Regional disparities in socio-economic development at the intra-district level often remain concealed within aggregate development indicators, thereby limiting the effectiveness of decentralized planning. This study examines taluk-level disparities in socio-economic development within Kalaburagi district, located in the Kalyan Karnataka region of northeastern Karnataka, using a Composite Z-score approach. A total of thirty-two indicators representing five key sectors, namely education, health, finance, veterinary services, and communication were analysed using secondary data primarily sourced from Kalaburagi District at a Glance, 2023–24. The Z-score technique was applied to compute values for individual indicators, which were then aggregated to derive sectoral and overall composite indices. This enabled the classification of taluks into three categories, namely areas of high, moderate, and low levels of development. The results reveal a highly polarized and uneven development structure within the district. Kalaburagi taluk consistently emerges as the most developed unit across all sectors, with an overall Composite Z-score of 1.76, reflecting the concentration of administrative functions, institutional infrastructure, and higher-order services. Moderately developed taluks, with Composite Z-scores ranging from -0.66 to 0.63, include Afzalpur (0.32), Alanda (0.63), Chincholi (0.19), Chittapur (0.20), Jewargi (0.03), and Sedam (-0.09), which display average performance across sectors but lack consistent strength in advanced services. In contrast, taluks such as Kalagi (-0.69), Kamalapur (-0.68), Yadrami (-0.78) and Shahabad (-0.90) exhibit persistently low composite scores (Composite Z-score < -0.67) across multiple sectors, indicating structural and multidimensional deprivation rather than isolated sectoral deficiencies. The spatial pattern of development is fragmented, with no contiguous clustering of backward taluks, suggesting that intra-district disparities are driven more by unequal institutional distribution and historical investment patterns than by geographical location alone. The limited diffusion of development benefits from the district headquarters further underscores the failure of spillover mechanisms. The study highlights the inadequacy of uniform district-level planning and emphasizes the need for taluk-specific, multi-sectoral interventions to address localized development constraints and promote balanced regional development within Kalaburagi district.
Mulla et al. (Fri,) studied this question.