SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA

RURAL SETTLEMENT

RURAL SETTLEMENTSALIENT FEATURES

People are mainly engaged in agriculture and other primary activities Settlements are of small size which may consist of tow to four houses or a few hundred houses Population is small varying from 10-20 to 1000 persons Density of population is less Modern facilities are often absent in the rural settlements.

RURAL POPULATION
Lives in villages and hamlets Mainly engaged in primary activities asuh as agriculture, forestry, lumbering, mining etc Has well knit social structure because people live in the same village for generations Lives in open and pollution free environment Deprived of modern facilities of health, education, sanitation etc.

1. Clustered/agglomerated/nucleated settlement

CLASSIFICATION OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS

Compact block of houses Narrow, winding streets Definite layout plan- linear, rectangular, L-shaped Found in fertile productive plains

2. Semi-Clustered/partially agglomerated settlements

Smaller compact nucleus and huts/hamlets dispersed as ring Could also be linear

3. Dispersed/isolated
Scattered houses/huts

CLASSIFICATION OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS

COMPACT SETTLEMENT Normally found in fertile plains or river valley Main occupation is agriculture Houses form compact block and are very close. Comparatively smaller in size. Fields are normally small. Generally has dirty and badly maintained streets are other places People live together and lead social life. DISPERSED SETTLEMENTS Normally found in mountainous high lands, ridges, forested areas and deserts Main occupation is cattle-rearing and lumbering etc Houses are located at a distance from each other. Comparatively bigger in size. Fields are normally large. Generally has neat and clean streats. People lead isolated life.

FACTORS DETERMINING THE TYPES OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS PHYSICAL FACTORS

Relief, altitude, climate, drainage, depth of underground water level, soil etc Houses cluster around source of water, oasis etc Mountains, forests have scattered settlement

ETHNIC AND CULTURAL FACTORS

Caste, communal identity influence the settlement Scheduled caste people are forced to live away from main settlement High order people form center of settlement and others around it

HISTORICAL FACTORS
Historical events have affected the way people live in any settlements Security, unity etc

DISTRIBUTION OF RURAL SETTLEMENT IN INDIA NUCLEATED SETTLEMENTS

North plains of India from Punjab to West Bengal Streets criss-cross at different angles forming alis and galis Low caste would be separated from main settlement, named para, palli, nagla or dhani

DISTRIBUTION OF RURAL SETTLEMENT IN INDIA DISPERSED SETTLEMENTS

Tribal community in North Bengal, Chotanagpur Plateau, parts of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan Hilly regions of Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and Kerala Houses are places on hillocks or knolls overlooking the fields along hill slopes

SETTLEMENT PATTERNS
LINEAR PATTERN
Parallel rows of houses across a wide village road, stream etc

SETTLEMENT PATTERNS
Houses constructed on the bank of a pond, lake etc. Found in upper ganga- Yamuna Doab

CIRCULAR PATTERN

SETTLEMENT PATTERNS
RECTANGULAR PATTERN
Houses along two roads meeting at a point, perpendicular to each other.

SETTLEMENT PATTERNS
STARLIKE PATTERN
Houses constructed along many roads radiating in many directions from a point.

SETTLEMENT PATTERNS
FAN PATTERN
Fan shaped villages found on deltaic and foothills areas.

SETTLEMENT PATTERNS
Found on hill slopes with houses along the slope. Common in Himalayan region and in Kerala

TERRACE OR CONTOUR PATTERN

SIZE AND NUMBER OF VILLAGES IN INDIA

Total villages: 5,39,616 Villages with population less than 1000: 3,64,473 State with highest no of villages: Uttar Pradesh

(97,942)
State with high proportion of large villages (more than 10,000): Kerala

TYPES AND PATTERNS OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA

Rural Settlement in Hill Areas
Dominated by dispersed settlement Houses built along hill slopes Few areas have nucleated settlement Some valleys and flat areas practicing agriculture and staying in small groups Himalayas, Eastern and Western Ghats, Saputara, Vindhya Ranges etc.

TYPES AND PATTERNS OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA

Rural Settlement in Plains
Dominated by nucleated settlements Flat surface, fertile soil, selective availability of water, cooperation in farming activities, caste alignments, religion etc. promote nucleated settlement Cris cross streets called alis and galis Caste system creating units like para, palli, nagla or dhani. Settlement around rivers, farms, ponds, lakes etc Sanitation, sewage, waste management etc are problems.

TYPES AND PATTERNS OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA

Rural Settlement in Plains
Ganga- Yamuna Doab has small groups of houses called homesteads nesting Social unit is not village but jot Punjab and Hariyana villages are built in low lying areas around lakes/tanks Rajasthan is dominated by large settlements around water source

TYPES AND PATTERNS OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA

Rural Settlement in Coastal location
Fishermen Villages grow along the coast Linear pattern Few isolated settlements are also located here.