Solan district

Solan district
District of Himachal Pradesh

Location of Solan district in Himachal Pradesh
Country India
State Himachal Pradesh
Headquarters Solan
Tehsils 1. Solan, 2. Kasauli, 3. Nalagarh, 4. Arki and 5. Kandaghat 6. Baddi 7. Ramshehar
Government
 • Lok Sabha constituencies Shimla (Lok Sabha constituency) (shared with Sirmour and Shimla districts)
 • Assembly seats 5
Area
 • Total 1,936 km2 (747 sq mi)
Population (2011)
 • Total 576,670
 • Density 300/km2 (770/sq mi)
 • Urban 18.22%
Demographics
 • Literacy 85.02%
 • Sex ratio 880
Average annual precipitation 1253 mm
Website Official website

Solan district is one of the twelve districts of Himachal Pradesh state in northern India. Solan town is the administrative headquarters of the district. The district occupies an area of 1936 km2.

History

The territory of the present-day district comprises the territories of the erstwhile princely states of Baghal, Baghat, Kunihar, Kuthar, Mangal, Beja, Mahlog, Nalagarh and parts of Keonthal and Koti and hilly areas of the erstwhile Punjab State which were merged with Himachal Pradesh on 1 November 1966. This district came into existence on 1 September 1972. The district was carved out by amalgamating Solan and Arki tehsils of the erstwhile Mahasu district and Kandaghat and Nalagarh tehsils of the erstwhile PEPSU.Name of the district as well as its headquarters comes from Mata Shoolini Devi. It's said that she saved Solan from being destroyed.

District administration and Central Government offices

Vidhan Sabha Constituencies

The district comprises five Vidhan Sabha constituencies: Arki, Nalagarh, Doon, Solan and Kasauli. All of these are part of Shimla (Lok Sabha constituency).

Divisions

The district is divided into four sub-divisions: Solan, comprises Solan and Kasauli tehsils, Nalagarh, Arki and Kandaghat. Nalagarh, Arki and Kandaghat sub-divisions comprise Nalagarh, Baddi, Ramshehar, Arki and Kandaghat tehsils respectively.[1]

For Administrative purpose, the district has been divided into seven tehsils, namely Solan, Kandaghat, Kasauli, Nalagarh, Arki, Baddi, Ramshehar and five sub-tehsil namely Krishangarh, Darlaghat, Mamligh & Panjehra.[2] There are five blocks in the district namely Solan, Kandaghat, Dharampur, Nalagarh and Kunihar. There are 211 panchayats in the district covering 2383 villages.[3]

The Deputy Commissioner is the head of the district with office at headquarter town.

Solan town is the district headquarter of the district and the seat of district administration having offices in government buildings. There are

  • Mini Secretariat at byepass containing D.C. Office, S.P. Office, SDM Office, NIC, DYSSO, District Statistical Office, D.R.O., Copying Agency, DRDA, Zila Parishad, District Treasury office, ASP, DSP, DF&SC etc.
  • PWD circle office near hospital on tank road. It houses the office of S.E., HP PWD, Solan circle.
  • Public Works Department complex on Solan bye pass. It has offices of Executive Engineer (National Highways), Executive Engineer, HP PWD Solan Division, Assistant Engineer Horticulture Sub Division etc.
  • District Industries Centre at Chambaghat. It has offices of GM, Industries and Mining officer.
  • Tehsil Office at Kotla Nallah on Rajgarh road.
  • District Public Relations Office near Gurudwara at Saproon.
  • Town & Country Planning Office near Dohri Dwar on Barog Bye-pass.
  • XEN, Public & Health office near Dohri Dwar on Barog bye pass.
  • Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry on Jaunaji road
  • District Agriculture office & District Horticulture office at Chambaghat.
  • Chief Medical Officer's Office at Chambaghat.
  • District Education Office (Primary & Secondary) at Chambaghat.
  • Offices of HPSEB near Power House at Saproon.
  • District Courts on the Mall road near Saproon.

A number of Central Govt. Offices too have their own departmental buildings.

