Census town
Topic: Urban Local Government: Municipalities and Cities · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
A census town is a place that the Census counts as urban even though no law has made it a town. It has no municipality. To qualify, it must meet three tests: at least 5,000 people, at least 75% of male main workers working outside farming, and at least 400 persons per sq km. It is still governed by a panchayat, the village council. This matters because many towns grow without getting a city government. Experts call this "hidden urbanisation".
Example
Census 2011 counted 3,892 census towns out of India's 7,933 towns. Places that look like towns but are run as villages often have no proper master plan, sewerage or waste system.
Don't confuse with
- Statutory town: a statutory town is notified by law and has a municipal body, such as a municipality, corporation, cantonment board or notified area committee. A census town has no such body and is run by a panchayat.