Uttarakhand - Department of Land Resources

CHAPTER 2
ABOUT THE STATE
GENERAL STATE PROFILE
Uttarakhand which came into existence on 9th November 2000 is the 27th Indian state
and the 10th in Himalayan region. It lies between 28 0 43‟ and 31 0 27‟N Latitude and 77 0
34‟ and 81 0 02‟E Longitude. The total geographical area of the state is 53,483 sq. Km., of
which approximately 89% is mountainous. Of the total geographical area, about 19% is
under permanent snow cover, glaciers and steep slopes. The total population of the state
is 8.48 million (Census 2001) of which over 5 million people live in the mountainous parts
of the state. Below Poverty Line population in hills is 44% and in the plains is 19%, thus,
making the State average BPL population 36.5%.
Uttarakhand is a part of the North-Western Himalayas bounded by Nepal in the East
and Himachal Pradesh in the West. The Northern boundary goes upto Tibet/China
whereas southern boundary extends into Indo-Gangetic Plains. The major North Indian
Rivers the Ganga and the Yamuna, originate from this region.
Uttarakhand state covers over 53000 sq.km. of geographical area, it is split into
13 districts within two revenue divisions (MAP-1- Map showing District and Block
Boundaries).
1. Garhwal Revenue Division includes following 7 districtsi.
Dehradun
ii. Tehri
iii. Pauri Garhwal
iv. Uttarkashi
v. Chamoli
vi. Rudra Prayag
vii. Haridwar
2. Kumaon Revenue Division includes 6 districts
i. Nainital
6