language because of the prior transfer of this territory to West Bengal from Bihar” As per the West Bengal Official Language (Amendment) Act, 2012, which came into force from December 2012, Urdu was given the status of official language in areas, such as subdivisions and blocks, having more than 10% Urdu speaking population. In Uttar Dinajpur district, Goalpokhar I and II blocks, Islampur block and Islampur municipality were identified as fulfilling the norms set In 2014, Calcutta High Court, in an order, included Dalkhola municipality in the list. Rural poverty As per the Rural Household Survey conducted in 2002, 65.3% of the rural families in Goalpokhar II CD Block belonged to the BPL category, against 46.7% of rural families in Uttar Dinajpur district being in the BPL category. As per the Human Development Report for Uttar Dinajpur district, “The two Goalpokhar blocks are placed in the least favourable positions in Uttar Dinajpur, both because of low levels of human development and high concentration of exclusion and human poverty. Goalpokhar-1 nevertheless does better than Itahar in terms of Human Poverty Index (HPI). Goalpokhar-2, on the other hand, is incontrovertibly the least developed block of Uttar Dinajpur district, with the lowest levels of human development and the highest concentration of human poverty”. Economy Livelihood In Goalpokhar II CD Block in 2011, amongst the class of total workers, cultivators numbered 20,158 and formed 22.05%, agricultural labourers numbered 53,558 and formed 58.58%, household industry workers numbered 2,953 and formed 3.23% and other workers numbered 14,758 and formed 16.14%. Total workers numbered 91,427 and formed 31.39% of the total population, and non-workers numbered 199,825 and formed 66.61% of the population. Note: In the census records a person is considered a cultivator, if the person is engaged in cultivation/ supervision of land owned by self/government/institution. When a person who works on another person's land for wages in cash or kind or share, is regarded as an agricultural labourer. Household industry is defined as an industry conducted by one or more members of the family within the household or village, and one that does not qualify for registration as a factory under the Factories Act. Other workers are persons engaged in some economic activity other than cultivators, agricultural labourers and household workers. It includes factory, mining, plantation, transport and office workers, those engaged in business and commerce, teachers, entertainment artistes and so on. Infrastructure There are 169