At the start of the millennium, the Central Government under the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee created the state of Chhattisgarh by bifurcating Madhya Pradesh. 18 years later, the new proposed capital of the state, Naya Raipur, now renamed Atal Nagar in his memory, is set to lead the state’s charge in generating revenue, bringing in investments and creating employment.
In the 18 years since its inception, the state has seen a world of change. Chhattisgarh is no longer the marginalized state it once was. The Annual Per Capita Income is now ₹92,000, from a paltry ₹13,000 in 2013. For the fiscal year of 2018-19, the state government presented a budget of ₹83,179 crores, an exponential growth from ₹9270 crores, which was the budget in 2003. These indices reflect an unequivocal growth story, which is in no small measure a result of the state’s sustained focus on creating jobs, developing skills and empowering the agricultural sector. Chhattisgarh is now ranked sixth in the nationwide ranking of “Ease of Doing Business” by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
In this larger narrative of planned growth, Atal Nagar is poised to play a key role in catalysing and accelerating economic growth in the capital region. Apart from being the administrative capital, Atal Nagar is also set to be a major industrial and business hub, generating both revenue and employment for the state, with several new projects in the pipelines.
One major project coming up is the state’s first Electronic Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) in Sector 22 of Atal Nagar. The EMC will provide one stop integrated facilities, manufacturing support and common infrastructure to prospective electronics manufacturing units. Some of the manufacturing facilities provided include product design house, tool rooms, calibration and certification facilities. The state government has already signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with several investors, bringing in investments to the tune of ₹968 crores in the EMC.
After Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh launched the state’s first Logistics Park policy 2018-2023 in April this year, construction for a mega Multi Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) has begun in Atal Nagar, across an area of 103 acres with an investment of ₹207 crores. The Logistics Park policy aims to provide ease of doing business in the state a significant boost, by giving investors sops like fixed capital investment subsidy, exemption in electrical duty, grant for purchase of technology, and Employee Provident Fund. Another upcoming project in Atal Nagar is the Central Business District (CBD) spread across 103 hectares being constructed in the heart of the planned city. The CBD will be a major business hub with commercial, retail and office complexes for governmental as well as private organizations.
Atal Nagar is also the site for an IT/ITeS Special Economic Zone being developed by the Atal Nagar Development Authority. The SEZ will be a multi sector complex that will provide state of the art infrastructure and facilities to manufactures and service providers in the IT and Electronics sector. The state government has also signed an MoU with a private enterprise, Pi Datacentres Pvt Ltd to set up a sprawling 10-acre data centre in Sector 22 of Atal Nagar.
One key beneficiary in the several schemes and initiatives under way in Atal Nagar is the skilled workforce of the state, especially in and around the capital region. Chhattisgarh has focused intensively on skill development through the Chhattisgarh State Skill Development Mission (CSSDM), training nearly 3 lakh youths to be part of a quality workforce, with almost a third of them already employed. The various projects coming up in the new capital will provide meaningful employment to thousands of people in the region as well as from all over the state. The proposed EMC alone, for instance is expected to provide employment to at least 3,800 people, apart from drawing in significant investments.
Along with Raipur and Bilaspur, Atal Nagar is part of the Prime Minister’s Smart City Mission, which means that the proposed capital has been built with world class infrastructure and civic amenities. In June 2018, an Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) was inaugurated in Atal Nagar by the Prime Minister. The ICCC serves as a centralized mechanism that keeps round the clock surveillance on services like electricity, water, traffic management, cleanliness, and internet connectivity. It also serves as a digital platform for registering complaints and applying online for land purchase. Besides this, Atal Nagar’s favourable location gives it Best in Class connectivity, being within 100 minutes by air from all the major metro cities of India. Its proximity to Raipur-Vizianagaram and Mumbai-Kolkata railway lines, as well as NH-6 and NH-43 means that the new capital is just as accessible by other modes of transport.
From all indications, the stars seemed to have aligned just right for Chhattisgarh’s proposed new capital, all set to be a prime prospective destination for investors, businessmen, administrators and common citizens alike.