Infrastructure of Chhattisgarh
Infrastructure
- Chhattisgarh has become a major investment destination after it was carved out as a new state in November 2000. Many corporate houses have Chhattisgarh on their investment radar.
- In order to make the state a favoured location, investment in infrastructure needs to be stepped up. The focus needs to be essentially on development of world-class road and rail & aviation network for better connectivity with major metros and interconnectivity within the state.
- There is an urgent need to implement the Bastar Raoghat project, which would bring about the much-needed revolution of transporting mineral resources from their source location for use by Industries. The teledensity of the state of Chhattisgarh is 3 telephones per 100 citizens and this needs to be stepped up with sufficient telecom infrastructure in the remotest areas of the state.
- The teledensity of USA is 66.45 per 100 citizens; Chhattisgarh should aim at surpassing the national teledensity figures of 3.38 per 100 aiming at 50 per 100, which would be similar to other South East Asian nations. Another area where Chhattisgarh needs to meet the national figures is per capita power consumption.
- The per capita power consumption in Chhattisgarh is 284 KW (2005-06, CEA) as compared to the national per capita of 631 KW (2005-06, CEA). With this the emphasis needs to be on the Rural Electrification. With its ample mineral reserves Chhattisgarh can be not only be a power surplus state but also a source of power for the whole nation.
- Chhattisgarh needs to develop world class Highways, bridges, tolls and basic infrastructure through Public Private Partnership mode or Build Operate Trade Transfer (BOTT) basis.
- The current transport infrastructure is insufficient to meet the demands of growing population. Proper public transport system with connectivity to all villages should be aimed to achieve the development vision. Located on the Mumbai – Kolkata Highway Chhattisgarh should aim to become a Logistics Hub.
- Chhattisgarh can boast of various historical sites due its very rich history and cultural heritage. The focus needs to develop Chhattisgarh on the tourist map of the world on the lines of Kerala. Tourist Infrastructure in terms of roads to tourist locations, tourist vehicles, hotels need to be developed at a fast pace to achieve the vision of being the most favored tourist destination by 2022.
Infrastructure Development for inclusive Growth
- Good quality infrastructure is the most important requirement for attaining faster growth for the state and also for ensuring investment in backward regions. This includes roads network, availability of power, water, rail network& dry port for imports and exports, airports & air services to provide connectivity to all parts of the country; and telecommunications and broadband connectivity to provide the benefits of the Internet to people all over the state.
- CII will work to develop consensus across government & society on the importance of infrastructure provision.
- CII will work with policy makers to provide necessary information about the bottlenecks and promote infrastructure development through PPP mode in the state.
- CII will also work with the government to create world-class infrastructure in various locations in the state.
Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation (CSIDC)
- Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation (CSIDC) is a Government of Chhattisgarh undertaking (registered under the Companies Act, 1956) under the administrative control of Department of Commerce & Industry and is the nodal agency to facilitate and promote industrial development in the State.
- CSIDC has been primarily involved in
- Industrial promotion and facilitation;
- Export promotion;
- Industrial potential surveys;
- Land allotment to industries;
- Entrepreneurship development;
- Training;
- Public private partnerships (PPP);
- Development, maintenance and up gradation of industrial areas.
- It acts as the facilitator for development of small, medium and large industries in the State.
- It provides escort services and endeavors to remove bottlenecks in industrial development.
- It conceptualizes, conceives, plans, implements and maintenance of various industrial infrastructural facilities.
- Over the years, CSIDC has played a pioneering role in development of large industrial growth centres and industrial areas at Urla, Siltara, Sirgitti and Tifra; and the proposed Electronics Manufacturing Cluster (EMC); Information Technology (IT) Park; and Mega Food Park. It also works for providing raw materials like iron and steel, coal to local SSI and other units and also engaged in testing and certification services of industrial and other products and run production units manufacturing furniture and agricultural implements.
Chhattisgarh Transport Department
- Chhattisgarh Transport Department is a pioneer in using Information Technology for providing citizen centric services. Computerization of department started 10 years ago with the implementation of VAHAN and SARATHI along with computerization of all the managerial functions of the Transport Department.
- Gradually all the processes of the Transport Department are being computerized and the data is made available through Internet or SMS for access by citizens. Chhattisgarh is the First state to successfully implement Vahan & Sarathi across the state.
