History and Geography
Chhattisgarh, carved out of Madhya Pradesh came into being on 1 November 2000 as
the 26th State of the Union. It fulfills the long-cherished demand of the tribal
people. In ancient times the region was known as Dakshin-Kausal. This finds mention
in Ramayana and Mahabharata also. Between the
sixth and twelfth centuries Sarabhpurias, Panduavanshi, Somvanshi, Kalchuri and
Nagvanshi rulers dominated this region. Kalchuris ruled in Chhattisgarh from 980
to 1791 A.D. With the advent of Britishers
in 1854, Raipur gained prominence instead of capital Ratanpur. In 1904, Sambalpur
was transferred to Orissa and estates of Sarguja were transferred from Bengal to
Chhattisgarh.
Chhattisgarh is bounded by southern Jharkhand and Orissa in the east, Madhya Pradesh
and Maharashtra in the west, Uttar Pradesh and western Jharkhand in the north and
Andhra Pradesh in the south. Areawise Chhattisgarh is the ninth largest state and
population-wise it is seventeenth state of the nation.
Agriculture
Agriculture and allied activities account for nearly 80 per cent of the work force
in the state. Out of the geographical area 13,790 thousand hectares, gross cropped
area is about 35 per cent of the total geographical area. Kharif is the main cropping
season. Rice is the predominant crop of the state; other important crops are maize,
wheat, niger, groundnut and pulses. The state has one of the biggest collections
of rice germ plasm. Horticulture crops are grown in an area of about 303.57 thousand
hectares.
Industry
Chhattisgarh is generously bestowed with natural resources like forests, minerals
and surface water. The State has undergone a radical change and is thriving with
industrial activities now. Chhattisgarh produces 15 per cent of the steel made in
the country. Many Government of India Undertakings like Bhilai Steel Plant, National
Mineral Development Corporation, South-Eastern Coal Field Limited,
NTPC and a number of large cement plants by groups like
ACC, Gujarat Ambuja, Grasim, CCI and La-farge of France and 53
steel projects (sponge iron/pig iron route) in private sector are also under different
stages of implementation. There are approximately 133 steel re-rolling mills and
a number of mini steel plants. The state also boasts of 11 ferroalloy units, steel/cast
iron casting units, engineering and fabrication units apart from large number of
agro-based and food processing, chemical, plastic, construction material, forest
produce based units.
Information Technology
E-Governance in Chhattisgarh is oriented towards ensuring people, access to government;
this makes the government even more responsive and transparent.
Chips was setup with a high powered governing council under the Chief
Minister's chairpersonship, to act as a prime mover for IT and Biotechnology in
the state. All citizen services of e-governance are under one umbrella project called
CHOICE.
Chhattisgarh got the UNDP
Award 2007 for its Human Development Report, using Information technology for the
betterment of citizens.
Mineral Resources
Chhattisgarh hosts a wide variety of minerals found in igneous, sedimentary and
metamorphic terrains. Large deposits of coal, iron ore, Limestone, Bauxite, Dolomite
and Tin ore are located in several parts of the state. Lately, Diamondiferous Kimberlites
identified in Raipur district are likely to yield substantial quantity of Diamonds.
Medium to small deposits of gold, base metals, quartzite, soap stone, Fluroite,
Corrundum, Graphite, Lepidolite, Amblygonite of workable size are also likely to
graduate to the category of large deposits after prospecting. Twenty per cent of
the country's steel and cement is produced in the State. It is the only tin-ore
producing state in the country. The mineral resources have immense potential for
large investment in mining, setting of mineral based industries and generating employment.
Chhattisgarh is nestling atop the world's largest Kimberlite area. Eight blocks
have been demarcated for diamond exploration. Apart from diamond, four blocks of
gold exploration and five blocks for base metal investigation have been demarcated.
Irrigation and Power
When the state came into being, the total irrigation capacity was 13.28 lakh hectares
(as on 1 November 2000). After that, 1.25 lakh hectare additional capacity was created
within 2 years and nine months, by mobilising resources of various departments and
public participation, construction of 50,000 debris on the farmer's land, a total
of 5 lakh hectare additional capacity had been created. Major completed projects
are Tandula, Kodar and Pairy. Hasdev, Mahanadi Reservoir Project, Sondhur and Jonk
are some of the other projects.
The total capacity of State Electricity Board is 1,381.05
MW, out of which the thermal power share is 1,260
MW and rest is hydel power. The state government has introduced
a very pro-active power policy under which the public sector represented by the
Chhattisgarh state electricity board, as well as the private sector have well defined
roles to play. Around 93 per cent of 19,720 inhabited villages of Chhattisgarh have
been electrified.
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