Distress Migration in

Dharmapuri District
Principal Investigator: Dr. K. Jothi
Sivagnanam
Professor and Head, Dept. of Economics
Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. R. Srinivasan
Associate Professor, Dept. of Econometrics

Background of the Study

Tamil Nadu state known for its
relatively better performance social
and economic development.
But within Tamil Nadu certain
districts most backward.
Dharmapuri ranked continuosly at
the bottom of the HDI (HDR 2003,
SPC 2007, DHDR 2011).

Dharmapuri district-Salient
features
Unique natural resource pattern, acute
water scarcity, frequent failure of agriculture
and spatial location.
85 % of population in rural areas.
Sizeable tribal population and forest cover.
Infanticide, low sex ratio, lowest literacy
rate, sharp cleavages between the dalits
and vanniyars.
Also known for naxalism (till two decades
ago).

Why this study?

Many studies on various developmental issues
of the district.
Distress migration from the district in recent
years less understood. In migration in to the
district is relatively very less.
BPL census 40 % of the rural poor families
migrated.
Reasons 86 % in search of casual work &
seasonal
employment,
Otherslivelihood
chances
Socially more weaker sections Very high rate
of migration

Why this study? (Con)

DHDR (2011) due to large scale migration
of both the parents 44 per cent of children
live with relatives and friends, private
homes & hostels.
Sizeable child workers too.
Increasing incidence of AIDS transmitted by
migrant male members.
Besides the magnitude of migration, its
consequences in Dharmapuri more
serious.

Objectives
To examine the magnitude, trend,
pattern and nature of distress migration
in Dharmapuri district
To analyse the causes of distress
migration in the district
To analyse the consequences of
distress migration of workers on their
households in the district
To arrive at relevant policy implications.

Data sources
Secondary sources Census, NSSO

Primary survey supplemented by

informal discussions, field visits,
observations and case studies

Work completed
Chapter II - Review of literature
Chapter III Dharmapuri District Profile
Chapter IV MNREGA in Dharmapuri district
Chapter V NSSO data analysis
Chapter VI - Census data analysis
Also completed construction of
survey and preliminary analysis.

questionnaire,

pilot

Review of Literature
(1) Basic concepts that are essentially required to
understand different aspects of migration.
(2) Survey of literature based on three data sources
namely (i) The population Census of India (ii) NSSO data
and (iii) Primary survey
Literature grouped into Macro level and Micro level
studies.
Macro level studies: Trends and patterns of migration,
studies on urbanisation, short term migration.
Micro level studies: Studies related to agriculture,
conceptual studies and specific studies pertaining to
Dharmapuri district.

Research gap
The literature survey pointed out that
there
were
many
studies
on
migration. But most of the studies
were confined to migrants at
destination and causes for migration.
There are very few studies on
consequences
of
migration
at
household level particularly at the
source.
This study is intended to fill that

Dharmapuri District
Profile

This chapter covered

Brief history
The genesis
Geographic profile Area under agriculture, land
holding size, irrigation details etc.
Socio-economic profile workforce participation
rate, literacy rate, sex ratio, health indicators etc.
Public expenditure in the district
Livelihood opportunities
Migration

MNREGA in the district

As the massive programme intends to check

migration from rural
areas, preliminary
analysis of the programme in the district was
done.

Various aspects like jobs demanded, jobs

supplied, Number of households that reached
100 days of work, Beneficiaries under different
categories, Households and persons demanded
work etc at block level were covered.

NSSO data analysis

This chapter covered (i) NSSO data
analysis (64th round) and (ii)
Highlights from the NSSO report on
migration pertaining to Dharmapuri
district.
Details on migration both at
household level and individual level
were covered.

Census data analysis

This chapter highlighted the demographic
and migrant status of persons in
Dharmapuri district. As census data on
migration for 2011 census is yet to be
released, the present analysis was
restricted to 2001 data.
Some of the
generalised results are
Total migrant workers intra-district
migrants (80 %) and inter-district migrants
(14 %) .
Females dominate in all the categories of
migration.

Census data analysis

(Con)
Migrant cultivators - more in 'size' followed
by agricultural labourers, other than
household industry and lastly household
industry workers.
Most of the main workers were long term
migrants.

Share of females in long term migrants higher than males under main workers.

Primary data collection

QuestionnaireD:\Distress Migration
project\Questionnaire for distress
migration in dhamapuri district.docx
for Distress migration in Dharmapuri
district

Work in progress
Finalisation of questionnaire.
Field survey

Expected Output
The study would quantify the
magnitude of the distress migration.
Direct and indirect correlates and
consequences of distress migration
on the origin .
Policy implications for development
of one of the most backward rural
district of the state.

Thank You