Sonar Bangla? Agricultural Growth and Agrarian Change in West Bengal and Bangladesh edited by Ben Rogaly, Barbara Harriss-White and Sugata Bose (Sage Publications, 1999, pp. 444, cloth �35)

2000 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 762-764
Author(s):  
Kirsten Westergaard
Keyword(s):  
West Bengal ◽  
Agrarian Change ◽  
Agricultural Growth

Pattern of Industrial Growth in West Bengal during 1980–1991

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-88
Author(s):  
Anirban Karak
Keyword(s):  
Consumer Goods ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
West Bengal ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Land Reforms ◽  
Poor Growth ◽  
Agricultural Growth ◽  
Structural Demand ◽  
The Impact

Three trends in industrial development contribute to the industrial history of West Bengal during the 1980–1991 period—the continuation of a secular decline in terms of employment and value added in manufacturing industries vis-à-vis other states, an ancillarization and flexibilization of production into small-scale factories with less than 20 workers, and a differential impact of this ancillarization on basic goods and consumer goods industries, with the former performing much better than the latter. Viewed through the theoretical lens of structural demand and agriculture–industry relations, the relatively slower growth of consumer goods industries poses a puzzle when the spectacular growth of agricultural output during the 1980s is considered. In this article, I suggest that tying together three factors—the impact of the ‘Green Revolution’ on West Bengal’s agriculture, the nature and effect of the Left Front’s land reforms, and the role of rural commercial capital—can in turn hold together three outcomes for the period 1980–1991 in a single explanation—high agricultural growth, mass poverty among the rural poor despite land reforms and agricultural growth, and the poor growth of consumer goods industries despite high agricultural growth.

scholarly journals Rural Unemployment in Gujarat and West Bengal

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subrata Dutta
Keyword(s):  
Land Reform ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
West Bengal ◽  
Full Employment ◽  
High Growth ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Agricultural Growth ◽  
Agricultural Employment ◽  
Rural Unemployment

Based on NSSO data sets, this study covers the period from 1993 to 2010 and focuses on a comparison of rural unemployment in Gujarat and West Bengal, chosen because of their contrasting characteristics. In the past few decades, Gujarat has emphasised growth through modern industrial production, while under a different ideological regime, West Bengal aimed to achieve agricultural growth, land reform and more egalitarian patterns of agricultural incomes. Recent evidence suggests that meanwhile Gujarat’s agriculture has registered high growth in output during 2000–08, while West Bengal has failed to kick off industrialisation, despite making some pressing efforts. The article clearly identifies the limited scope for agriculture to provide full employment for all young rural people in India. However, given the important role of the agricultural sector in safeguarding national food security, it becomes obvious that apart from careful attention to agricultural developments, sustainable alternatives to traditional agricultural employment need to be activated. The concluding section therefore considers various policy options for tackling the risks of rural unemployment and underemployment in India.

scholarly journals Assessment of Dam-Induced Changes in Ecogeomorphological Behaviour and Fluvial Functionality in the Damodar River, West Bengal, India

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandipan Ghosh ◽  
Md. Mofizul Hoque ◽  
Ujwal Deep Saha ◽  
Aznarul Islam
Keyword(s):  
West Bengal ◽  
Ecological Integrity ◽  
Sand Mining ◽  
Agricultural Growth ◽  
Flow Alteration ◽  
Damodar Valley ◽  
Damodar River ◽  
Ecological Functionality ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
Basin Area

Abstract Anthropogenic interventions in the form of dams and barrages often alter the fluvial functionality and ecogeomorphological (geomorphology, hydrology, and ecology) behaviour of the river systems. The present work examines the environmental flow, channel metamorphosis, and fluvial functionality of Damodar River in the context of Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) dams and development. The structural (dams, barrages, weirs, etc.) and non-structural (urban-industrial and agricultural disposal with effluents, sand mining, etc.) interventions hinder the ecological functionality of the river. This study portrays that the eco-geomorphological behaviour and fluvial functionality of the river have changed due to flow alteration and diversion by dams and barrages and due to the urban-industrial and agricultural growth in the basin area. These changes have affected riverine ecological integrity. The ecological functionality level of this study area ranges from 85 to 181 i.e. poor to good-fair. The ecological functionality level in sample channel sections (i.e., immediate upstream and downstream of Durgapur Barrage) is poor, and the value ranges from 61 to 100 due to the hydrological impact of the barrage and the Durgapur urban-industrial belt. This assessment work would help to restore the fluvial environment for humans as well as riverine biota.

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