencies 130

of these Acts three tiers of Panchayats viz Grama, Blockand Jilla Panchayats along with Munici pal Councils forUrban areas were constituted in Palakkad district aselsewhere. There is One Jilla Panchayat, 13 BlockPanchayats and 91 grama Panchayats in the districtalong with Four Municipal Councils for Urban areas. Thedetails are given here under



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Table 1.1. Revenue divisions and Taluks

Fig 1.5: Grama Panchayats & Municipalities -Palakkad District

Fig 1.4: Block Panchayat of Palakkad District

1.4 TOPOGRAPHY AND PHYSICAL FEATURES:

Fig1.6 Physiographical divisions of the District

Considering the physical features, the district isdivided into two natural divisions-midland and highland(figure 1.6). The midland region consists of valleys andplains. It leads up to the highland which consists of highmountain peaks, long spurs, extensive ravines, denseforests and tangled jungles. Midland is thick withcoconut, areca nut, cashew, pepper, rubber and paddycultivation. The soil is laterite in the hill and mid landregions. Ottappalam taluk lies in the midland and

highland regions. The road and rail links between Keralaand Tamil Nadu pass through the Palakkad gap.

Revenue Division Taluk

Palakkad

Alathur

Palakkad

Chittur

Ottappalam Ottappalam

Mannarkkad



The Western Ghats has an average altitude of 5000ft. except for two peaks of more than 6000 ft. Theimportant peaks above an altitude of 4000 ft. areAnginda (7628 ft.), Karimala (6556 ft.), Nellikotta orPadagiri (5200 ft.) and Karimala Gopuram (4721 ft.)

Physical features of the district describePopulation, Climate, Soil, Minerals Rivers and Flora &Fauna.

Population

According to the 2001 census the population ofthe district is 2617072. The density of the population is584 per Sq. km. Decadal growth rate for the period 1991-2001 is 9.86 per cent in comparison with the State figuresof 9.42 per cent. The sex ratio of the district is 1068females for 1000 males. The District has achieved 84.31per cent literacy in 2001 calculated on the basis ofpopulation above the age of 7 years.

ClimateThe district has a humid climate with a very hot

season extending from March to June in the Western

Part of the district whereas it is less humid in the Eastern

sector. The most important rainy season is during South

West Monsoon which sets in the second week of June

and extends up to September. About 75 per cent of the

annual rain is received during the south west monsoon

period. During the period December to May, practically

no rain is received. The temperature of the district

ranges from 200C to 450C.The district has got two types of climates.

Ottappalam, Alathur and Mannarkkad are having aclimate similar to that of other districts of Kerala, whereas Palakkad and Chittur are having rather dry climatesimilar to Tamilnadu. However the average rainfall is

good for cultivation.

Soil

The soil of Palakkad district is mainly of four

types, namely, peaty (kari), laterite, forest and black.Peaty soil is found only in Thrithala firka of Ottappalamtaluk. Laterite is seen in the major portions of all taluks.

Forest soil is confined to Mannarghat and Ottappalam

taluks, the narrow strip of land along the western

boundaries of Palakkad and Alathur taluks and along

the southern boundary of Chittur taluk. Black soil is

seen mostly in the eastern sector of Chittur taluk and a

small portion of Palakkad taluk.

Minerals

Low grade iron ore (magnetite) is found at

Kollengode, Mannarkkad and Muthalamada. Limestone

deposits are found in the Chittur and Kozhinjampara

areas. Muscovite mica is reported to be present in the

Sholayur village. A large quantity of limestone deposit

is found in Walayar forest area where the government

has started a cement factory.

Rivers

Bharathapuzha, with her tributaries, sprawlsacross the entire district. The river takes its origin fromAnamalai hills and flows through the districts ofPalakkad, Malappuram and Thrissur before sinking intothe Arabian Sea at Ponnani. Its four main tributaries

are Gayathripuzha, Kannadipuzha, Kalpathy puzha and

Thoothapuzha. The spatial distribution of water bodiesare shown in figure 1.7.

Gayathripuzha

This river originates from Anamalai hills and af-

ter traversing through Kollengode, Nemmara, Alathur,

Wadakkanchery and Pazhayannur, joins Bharathapuzha

at Mayannur. This tributary has five main sub tributar-

ies; Mangalam river, Ayalurpuzha, Vandazhippuzha,

Meenkara puzha and Chulliar.

Kannadipuzha

It is also known as Chitturpuzha orAmaravathippuzha. This river, which also starts fromthe Anamalai hills, flows through Thathamangalam andChittur and joins the main river at Parli. There Palar,Aliyar and Uppar streams meet this river.



