Nagaland Governor Dr Ashwani Kumar today said that Nagaland needed a long term policy based on a clear vision of the future to cater to the demands of urbanisation.
“Presently 28.9% of the 19.90 lakh state’s population lives in the urban areas and the remaining in rural areas,” Kumar said releasing the Primary Census Abstract of Nagaland Census 2011 at a function here.
He said it was a big change since 1961 when only 5.2% of the people lived in urban areas and 94.8% in rural areas.
He said that as towns expanded, drainage and sanitation, wider and well-planned roads, parks and recreation and shopping centres needed to be created.
The Governor also expressed concern at the sex ratio of the state saying that at 931 it was below the country’s sex ration of 943.
He was happy that the 2011 census showed Nagaland has a high literacy rate of 79.6% far above the country’s literacy rate of 73%.
The female literacy rate was 76.1% which was higher than the country’s female literacy rate of 64.6%.
Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio said “The census data will assist the government in ensuring a need based planning process which in turn will lead to equity in growth, development and benefits for the people living in urban as well as rural areas of the state.”