Raipur
Raipur is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the most populous city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Chhattisgarh was formed on 1 November 2000. It is a major commercial hub for trade and commerce in the region. It has exponential industrial growth and has become a major business hub in Central India. It has been ranked as India's 6th cleanest city as per the Swachh Survekshan for the year 2021.. Raipur is ranked 7th in India's Ease of Living Index 2022 and 7th in the Municipal Performance Index 2020, both by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
It is among the biggest producers of steel and iron in the country. There are about 200 steel rolling mills, 195 sponge iron plants, at least 6 steel plants, 60 plywood factories, 35 ferro-alloy plants, and 500 agro industries in the city. In addition, Raipur also has over 800 rice milling plants.
History
Raipur district, like the rest of the Chhattisgarh plain, was once known as Dakshina Kosala and considered to be under Maurya Empire. In Arang near Raipur, a Gupta inscription dated to the 6th century CE shows Gupta hegemony over the region. In the 7th century CE, the region was ruled by a Buddhist kingdom in Bhandak in modern-day Maharashtra and was described by Xuanzang. A branch of this family later migrated to Sirpur in present-day Mahasamund district, and later took control of the entirety of Dakshina Kosala. This kingdom's prosperity reached its height with Tivaradeva. His son inscribed almost all temples in Sirpur. They were later ousted by the Sharabpuriyas, who took control of the rest of Chhattisgarh and ruled for several centuries.By the early 9th century the Kalachuris gained control of the region. The Kalachuris of Ratnapura ruled Ratnapur until the 13th century. By the 14th century, the Kalachuris of Raipur branch gained power. One king of the Raipur branch conquered 18 garh, or forts, of the enemy - lending an etymology to Chhattisgarh, the 36 forts. By the 18th century Kalachuris became the overlords of entire Chhattisgarh region.
Demographics
, Raipur Municipal Corporation had a population of 1,010,433, of which 519,286 are males and 490,801 are females—a sex ratio of 945 females per 1000 males, higher than the national average of 940 per 1000. 124,471 children are in the age group of 0–6 years, of which 64,522 are boys and 59,949 are girls—a ratio of 929 girls per 1000 boys. There are 769,593 literates. The effective literacy was 86.90%; male literacy was 92.39% and female literacy was 81.10%, significantly higher than the national average of 73.00%.The urban agglomeration had a population of 1,122,555, of which males constitute 578,339, females constitute 544,216—a sex ratio of 941 females per 1000 males and 142,826 children are in the age group of 0–6 years. There are a total of 846,952 literates with an effective literacy rate of 86.45%.
Geography and climate
Geography
Raipur is located near the centre of a large plain, sometimes referred to as the "rice bowl of India", where hundreds of varieties of rice are grown. The Mahanadi River flows to the east of the city of Raipur, and the southern side has dense forests. The Maikal Hills rise on the north-west of Raipur; on the north, the land rises and merges with the Chota Nagpur Plateau, which extends north-east across Jharkhand state. On the south of Raipur lies the Deccan Plateau.Climate
Raipur has a tropical wet and dry climate, and temperatures remain moderate throughout the year, except from March to June, which can be extremely hot. The temperature in April–May sometimes rises above. These summer months also have dry and hot winds.The city receives about of rain, mostly in the monsoon season from mid June to early October. Winters last from November to February and are mild, although lows can fall to making it reasonably cold.
Raipur has been ranked the eighth-best National Clean Air City in India according to the Swachh Vayu Survekshan 2024 Results.
Government and politics
Civic administration
Raipur city has a Municipal corporation. It was initially established by the British on 17 May 1867, initially named Raipur Municipal Committee. It was upgraded to Raipur Municipal Corporation in the year 1973. The area of the municipal corporation is 503.67 km2. RMC is governed under the guidelines mentioned in the Chhattisgarh Municipalities Act, 1961. As per the 2011 Census of India, the urban agglomeration population in Raipur, Durg - Bhilai was 3,186,632. The three urban cities of Raipur, Bhilai, and Durg in the west-central region of Chhattisgarh together create the Raipur - Bhilai - Durg Tri-City Metro area.The functions of the municipal corporation are the construction of health centres, educational institutes, and schools, and the periodic maintenance of the houses. In addition to taking the responsibility of constructing basic civic infrastructure, flyovers, and roads, it is also developing recreational centres such as museums, community halls, and parks. Along with basic civic infrastructure, flyovers, and roads.
