Raipur
is a city in the Raipur district of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh.
It is the capital city of the state of Chhattisgarh and is the administrative headquarters of Raipur District. It was formerly a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Chhattisgarh was formed on 1 November 2000. As of 2011, the municipal corporation of the city had a population of 1,010,087.
While, the urban agglomeration population was 1,122,555. The Raipur Municipal Corporation was ranked 6th out of 21 Cities for best governance & administrative practices in India in 2014. It scored 3.5 on 10 compared to the national average of 3.3.
Raipur has been in existence since the 9th century; the old site and ruins of the fort can be seen in the southern part of the city. Raipur district is important historically and as a point of interest archeologically. This district was once part of the Dakshina Kosala Kingdom and later considered part of the Maurya Empire. Raipur has been the capital of the Haihaya Dynasty Kalchuri kings, controlling the forts of Chhattisgarh for a considerable period. Satawahana kings ruled this part until the 2nd–3rd century.
Raipur is located near the centre of a large plain, sometimes referred as the "rice bowl of India", where hundreds of varieties of rice are grown. The Mahanadi River flows to the east of the city of Raipur, and the southern side has dense forests. The Maikal Hills rise on the north-west of Raipur; on the north, the land rises and merges with the Chota Nagpur Plateau, which extends north-east across Jharkhand state. On the south of Raipur lies the Deccan Plateau.