Demography

Demography has an important bearing on the state of the river as it is significantly affected by the population living within the basin. Average population density in the Ganga basin is 520 persons per square km as against 312 for the entire country (2001 census). Major cities of Delhi, Kolkata, Kanpur, Lucknow, Patna, Agra, Meerut, Varanasi and Allahabad are situated in the basin. The cities in the basin have large and growing populations and a rapidly expanding industrial base. The summary of urban population in the states covering Ganga basin is given in Table. It can be seen that between 2001 and 2011, urban population increased by 30% approximately. This trend is likely to continue. The pollution load is also expected to increase correspondingly.

 

SNo.

States

No of Statutory Towns*

Urban Population(2001)

Urban Population(2011)

1.

 Bihar

143

8,681,880

11,758,016

2.

 Chhattisgarh

188

4,185,747

5,937,237

3.

 Delhi

6

12,905,780

16,368,899

4.

 Haryana

91

6,115,304

8,842,103

5.

 Himachal Pradesh

58

595,581

688,552

6.

 Jharkhand

41

5,993,741

7,933,061

7.

 Madhya Pradesh

394

15,967,145

20,069,405

8.

 Rajasthan

205

13,200,000

17,048,085

9.

 Uttar Pradesh

670

34,539,582

44,495,063

10.

 Uttarakhand

80

2,179,074

3,049,338

11.

 West Bengal

138

22,427,251

29,093,002

(Source : http://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/Listofvillagesandtowns.aspx)

It was observed that between 1991 and 2001, the urban population increased by 41 per cent. If this trend continues, then the pollution load is expected to increase concurrently. The population density map of Ganga basin is shown here.

(Source: www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/NGRBA_Environmental%20and%20Social%20Analysis_VolI_MoEF_2010.pdf accessed on 20.06.2015