Gondia district (also known as Gondiya, Marathi pronunciation: [ɡon̪d̪iaː]) is an administrative district in the state of Maharashtra in India. The district headquarter is located at Gondia. The district occupies an area of 5,234 km2 (2,021 sq mi) and has a population of 1,322,507 of which 11.95% were urban (as of 2011[update]).[1] The district is part of Nagpur Division. There are 8 Talukas in Gondia District. Gondia Airport is second airport in Vidharbha region and serves the city of Gondia.
Geography
Climate
Gondia experiences extreme variations in temperature with very hot summers and very cold winters and has an average relative humidity of 62 per cent. Average recorded rainfall is more than 1,200 mm (47 in) in each rainy season (June to September).
The hottest month is May when daytime high temperatures generally average 42 °C (108 °F). During the same month, nightly minimum temperatures average around 28 °C (82 °F). In recent times the highest-recorded temperature in May has been 48 °C (118 °F), and the lowest May temperature has been 20 °C (68 °F).
The coolest months are December and January when temperatures reach highs of around 29 °C (84 °F) and lows of 13 °C (55 °F). The highest-recorded temperature in January was 38 °C (100 °F) and the lowest was 0 °C (32 °F).
According to the 2011 census Gondia district has a population of 1,322,507,[4] roughly equal to the nation of Mauritius[5] or the US state of New Hampshire.[6] This gives it a ranking of 369th in India (out of a total of 640).[4] The district has a population density of 253 inhabitants per square kilometre (660/sq mi).[4] Its population growth rate during 2001–2011 was 10.13%.[4] Gondia has a sex ratio of 996 females for every 1,000 males,[4] and a literacy rate of 85.41%. 17.08% of the population live in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 13.31% and 16.20% of the population respectively.[4]
At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 73.31% of the population in the district spoke Marathi, 10.06% Hindi, 4.70% Powari, 3.45% Gondi, 2.60% Lodhi and 1.79% Chhattisgarhi as their first language. 1.48% of the population recorded their language as 'Others' under Hindi.[7]
The district also includes of 556 gram panchayats (village councils), 8 panchayat samitis and 954 revenue village. The Eight municipalities in this district are Gondia, Tirora, Arjuni Morgaon, Deori, Amgaon, Goregaon, Sadak Arjuni, Salekasa.
The district has four Vidhan Sabha (legislative assembly) constituencies: Arjuni Morgaon (Scheduled castes), Gondiya, Tirora and Amgaon (Scheduled tribes). While the first three are part of Bhandara-Gondiya Lok Sabha constituency, the last one is part of Gadchiroli-Chimur (ST) Lok Sabha constituency.[9]
Economy
In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Gondia one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).[10] It is one of the twelve districts in Maharashtra currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[10]