Chhatisgarh

Chhatisgarh, the 26th State of India, was carved out of Madhya Pradesh on November 1, 2000. Chhattisgarh is situated between 17 to 23.7 degrees north latitude and 8.40 to 83.38 east longitude. Chhattisgarh abounds in hilly regions and plains. It receives an annual average rainfall of 60 inches. Rice is the principal crop of the State. Uttar Pradesh to the north, Jharkhand to the north- east, Orissa to the east, Andhra Pradesh to the south-east and south, Maharashtra to the south-west and Madhya Pradesh to the west and north-west form its boundaries.A predominantly tribal State endowed with rich mineral and forest wealth, Chhattisgarh has about 35 big and small tribes inhabiting the State.The climate of Chhattisgarh is mainly tropical, humid and sub-humid. The climate is hot because of its position on the tropic of cancer. May is the hottest month and December-January are the coldest ones. The State is completely dependent on the monsoons for rains. The Mahanadi is the principal river of the State. The other major rivers are - Sheonath, Hadeo, Mand, Eeb, Pairi, Jonk, Kelo Udanti, Indrawati, Arpa and Maniyari.

Geography

Spread over an area of 135194 square kilometers, the State comprises of sixteen districts. These are Koriya, Sarguja and Jashpurnagar in the north, Korba, Bilaspur, Janjgir Chhampa and Raigarh in the north-central part, Kawardah, Rajnandgaon, Durg, Raipur, Dhamtari and Mahasamund in the centre and Kanker, Bastar and Dantewara in the south. According to the 2001 census, the total population of Chhattisgarh is 2.0795 crore. The State has been carved out of 30.49 per cent of the land area and 26.6 per cent of the population of the undivided Madhya Pradesh.There are 20378 villages. The State has a total of 96 tehsils and 146 janpad panchayats or blocks. Out of the total 465 cities and towns of the undivided Madhya Pradesh, 95 cities and towns are now in Chhattisgarh.

Chhattisgarh has a population density of 154 persons per square kilometre. The largest concentration of population in the State is in the districts of the central and north-central parts. Raipur and Durg have the maximum population comprising 14.4 and 13.6 per cent of the State’s entire population as in 1991. These two districts along with Bilaspur and Sarguja make up for 47 per cent of its entire population. The spread of urban population also differs in its level of concentration. Raipur and Durg account for almost half of the total urban population in Chhattisgarh. The other districts apart from Bilaspur and Rajanandgaon have less than six per cent urban population. The low urbanisation is even more evident when we see that only four districts of Durg, Koriya, Raipur and Bilaspur had an urbanisation rate of over 20 per cent in 1991.

As per the 1991 census, the State of Chhattisgarh had 28.6 per cent of the total rural population of the undivided Madhya Pradesh. Chhattisgarh has absorbed 37.1 per cent of the scheduled tribes and 22.3 per cent of the scheduled castes of the undivided Madhya Pradesh.

The gender ratio for Chhattisgarh according to the 2001 census is 990, very high when compared to most other regions of India. Except for Kerala and Pondicherry, the new State of Chhattisgarh has a higher gender ratio than all other States. This does not include a comparison with the two other new States of Uttaranchal and Jharkhand.

Tribes

The scheduled tribes, with a population of over fifty seven lakh, constitute 32.5 per cent of the State’s population as per the 1991 census. Almost 98.1per cent of this population lives in the rural areas and only 1.9 per cent in urban Chhattisgarh. Among the larger States in India, Chhattisgarh has the highest percentage of population of people from the scheduled tribes. However, Madhya Pradesh is still the home to the largest population of scheduled tribes in India.

The scheduled tribes are concentrated in the southern, northern and the north-eastern districts of the State.. The highest concentration is in the erstwhile Bastar district. The new district of Dantewara has 79 per cent tribals followed by Bastar (67 per cent) Jashpur (65 per cent), Surguja (57 per cent) and Kanker (56 per cent).

The Gonds at 55.1 per cent form the largest proportion within the tribal population. They are distributed almost equally in the urban and rural areas. The Oraons, the Kawars, the Halbis, the Bharias or Bhumiars, the Bhattras and the Napesias also form a substantial portion of the tribal population. Thirty other scheduled tribes have small population residing in various pockets across Chhattisgarh. The Gonds are concentrated in the hilly parts of southern Chhattisgarh but are also spread across most districts whereas the Baigas, Bharias, Korwas and Napesias occupy only specific pockets. The Bhattras, Kolams and Rasjas largely live in Bastar and the Kamars in Raipur. The Halba tribe inhabits parts of Bastar, Raipur and Rajnandgaon. The Oraons live in Surguja and Raigarh districts.

There are 9500 villages, or 48 per cent of all inhabited villages, which have more than half their population belonging to the tribal groups. Thirty per cent of all inhabited villages have more than three fourths population from the scheduled tribes. The tribals constitute 100 per cent of the population in 1262, or 6.4 per cent villages. The districts of Raipur, Durg and Janjgir Chhampa have less than twenty per cent tribals.There are a total of 42 tribes in Chhattisgarh, principal among then being the Gond tribe. Besides, a large population of Kanwar, Brinjhwar, Bhaina, Bhatra, Oraon, Munda, Kamar, Halba, Baiga, Sanwra, Korwa, Bharia, Nageshia, Manghwar, Kharia and Dhanwar tribe are also found in the State.

Economy

Chhattisgarh is rich in forest resources. About 44 per cent of the total area of the State is under forest cover. Chhattisgarh is famous in the entire country for its sal forests. In addition, teak, bamboo, saja, sarai and haldi are also found in large numbers. Tendu leaf, which is used in beedi-making, is the principal forest produce of the State. Chhattisgarh produces a large number of minor forest products as well.

Chhattisgarh has been famous for its rice mills, cement and steel plants. Durg, Raipur, Korba and Bilaspur are the leading districts in the field of industrial development in the State. The Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) in Durg district happens to be the largest integrated steel plant of the country. The establishment of BSP in the 1950’s led to the development of a wide range of industries at Raipur and Bhilai. Raipur district has got the rare distinction of having the largest number of big and small-scale cement plants. Bilaspur and Durg districts, too, are home to a number of large-scale cement plants. Korba, with a number of power generating units established by NTPC and MPEB, is among the leading power generation centers in the country. Aluminium and explosive plants are also located in Korba district. There are a number of industrial growth centers in the State which host hundreds of industrial units. The principal growth centers in the State are - Urla and Siltara (Raipur); Borai (Durg) and Sirgitti (Bilaspur).

These facilities are now in the developing stage in Chhattisgarh. The total length of rail lines in the State is 1000 kms. The total road length in the State is 32,385 kms. Out of it 21,686 is tarred .