Dhalai District was created in the year of 1995 by bifurcating North Tripura District and including part of Amarpur Sub-Division of the South Tripura District. It was created keeping in view the administrative exigency of providing development & good governance to the largely Tribal & inaccessible areas. The District is named after Dhalai river which originates in the District. Economy Socio-economically it is most backward District of the state. In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Dhalai one of the country’s 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). The Strengths of the District are its huge natural resources, fertile land, conducive climate, adequate and well spread rainfall, high literacy rate & strategic location of the District being well connected by the National Highway (NH 44). If all these resources are utilised properly, rapid development can be achieved but for lack of required infrastructure and inaccessibility of many tribal areas the District is still very backward. The main factors for the backwardness of the District can be summarised as follows: Poor Infrastructure Poor Connectivity & communication facilities Lack of stable economic activities Poor Irrigation facilities Poor Marketing facilities Poor Health and Sanitation facilities An overwhelming 76% of the workers are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Practice of Jhum cultivation (shifting cultivation) still continues in many parts of the District by the tribals residing in the deeply forested hills. However, in recent times, due to the effects of the efforts of State Government and District Administration, like granting pattas to hardcore jhumias under RoFR Act, 2006, undertaking plantation works like horticulture, sericulture, etc., the jhum cultivation has decreased to a large extent in the District. The fertile Valleys are mostly occupied by the non-tribals, mostly Bengalis and are the primary centers of economic activity in the District. 25% of the households in the District are classified asBelow Poverty Line (BPL). Demography As per Provisional population figures of 2011 Census, the total no of Mandals are 64. Particular Unit Dhalai Tripura India Area Sq Km 2312.29 10.491 3,28,72,40 Total Population Lakhs 3.78 36.71 12,101 Male Lakhs 1.95 18.71 62,372 Female Lakhs 1.84 17.99 49,656 Sex Ratio Per 1000 944 960 943 Population Density Per Sq Km 157 350 382 Literacy Rate Percentage 96.79 96.82 74.04 Male Percentage 96.51 97.93 82.14 Female Percentage 95.69 95.71 65.46 SC Population (2011) Percentage 16.31 16 16.2 ST Population (2011) Percentage 55.68 31 8.2 Urban Population Percentage 6 18.24 27.8 Rural Population Percentage 94 81.76 72.2