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Through Chhattisgarh, Maratha Empire and Soviet Union
Bhilai is a major industrial and educational hub of central India. The city is home to several industries, including Bhilai Steel Plant, Jaypee Cement, Orient Cement, NSPCL Bhilai Power Plant, Steel Authority of India, FSNL, and ACC Cement. The city is home to the Indian Institute of Technology Bhilai, as well as the Bhilai Institute of Technology. Risali is an emerging urban hub with its own municipal corporation. The city also has the state's oldest zoo, Maitri Bagh.
Etymology
The term Bhilai is derived from the Bhil tribe which originally inhabited this region and continues to dwell in the nearby forests until today.
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History
Bhilai was a small village and part of the Haihaiyavansi Kingdom until 1740, when it was conquered by the Marathas.
The foundation of the modern city of Bhilai was laid in 1955, when the Indian government signed a historic agreement with the Soviet Union in Magnitogorsk to establish a steel plant near the village. The plant's first blast furnace was commissioned in 1959 by the first President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
Urban administration and governance
Pre-1973:
Before the establishment of the Special Area Development Authority in 1973, civic administration and urban services in Bhilai were largely associated with the Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), which developed and maintained the township as an industrial town. Independent municipal governance structures were not formally constituted during this period.
1973–1998 (SADA period):
In 1973, the Special Area Development Authority (SADA) was established to separate urban governance from the administrative control of BSP. An agreement concluded in 1977, defined the jurisdictional boundaries and taxation powers of SADA. Subsequently, in 1978, BSP transferred approximately 1,920 acres of land to SADA to facilitate municipal administration and planned urban development.
1998–present (Municipal Corporation):
In 1998, Bhilai was constituted as a Municipal Corporation in accordance with the provisions of the 74th Constitutional Amendment to the Constitution of India. All administrative functions, assets, and responsibilities of SADA were transferred to an elected urban local body. This marked a significant transition from company-managed administration to democratic municipal governance.
As per the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the Bhilai Municipal Corporation reported a revenue of ₹237 crore (US$28 million) and an expenditure of ₹162 crore (US$19 million) in 2022–23. Taxes contributed 25.7% of the revenue, while the corporation received ₹70 crore in grants during the year.
Demographics
Population
In the 2011 census, Durg-Bhilainagar Urban Agglomeration had a population of 1,064,222, of which 545,916 are males and 518,306 are females. Bhilai has an average literacy rate of 86.63%, with male literacy at 92.22% and female literacy at 80.71%.
Geography
Bhilai lies at 21.21°N 81.38°E in Central India at an elevation of 297m above sea level on the banks of the Shivnath river, a tributary of the river Mahanadi. It covers an area of 341 km2 (132 sq mi).
According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, the town falls under seismic zone 2, in a scale of 2 to 5 (in order of increasing value of vulnerability to earthquakes).
Climate
Owing to its proximity to the Tropic of Cancer, Bhilai has a tropical climate. There are three main seasons: summer, monsoon, and winter. The average annual temperature in Bhilai is 26.6 °C and the city receives an average rainfall of 1188 mm in a year. Summers usually last from May to June, followed by monsoons in July and August. The town receives the bulk of rainfall in July, with an average rainfall of 352mm. There is little rainfall during the winters, with November being the driest month of the year.
Durg Bhilai has been ranked 29th best "National Clean Air City" (under Category 1 >10L Population cities) in India.
Economy
Bhilai is home to the Bhilai Steel Plant, the first and largest Indian plant to produce steel rails. The first blast furnace of Bhilai Steel Plant was inaugurated by then President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad, which was established with assistance from the Soviet Union in 1955.
Iron ore from Rawghat, limestone from Nandini, coal from Jharia, manganese from Balaghat, electric power from the Korba thermal power plant, and water from the Tandula Canal, all nearby, are used at the Bhilai Steel Plant to manufacture rails and structural steel. Pig iron and billets are supplied to foundries and rolling mills located at Kumhari and other sites in central India.
The number of steel rails produced by the facility up to 2007 could, if laid end to end, circle the earth 7.5 times. This is depicted on the monument at Globe Square in the heart of the city. The facility underwent modernisation and expansion and is amongst the leading manufacturers of iron and steel in Asia.
Education
The city serves as an educational hub in the region, with a total of 59 universities and colleges, like Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhilai, Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand Technical University, Bhilai Institute of Technology, Rungta International Skills University, and Shri Shankaracharya Technical Campus, Chhattisgarh Kamdhenu Vishwavidyalaya and Hemchand Yadav Vishwavidyalaya.
Schools in Bhilai are run either by municipal corporations or privately by entities, trusts, and corporations. The majority of schools are affiliated with the Chhattisgarh Board of Secondary Education and the Central Board of Secondary Education.
Transport
Roadways
The twin city of Durg-Bhilai is well connected with a network of national and state highways. Some major highways passing through the city are National Highway 53 (NH-53), SH-7 till Bemetara and SH-22 till Abhanpur. The proposed Durg–Raipur–Arang Expressway will start from Durg and will pass near the outskirts of Bhilai till Arang, which after completion, will enhance connectivity and commute in the state.
Rail
There are total 15 railway stations in the twin city that includes railway stations serving adjacent and minor neighbourhoods within the city. The main stations are Bhilai Power House railway station and Durg Junction railway station, which are major railway stations, with Durg being the biggest and the busiest, lying on the Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line.
Bus transport
The Durg Bus Station is a hub with buses plying to any place in and around Chhattisgarh as well as other parts of the country, with daily bus services operated by private and government buses to all cities within the state and outside the state, like Bhubaneswar, Nagpur, Jharsuguda, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Kolkata, Patna, Ranchi, Hyderabad, Jabalpur, Visakhapatnam, among others.
Metro
A light rail, Metrolite or Lite Metro (as referred in India), has been proposed by the Government of Chhattisgarh, which will pass from Naya Raipur to Durg via Raipur and Bhilai.
Air
The nearest major airport is Swami Vivekananda International Airport at Raipur, located 50 km (31 mi) east from Bhilai. The airport at Bhilai is currently a private airport operated by the Bhilai Steel Plant, located 15 km (9.3 mi) north of the city. In recent years, it has been considered for the airport to be developed to handle commercial operations, and make it a domestic airport.
Notable people
- Teejan Bai, Pandvani singer
- Anurag Basu, Bollywood director
- Anupama Bhagwat, sitar player
- Rajesh Chauhan, a former cricketer in the Indian cricket team
- Budhaditya Mukherjee, sitar player
- Amit Sana, runner-up in Indian Idol 1
- Tejal Shah (born 1979), visual artist, curator
- Shashank Singh, Indian cricketer
- Krishnamurthy Subramanian, 17th Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India
- Devendra Yadav, MLA Bhilai Nagar and former mayor of Bhilai