- There are 27 RTO’s distributed geographically in the state of Chhattisgarh keeping the public convenience in mind and vehicle population within the region.
Transport System
- Chhattisgarh has coverage of mostly two-lane or one-lane roads which provides connectivity to major cities. Eleven national highways passing through the state which are together 3078.40 km in length.
- However, most national highways are in poor condition and provide only two lanes for slow moving traffic. Many national highways are on paper and not fully converted into four-lane highway.
- This includes 130A New, 130B New, 130C New, 130D New, 149B New, 163A New, 343 New, 930New.. Other national highway includes NH 6, NH 16, NH 43, NH 12A, NH 78, NH 111, NH 200, NH 202, NH 216, NH 217, NH 221, NH30NH 930 NEW. The state highways and major district roads constitute another network of 8,031 km.
- Chhattisgarh has one of the lowest densities of National Highway in Central and South India (12.1 km/100,000 population) which is similar to the North Eastern state of Assam
Rail network
- Almost the entire railway network spread over the state comes under the geographical jurisdiction of the South East Central Railway Zone of Indian Railways centred around Bilaspur, which is the zonal headquarters of this zone.
- The main railway junctions are Bilaspur Junction, Durg and Raipur, which is also a starting point of many long distance trains. These three junctions are well-connected to the major cities of India.
- The state has the highest freight loading in the country and one-sixth of Indian Railway’s revenue comes from Chhattisgarh. The length of rail network in the state is 1,108 km, while a third track has been commissioned between Durg and Raigarh. Construction of some new railway lines are under process.
- These include Dalli-Rajhara–Jagdalpur rail line, Pendra Road-Gevra Road Rail Line rail line, Raigarh-Mand Colliery to Bhupdeopur rail line and Barwadih-Chirmiri rail line.
- Freight/goods trains provide services mostly to coal and iron ore industries in east-west corridor (Mumbai-Howrah route). There is lack of passenger services to north and south of Chhattisgarh. Current train stations are mostly over crowded and not maintained well for passengers.
Rail Network Expansion
- Presently, Chhattisgarh has 1,187-kilometre-long (738 mi) railway line network, which is less than half of the national average of rail density.
- The construction of new 546-km-long rail network includes Rajhara-Rowghat rail project, 311-km-long East and East-West Rail Corridors and 140-km-long Rowghat-Jagdalpur rail project are underway in the state.
- The Chhattisgarh government has now decided to form a joint venture company with the Ministry of Railways for the expansion of railway tracks in the state.
- The decision to form a joint venture company with Ministry of Railways was taken during a meeting of the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister on 5 February 2016. An MoU will shortly be signed between the state Commerce and Industries Department and the railway ministry in this regard.
- Under the MoU, the state government will have 51% share and the railways remaining 49% share. The proposed joint venture company will identify viable rail projects in the state and implement them.
Air
- The air infrastructure in Chhattisgarh is small compared to other states. Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur is its sole airport with scheduled commercial air services.
- A massive reduction in sales tax on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) from 25 to 4% in Chhattisgarh in 2003 has contributed to a sharp rise in passenger flow. The passenger flow has increased by 58% between 2011 and November 2012.
- Other major areas in the north and south of state, and industrial cities such as Bilaspur, Korba, Raigarh are not served by any airline.
- The majority of population in these area is not able take advantage of low-cost airlines due to poor road connectivity and high cost of taxi fares.
- The State Government has signed a MOU with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in July 2013 to develop Raigarh Airport as the state’s second airport for domestic flights.
The Chhattisgarh State Wide Area Network (CG-SWAN)
- The Chhattisgarh State Wide Area Network (CG-SWAN)is a very ambitious project to provide the State with a basic information technology backbone which will be utilized for carrying voice, data and voice traffic facilitating interdepartmental communication and data sharing within the State.
- CG-SWAN will be a safe, fast, reliable and cost effective network connecting all the 146 blocks of the State through a hybrid network consisting of MPLS leased line, RF and other network technologies.
- The project will enable instant online interaction among government departments / agencies resulting in obtaining reports on a real time, improving the workflow processes and the pace of decision-making.
- The project would act as a vehicle for effective implementation of eGovernance projects across the State.