AN ANALYSIS ON DISPARITY IN LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT AS WELL AS SOCIO-ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT AMONG THE BLOCKS OF MALDAH DISTRICT, WEST BENGAL

Development indicates the advancement of social and economic environment of any region. In fact, proper development occurs only when managing the balance between natural and human resources. It improves the livelihood quality of people. The present paper focuses on pattern of level of development and factors behind disparity regarding development in different blocks of Malda district where the backbone of economy is based on agriculture and it ranks as one of the most underdeveloped district in West Bengal. The population is mainly rural and blocks lag behind in terms of low level of literacy, work participation, medical facilities and other civic amenities. In this paper, index of development in respect of socio-economic status has been worked out after Kendall's method. As a result, an imbalanced development takes place in the blocks and creates inter-block disparities related to social and economic conditions.