Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh

The land is classified into six categories. About 41.67% is under agriculture, while about 5.70% remains fallow. A further 11.44% of the land could be brought under cultivation by improvements in farming techniques and reclamation of marginal areas . A further 1.27% is barren and uncultivated while 33.09% is forest cover and 6.83% is covered by buildings, roads and other infrastructure.

This distribution of cultivated land reflects the patterns and intensity of early agricultural practices and the extent of the population, combined with physical factors. Areas with a high concentration of cultivated land are generally those with longer histories of settlement and agricultural use.

The city is governed by the Municipal Corporation of Ambikapur or Nagar Nigam Ambikapur, which is administered under the Chhattisgarh Municipal Corporation Act,1956.[14][15] The municipal corporation has two parts, elected body and administrative body. The elected body is headed by the Mayor Ajay Tirkey from the Indian National Congress.[16][17] The last election to Ambikapur Municipal Corporation took place in 2019.[18] The administrative body is headed by the Municipal commissioner Mr. Luvkush Singrol.[17][19] The city is divided into 48 wards and each ward is represented by a councillor[20] directly elected by the people from the ward. The mayor of the city is elected indirectly from amongst the councillors.[21]

Electricity is supplied by the state's Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited.[22] Ambikapur Municipal Corporation supplies 10.6 MLD of water to the city.[23] Drinking water was initially sourced from the Banki Dam, but after pipeline expansion and construction of an automatic filter plant in Katkalo under the AMRUT scheme, in 2020 will also be sourced from the Ghughutta Dam in Nawagarh.[24] The city has a total of 16 tanks for this purpose.[24]

The Municipal Corporation is responsible for the solid waste management of the city.[25] Ambikapur generates 45 metric ton solid waste everyday, 90% of which is segregated through a decentralised waste management model.[26][27] Household waste is collected door-to-door by 447 SHG women of 48 wards.[25] The city has achieved 100% segregation of waste at the household level.[28] It has no landfills and has been declared a zero-waste city since it converted its 15-acre landfill into a park in 2016.[26] Ambikapur has implemented Solid Liquid Resource Management (SLRM) for disposal of municipal solid waste.[29] There is no sewerage system in the city. Toilets are linked to individual septic tanks.[30]

In the Ambikapur block 74.51% of the total geographical area is cultivated. The Ambikapur Development Plan 2021 (Draft) was created by the Chhattisgarh Directorate of Town and Country Planning.[31]

Ambikapur is connected to the Anuppur railway junction, a bordering town in Madhya Pradesh, by a broad gauge railway. Trains reach Ambikapur from Katni, Satna, Jabalpur, Durg, Bhopal and the state capital Raipur. More destinations, such as New Delhi, can be reached from Anuppur railway junction.

Jabalpur - Ambikapur Express, Ambikapur – Shahdol, Ambikapur – Surajpur – Anuppur – Bilaspur – Raipur – Durg Express and Bhopal – Chirmiri Passenger run from major cities Bhopal, Gwalior, Katni, Raipur and Jabalpur.

Ambikapur is well connected by road to other major cities of Chhattisgarh such as Raipur, Bilaspur, Durg, Bhilai, Korba and Raigarh. Daily bus services also runs for Varanasi, Renukoot in U.P (170 km), Raipur (345 km) and Garhwa in Jharkhand (160 km). Bus services from Anuppur to Ambikapur operate via Manendragarh and Surajpur. The bus journeys from Bilaspur and Anuppur take between five and six hours.

Ambikapur Airport is located at Darima, 12 km (7.5 mi) south of Ambikapur. The air strip is mostly used by small aircraft and helicopters. It is the nearest airport with regular scheduled flights to Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh state.[32]