Impact of Population Growth and Relative Changes in Land Use Pattern: A Case Study of Balurghat Town, West Bengal, India

‘Land use’ means the use of land by human activities. The study of land use is an urgent need for urbanization, resource planning, cultural advancement as well as overall economic development of a nation. The potentiality of a region depends upon the scale of proper use of the land, both in extensive and intensive ways. The extensive use of land reflects such features as sparse population, dispersed settlements, unhealthy living, agro-based economy and poor transport network, while the intensive use of land reflects dense population, vertical expansion of residential complexes, sound agricultural production, industrial establishments, good transport network etc. However, economic and cultural advancement can better be carried out only through the systematic and balanced utilization of land i.e. to correct misuse, under use and over use of land. Thus, planners and developers can’t think of any progress without proper and optimum use of land. Therefore, the land use study has an immense value for human sustenance. The intensity and type of land use decide the quantum and direction of infrastructural and social needs of the area. The fast growth rate of population has shortened the infrastructure as well as it creates heavy pressure on land in Balurghat town since the post-Bangladesh Liberation War. Like such a micro level investigation, the important consequences on land use are due to huge infiltration, unscientific residential development, haphazard urban growth and cropland change. Hence, to regulate the economic activity and to optimize the use of existing infrastructural facilities as well as planning for their expansion to meet its future needs, the only way is to emphasize proper land use to control this current situation in this town. Based on primary and secondary data, the present paper aims to reflect the relative changes in past and present land use and also tries to find out the impact of land cover changes on urban ecology. The major findings of the article reveal that enormous flow of immigrants in the past few decades from erstwhile East Pakistan vis-à-vis shifting of people from vast rural hinterland into Balurghat town are practically responsible for drastic change in land use mosaic.