Meerut district

Geography

Meerut District lies between 28°57’N to 29°02’N and 77°40’E to 77°45’E in the Indo-Gangetic plains of India. It is bound on the north by Muzaffarnagar District and in the south by Bulandshahar District, while Ghaziabad District and Baghpat District form the southern and western borders. The River Ganges forms the eastern boundary and separates the district from Moradabad District and Bijnor District, while the Hindon forms the western boundary and separates the district from Baghpat. The ground is not rocky and there are no mountains. The soil is composed of pleistocene and sub-recent alluvial sediments transported and deposited by the river, whose source is from the Himalayas. These alluvial deposits are unconsolidated. Lithologically, sediments consist of clay, silt and fine to coarse sand. Land is very fertile for growing crops, especially wheat, sugarcane and vegetables.

Administration

The administrative head of district of Meerut is a District Magistrate while the administrative head of Meerut Division is Divisional Commissioner, an IAS officer.

Tehsils

The District administration comprises three tehsils, namely:

• Meerut
• Mawana
• Sardhana

Blocks

Meerut District is divided into 12 blocks, namely:

• Meerut
• Rajpura
• Kharkhauda
• Jani
• Rohata
• Mawana
• Parikshitgarh
• Machhara
• Hastinapur
• Sardhana
• Daurala
• Saroorpur

Politics

Meerut is in part served by the Meerut-Hapur constituency for elections to the Lok Sabha of the Parliament of India.

As of 25 January 2017, the district has seven Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) constituencies, which return members of the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh. These are Siwalkhas, Sardhana, Hastinapur (which is reserved for candidates from the Scheduled Castes), Kithore, Meerut Cantonment, Meerut, and Meerut South.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, Meerut District has a population of 3,443,689, roughly equal to the nation of Panama, ranking 94th in India. The district has a population density of 1,346 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,490/sq mi). Its population growth rate as recorded over the decade 2001-2011 was 1.489%. Meerut has a sex ratio of 886 females for every 1000 males, lower than the state average of 908; while the child sex ratio is 852, lower than the state average of 899. The district has a literacy rate of 84%, higher than the state average of 67.68%. 51% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes made up 18.12% of the population.

According to the 2011 census, the district ranked 6th in terms of population density in Uttar Pradesh. The district had an average literacy rate of 83.96%, higher than the national average of 78.8% and the state average of 67.36%. 16.66% of the population was under 6 years of age. The percentage of Muslim population was over 36%, one of the largest within India.

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 86.55% of the population of the district spoke Hindi, 12.43% Urdu and 0.47% Punjabi as their first language.

Area-based data

Religion

Hindus are the majority belief in the district, although Muslims are a significant minority. There are also additional minorities of Sikhs, Jains and Christians in the district.

Religious rifts are present within the district between Hindus and Muslims, the 1987 Meerut communal riots and 2014 Meerut riots having taken place here.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Meerut serves this district.

Areas

Cities

• Meerut

Towns

• Bahsuma
• Daurala
• Hastinapur
• Karnawal
• Kharkhoda
• Kithaur
• Lawar
• Mawana
• Mohiuddinpur
• Parikshitgarh
• Partapur
• Phalauda
• Sardhana
• Sewalkhas

Villages

• Chhur
• Samaypur
• Bhatipura
• Ajrara
• Alamgirpur
• Bhoopgarhi
• Bhopgarh
• Meerpur
• Fatehapur Narayan
• Hajipur
• Harra
• Incholi
• Khiwai
• Kaland
• Machhra
• Niloha
• Pabarsa
• Palra
• Shahjahanpur