North East Delhi has the highest density of population in the country according to the 2011 Census: 36,155 people in one square kilometre. The percentage of growth in population compared to the 2001 Census was 26.8 per cent. The district has just 4.2 per cent share in the total area of the State, but 13.4 percent population of the NCT of Delhi lives there. “The proportion of population in the age group 0-6 is 13.5 the highest in the State,” reveals the Census done nine years ago. It has the lowest literacy rate (83.1 per cent) in the State.

‘Other’ workers

Out of the total 6,61,386 workers in the district, 6,26,007 (94.65 per cent) belonged to the category of “other” workers. The Government defined “other” workers as all government servants, municipal employees, teachers, factory workers, plantation workers, those engaged in trade, commerce, business, transport banking, mining, construction, political or social work, priests, entertainment artists, etc. “In effect, all those workers other than cultivators or agricultural labourers or household industry workers, are ‘Other Workers’,” the Census papers said.

The data also showed that the population of North East Delhi District recorded increase of 62.92 per cent in 2001 compared to the census of 1991. It means that North East Delhi is one of the destinations for migrant, unorganised workers. The district borders Uttar Pradesh. It also has a huge population from the eastern States of the country such as Bihar and West Bengal.

Date suggests that approximately 8.23 lakh people, more than 37 per cent of the district’s population, were born outside the State. The BJP had fielded popular Bhojpuri actor Manoj Tiwari in North East’s Lok Sabha seat successfully during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Out of the 22.42 lakh people residing in North East Delhi, 6.58 lakh people (29.3 per cent) followed Islam and 3.74 lakh (16.7 per cent) were Dalits.

Lagging in healthcare

The National Family Health Survey of 2015-16 revealed that North East Delhi is much below the State’s average in indicators such as institutional delivery, immunisation and mothers having at least four antenatal visits.

Children aged 12-23 months fully immunised (BCG, measles, and 3 doses each of polio and DPT) were just 55.2 per cent.

The Economic Survey of the Delhi Government for 2018-19 said that during 1973-74 about one half of the population of Delhi was below the poverty line. “The number of persons below the poverty line in Delhi during 2011-12 was estimated at 16.96 lakh and it worked out to 9.91 per cent of the total population of Delhi. Persons below poverty level in Delhi fell to the single digit at 8 per cent of the total population in 1999-2000,” the Survey said.

There were just 341 fair price shops in the district for about three lakh ration cards.

The forest cover in the district was just 6.63 per cent, while the New Delhi district has 46.89 per cent forest cover, according to the Survey.

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