The executive committee consists of the Commissioner, Deputy commissioner, city health officers, executive engineers, zone commissioners, and other staff. The Municipal Commissioner of Raipur is Vishwa Deep. The current mayor is Meenal Choubey from BJP. The Mayor in the council consists of the Mayor who is the ex officio chairperson of the MIC. Among elected councillors, the mayor elects them to the council. There are 70 wards and 8 zones within the Raipur Municipal Corporation. The zonal ward committees are headed by chairpersons who are elected by ward councillors of the respective zone.
The recent municipal elections were held on 11 February 2025. The political parties in the majority at the municipal level are BJP and INC. The estimated municipal budget for the 2017-2018 period is 2,612,667. Key revenue sources are tax income, fees and charges, sanitation charges, grants and donations, and capital income.
The city is a part of Raipur District with Gaurav Kumar Singh, IAS/Collector and DM. The collector heads the district administration department. The upper collector, deputy collector, and joint deputy assist the Collector. Another governing agency that is active in the city of Raipur is the Urban Administration And Development, Chhattisgarh.
Master plan
Raipur Master Plan 2021 recognizes the need for planned development to take the pressure off the downtown core and meet the need for green spaces and bodies of water in that area. The plan calls for dense housing in new subdivisions on the outskirts and well-planned high-rise commercial and industrial development along with the NH-6 as well as on the north side of the city.Legislative assembly and state agencies
Raipur is a Lok Sabha/Parliamentary constituency in central Chhattisgarh. Raipur's Lok Sabha seat is unreserved. Brijmohan Agrawal of BJP is the current Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from the city. There are seven Vidhan Sabha seats in Raipur district, including three in Raipur City, one in Raipur Rural and three in Outer Tehsils.Economy
Raipur, being the capital city of Chhattisgarh, has attracted large amounts of industrial development. As it is the state capital, the government and service sectors make up a large part of the city's economy and workforce. Manufacturing industries are also well-developed in the city, with a large number of industrial zones. Raipur is also regarded as one of the best cities to do business. It is abundantly rich in mineral resources and is among the biggest producers of steel and iron in the country. There are about 200 steel rolling mills, 195 sponge iron plants, at least 6 steel plants, 60 plywood factories, 35 ferro-alloy plants, and 500 agro-industries in the city. In addition, Raipur also has over 800 rice milling plants.Dalmia Cement is planning to set up an integrated cement manufacturing unit with a capacity of 2.5 million TPA in Raipur. A South Korean multinational Sung Ha Telecom is also planning to set up a plant in Naya Raipur. JSW Steel has a steel plant in Raipur. APL Apollo's in joint venture with a Singaporean company has planned a manufacturing plant in Raipur. Grasim Industries operates a cement plant at Rawan in Raipur. Ambuja Cements has a plant in Bhatapara. In addition, Raipur has a large chemical plant which produces and supplies formalin all throughout the country. LPG bottling plants owned by Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum are also in Raipur. Godavari - E - Mobility is planning to set up a manufacturing plant in the city as well. A heavy machinery plant of Jindal Group is in Raipur.
Functioning as an information technology and cyber hub, a technology park in Chhattisgarh's new capital city Naya Raipur was built. Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation will be developing a new industrial area in Tilda near Raipur to provide facilities for small and medium industries. Two new industrial parks for apparel and metal industries are coming up in Raipur.
Civic utilities
Transport services
The superintendent of Engineers Executive Engineers, the team of Engineers, and the staff responsible for the related activities of the road department head the public works department. Their purposes are planning and designing of road stormwater drains, maintenance of roads and streets, maintenance of gardens and parks, resurfacing the roads, and repairing potholes and bad patches.In the bus transport system of Raipur City there is a total number of 157 buses plying within the city.