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The
nomenclature 24-Parganas has been in vogue since 15 July 1757 when
Mir Jafar whom the East India Company had just established as Nawab
of Bengal ceded to the Company the rights of 24 mahals. The treaty
by which the cession is recorded says that “all the land lying to
the south of Calcutta as far as Culpee, shall be under the Zemindari
of the English Company; and all the officers of this Zemindari shall
be under their jurisdiction. The revenue to be paid by it (the
company) in the same manner with other Zemindari”. The Parwana
notifying effect to the Treaty mentions the name of the 24 units of
granted land.
The
District of 24-Parganas started taking shape under Clause Nos.2,3
and 9 of the Regualtion of 1793. The respective jurisdictions of the
civil and criminal courts for the district and revenue jurisdiction
of the District Collector were demarcated by the Regulations. This
arrangement remained valid till 1800.
The
present district of South 24 Parganas came into existence on 1st of
March, 1986. It then comprised of two sub divisions- Alipore and
Diamond Harbour and of 30 blocks. Presently there are five sub
divisions (Alipore, Baruipur, Canning, Diamond Harbour and Kakdwip),
29 blocks and 7 Municipalities.
General features:
South 24 Parganas is, indeed, a complex district, stretching from
the metropolitan Kolkata to the remote riverine villages upto the
mouth of Bay of Bengal, Apart from its staggering size and
population, the district administration has to contend with problems
typical of metropolitan living in the urban area—such as high
population density and overload civic infrastructure—and in complete
contrast, in the rural area the lack of transport and communication
facilities and weak delivery systems. 84% of the population lives in
the rural areas, where development is taken care of by the panchayat
bodies. The remaining 16% population is looked after by the Kolkata
Municipal Corporation and seven municipalities. The scheduled caste
comprises 39% of the total population and B.P.L. families constitute
37.21% of the population.
The Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forests on earth, are spread
over thirteen of the twenty-nine development blocks in the district.
Due to its peculiar geographical location and the dictates of
geography, the means of transport and communication in this region
are not well developed, with all the attendant consequences. Lack of
irrigation has meant mono-cropped agriculture. Breaches in earthen
embankments and cyclonic storms mean loss of life and destruction of
crops and property on a regular basis. Any development strategy in
this ecologically fragile environment must be carefully designed and
implemented.
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Election-2009