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Kalpathy puzhaAlso known as Korayar, this river starts from

the place called Chenthamarakulam in the hills,north of Walayar. Kalpathy puzha is formed by fourstreams, viz., Korayar, Varattar, Walayar andMalampuzha.Thoothapuzha

Thoothapuzha, otherwise known as Pilantholriver starts from the Silent Valley hills and joins themain river about 2 kms off Pallipuram railwaystation. The important streams which feed thistributary are Kunthipuzha, Kanjirapuzha,Ambankadavu and Thuppanadupuzha. The length ofBharathapuzha is 374.40 kms and its catchment area is6186 sq.kms.Bhavani

The Bhavani River originates from the Kundamountains in the Nilgiris, makes a circuitous coursethrough the Attappady valley and returns to the shadowof Nilgiri Mountains. The catchment area of the BhavaniRiver within Kerala is 220 sq. miles yielding an annualrun off of 27,000 million cubic feet of water. Of the riversof Kerala, Bhavani River is one among the three whichprefers Bay of Bengal to the Arabian Sea.Flora and Fauna

The flora of Palakkad district is characteristicallytropical, owing to the seasonal rainfall, moderatetemperature and the mountainous eastern border.Major portion of the district comes under the midlandregion and is under cultivation. Some of the dominanttrees in the region are Eppothi (Macaranga Indica),Mavu (Mangifera) Parangimavu (AncardiumOccidentale),Pilavu (Atocarpus Integriofolia), Elavu(Cieba Pentandra), Ezhilampala (Astomia Scholoris),Urakkam Thoongi (Enterolobium Saman),Mullumurikku (Erythrina Indica) and Aranamaram(Polyalthia Longifolia). Intermingled with these areother trees like Osboekia Ostandra, Lantana Sculeata,etc. Rubber and Teak plantations are common in thehills. The midland region gradually merges with thehilly forests.

No animal can be mentioned peculiar to thisdistrict. Elephants are common in almost all parts of

the forest. Tiger, leopard, gaur, etc., are sometimesfound in the thick forests. Sambar and spotted deerare seen in large numbers.

Nilgiri langur, bonnet monkey, slender loris,jungle cat, different types of mangoose, jackals,squirrels, hares, etc. are found in the forest. Birds foundin the jungle are crow, kingcrow, mynah, woodpeckers,sunbird, king fishers, skylark, paradise fly catchers,parrots, peacocks, pigeons etc. Poisonous and non-poisonous snakes are common in the district.

The Si lent Valley area, 40 kms, fromMannarkkad has the distinction of being a rain forest,very rare in the world. It is spread over an area of about9000 hectares. This thick forest is rich in some of therare species of plants and animals.

Fig 1.7 Water bodies of Palakkad District

1.5 SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASPECTS

In the case of socio-economic aspects thefollowing parameters are analyzed.

* Literacy rate (1991 and 2001);* Share of Work force (1991 and 2001);* Gross State Domestic Product (2007-08); and

* Per capita Income (2007-08)



a) Literacy Rate:As per 2001 census, Kerala is the most literate

state in India having literacy rate of 90.92%. Inter-districtanalysis within Kerala reveals that the highest literacyis recorded in Kottayam district (95.9%) and the lowestis in Palakkad district (84.31%).

b) Share of Workers:The work participation rate (WPR) in Kerala has

increased from 31.43% to 32.30% from 1991 to 2001.Palakkad district recorded 36.20% of WPR in 2001 whichis higher than the state average.

c) Gross State Domestic Product (2007-08):The gross domestic product of Palakkad district

during the year 2007-08 at factor cost (Base year 2004-05) was 1368763 lakhs. That is only 7.82% of that of thestate. In the GDP of the district 18.14% is from primarysector, 24.12% from secondary sector and 57.74% is fromteritary sector. Where as in the state as a whole, primarysector contributes 16.46% , secondary sector contributes22.66% and teritary sector contributes 60.88% to theGDP during the year 2007-08. This shows that thestructure of economy of the district is slightly invariance with the other parts of the state

d) Per Capita Income (PCI):The per capita income of Palakkad at constant

price during the year 2007-08 is Rs.47897/- compared tostate average of Rs.51980/-

1.6 BACKWARDNESS OF PALAKKAD DISTRICT

The ‘rice bowl of Kerala’ continues to have a‘slow growth rate, poor quality of life and low per capitaincome’ even after 54 years of ‘development’ since theformation of the State in 1956.

The human development index for the districtreveals that most parts of the district have low to

moderate levels of development in terms of social,economic and infrastructure facilities. These areasinclude the blocks of Chittur, Alathur, Mannarkad,Attappady, Kollengode, Kuzhalmannam and Nemmara.

Palakkad is one of the lowest urbanizeddistricts in Kerala and has the highest Schedule Castesand Scheduled Tribes population in the State.

Palakkad has low status of development incomparison to the other districts of Kerala. In 2001 thehighest growth rate in income was recorded inThiruvananthapuram (6.21%) followed by Alappuzha(5.03%). Palakkad had the lowest growth rate of 4.70per cent against the State average of 4.72 per cent.

In the health sector, Palakkad is in the 13 th

position. In beds per lakh population,Thiruvananthapuram has the top rank with 222 andMalappuram the lowest with 60 beds. Among themidland districts also, only Malappuram is behindPalakkad.

As per the 2001 Census, Kerala is the mostliterate State in the country with a literacy rate of90.92%. Palakkad has a literacy rate of 84.3 per cent andis ranked 13th in the State. The male literacy rate of thedistrict is only 89.73% while the State average is 94.2%.The female literacy rate is also the lowest in the districti.e. 79.31% while the State average is 87.86%.

1.7 INFERENCE

The physiography of the district deservespecial mention as it has no coastal area. The midlandin the western part and high land in the eastern part,are rich with resources. The district has about 31% ofits geographical area as forest mainly seen in the north-east and south-east part of the district.

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Chapter 1 PROFILE OF THE DISTRICT - Kerala is one of the fourteen revenue districts of Kerala. Its geographical position, historical background, rural nature, educational status, tourist

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