Spread in 75 acres, the mammoth ‘Rajdhani Sarovar’ dedicated by Chief Minister Raman Singh, has been shining as a new star in the emerging picture of Naya Raipur, informed in an official statement issued here on Tuesday.
Efforts are being made to give a new look to Naya Raipur taking shape in a sprawling 8,000 hectares area. The development of Naya Raipur is taking place as an extension of the present capital city Raipur with an excellent action plan of city planning, where Government work and hustle and bustle of people have been started in the Mantralaya (Mahanadi Bhawan) and Indrawati Bhawan, the complex of state level offices of various departments.
In the huge Sarovar, constructed with a cost of Rs 32.14 crore, has a capacity to conserve seven lakh cusecs rain water. Seven entrance gates and five security towers have been constructed on both sides of the Sarovar. It has been decorated with a dozen fountains and about two and half kilometre long jogging track, besides a cultural stage. For greenery, about 4,000 different species of saplings have been planted in five hectare land around the Sarovar.
lED lighting arrangements, pathway, drinking water kiosks, parking facilities have also been made at the Sarovar. The expanded from of the capital of Chhattisgarh State ‘Naya Raipur’ would be the fourth most systematic and well planned city, after Punjab and Haryana’s capital Chandigarh, Odisha’s capital Bhubaneswar and Gujarat’s capital Gandhi Nagar.
The State Government has begun efforts to give better facilities, more than that of the cities, to the farmers and villagers of the 41 villages who have given their contribution to the development of Naya Raipur. Chief Minister Raman Singh distributed residential plots measuring 1,200 sft to 5,300 sft to 173 families at Kayabandh village.
He also inaugurated distribution of Rs 1.07 crore annual amount to the villagers who have given their land to Naya Raipur Development Authority (NRDA) with mutual agreement. These land owners would be given at Rs 15,000 per acre, and every year the amount would be increased by Rs 750.The will get the amount for next 15 years.
Housing and environment minister Rajesh Munat, MP from Raipur Ramesh Bains, Aarang MlA Naveen Markandey, Raipur district panchayat president laxmi Verma, NRDA chairman and principal secretary N Baijendra Kumar were also present on the occasion.