Social, Environmental & Economic Sustainability
Our analysis of the rank of the district
Backwardness : Does not figure in list of 447 backward districts
Sex Ratio Rank : 420
(Rank one is least sex ratio - Cenus 2001)
HIV Category District : (HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2004 - 2006)
Disability : 502 (Census 2001)
Literacy Ratio : 79 (Census 2001)
Minority : Does not figure in MCD

Challenges of the district : Our research with local communities
Following are the social and developmental challenges of the district:
The status of education in the district is very low.
Infrastructure facilities available in schools are very poor.
Lack of sufficient teachers in the schools.
Mid Day Meal programme is not implemented properly in the schools.
There are enough employment opportunities in the district, but the local people of the district are not preferred. As a result many of them remain unemployed.

Brief About Bilaspur_Chattisgarh District
Bilaspur district in the newly formed state of Chhattisgarh has almost a quarter of its population comprising of tribal people, mostly living in rural areas. It is classified as backward in terms of its social and economic development indices. The rural economy is dependent on a single rain-fed annual crop. Seasonal migration to other parts of India in search of employment is a regular and grim feature of rural life.

Bilaspur is under-served in terms of health care and community health services which is reflected in the poor health indicators of the district. The Maternal Mortality Rate is 4 per 1000 live births and the under- five mortality is 20/1000 population. The crude birth rate is 20.8/1000 and death rate is 11.5 / 1000. The Infant Mortality Rate in rural areas is a high 110/1000 live births (NFHS,1992). Fifty-seven percent of children under five year of age are malnourished, with severe malnutrition being present in 22%. Only 24% of the infants are fully vaccinated, and 34% are not vaccinated at all (NFHS, 1992). Falciparum malaria (with periodic epidemics), water borne diseases, tuberculosis and leprosy are important public health problems along with common childhood illnesses.

The district of Bilaspur has 3,590 villages with a total population of 3.14 million according to the 1991 census. Eighty-three percent of the population resides in villages and the sex ratio is 991. Twenty-six percent of the population belongs to the scheduled tribes and 14% to the scheduled castes. The average literacy rate before the launch of the literacy mission was 34% and the female literacy rate was 16 %. Demographically speaking, it has a large 'young' population with approximately 20% being less than six years old.

Climate: The average rainfall is 1,220 mm and most of it occurs during the monsoons. The major rivers are Haf, Aagar, Maniyari, Arpa, Lilagar, Hasdeo, Sheonath and Mand. All of these rivers are rain-fed with large differences in flow rates depending on the season.This trend has become accentuated with rapid deforestation all over the state. In summer the temperature touches a maximum of 47 degrees Celsius.

Economy : More than 70% of the land is rain-fed and only 26% of the agricultural area yields two or more crops per year. Of the total 10.85 lakh hectares of cultivated area, as much as 7.19 lakh hectares are under paddy. The next most popular crop among farmers is maize,which comes far behind with only 0.18 lakh hectares. However, the productivity of paddy is only a moderate 1,515 kg per hectare. The average food grain production is 244 kg per capita.

Seasonal migration to cities in search of employment is extremely common. After the near total crop failure in 1997, people migrated on an unprecedented scale with many migrating for the first time. These migrant workers from Chhattisgarh are considered cheap, hardworking and gullible. They are employed in brick kilns and in construction and other unorganized sector activities in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab and are ruthlessly exploited.

Bilaspur is rich in natural resources. Forests are exploited for timber as well as minor forest produce. Bhilai Steel Plant is about 150 km away to the south, while the BALCO Aluminium Plant is located 120 km to the east in Korba. NTPC has a thermal power station at Korba and has started work on another at Seepat, about 20 km away from Bilaspur town. South-Eastern Coalfields Limited has its headquarters at Bilaspur. However, the benefits of industrial development have benefited few.

In the scenario of a stagnant agricultural economy with few industries, it is not surprising that Bilaspur compares unfavourably with the rest of the country on many social and economic indices.