  • Ministry of MSME, Govt. of India
  • N.R.C.M. (National Research Centre for Mushroom)
  • C.I.P.M.C. (Centre for Investigation of Pest Management & Control)
  • Z.S.I. (Zoological Survey of India)
  • E.T.D.C. (Electronics Testing and Development Centre)

The offices at Baddi:

  • The Baddi Barotiwala Nalagarh Development Authority (BBNDA)
  • HP State Pollution Control Board Regional Office Baddi
  • Govt Fire Service Department
  • Central Drug Standard Control Office (CDSCO) Subzonal Office
  • State Drug Controller, Baddi
  • Deputy Director, Industries, Baddi

Demographics

Religions in Solan District[4]
Religion Percent
Hindus
 
 94.53%
Muslims
 
 2.53%
Christian
 
 0.25%
Sikhs
 
 2.40%
Buddhist
 
 0.10%
Jain
 
 0.10%
Others & Not stated
 
 0.09%
A Statue at Solan

According to the 2011 census Solan district has a population of 576,670,[4] roughly equal to the nation of Solomon Islands[5] or the US state of Wyoming.[6] This gives it a ranking of 532nd in India (out of a total of 640).[4] The district has a population density of 300 inhabitants per square kilometre (780/sq mi) .[4] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 15.9%.[4] Solan has a sex ratio of 880 females for every 1000 males,[4] and a literacy rate of 85.02%.[4]

District Highlights of 2011 Census[7]

  • Solan district occupies the 4th rank among the districts in terms of population.
  • Solan district stands at 2nd position in terms of Urban population in the state.
  • Solan district occupies 11th position in sex ratio by registering 880 females per 1000 males against state average of 972 females. This sex ratio has slightly improved from 852 females in 2001 to 880 in 2011.
  • Solan district stands 4th in terms of its working force having total workers of 298,737 persons against 3,559,422 working persons of the state.
  • Solan district stands at 2nd positions in terms of decadal population growth (2001-2011) of 15.9 per cent persons in comparison to state decadal population growth of 12.9 per cent persons.
  • In terms of density of population per km2. Solan district with 300 persons per km2. stands at 4th rank in the state.
  • Solan district occupies 4th rank among the districts of the state in terms of literate population. It has a literate population of 428,578 persons.
  • The economy of Solan district is more or less depends on agriculture. It has returned 141,267 persons as cultivators and holds the 8th position among the districts of the state.
  • Solan district is known for its exquisite climate which attracts large number of tourists from the plains round the year. Shivalik range of mountains full of diverse flora and fauna make Solan district as a whole an exhilarating experience.
  • Solan district has an important place on the tourist map of the state with famous tourist places like Solan town, Chail, Kasauli, Barog and Dagshai.
  • Solan is famous for the production of off-season vegetables. Because of high production of Mushroom the town of Solan still holds the fame of Mushroom City of India.
  • Solan is also known as City of Red Gold as the large amount of tomatoes are produced in the region.Source: DISTRICT CENSUS HANDBOOK, SOLAN VILLAGE AND TOWN WISE PRIMARY CENSUS ABSTRACT (PCA)

Economy

===Agriculture===[8]

Agriculture is the prominent feature of Solan district. It is the main occupation of the inhabitants of Solan district and about 60 percent people are dependent for their livehood on agriculture and its allied activities. Maize, wheat and barley are the main crops and onion, pulses and peas are the main cash crops grown in many parts of district.

Vegetables like cabbage, turnip, beans, ladyfinger, tomato, radish, chillies, garlic etc. are grown in many parts of the district. Beside this cultivation of mushroom in the district is also very high. So much so that N.R.C.M. (National Research Centre for Mushroom), Central Government Body is located in Solan town. People not only involve in the agriculture of the mushroom but they also use it for preparing of pickles, murabas and soups of mushroom. Because the cultivation of mushroom is very popular in Solan, so people call the city of Solan as "Mushroom City".

Horticulture

The climatic and geographical conditions of the Solan district provide the good scope for the development of the horticulture. People of the district prefer horticulture over the agriculture and the area under horticulture is increasing year after year in the district. Apricot, plum, pear, mango, banana, grapes and kiwi etc. are the main fruits of this district. In addition to this some natural and traditional fruits such as Chulli and brahmi are also grown. These fruits are used for making wine, juices, squashes, pickle etc. Edible oil is extracted from the seeds of chulli in this district. The chulli oil is used for cooking purposes.

The people of this area are slowly and steadily shifting from traditional agriculture activities to the horticulture and the area covered under horticulture is rising steadily with significant increase in fruits production.

Horticulture is not only providing fruits to eat but also provide good scope in the fruit processing industries. As such cash crops constitute the main stay of economy. Even Government of Himachal Pradesh has given priority to create and improve horticulture in Solan district.

Animal husbandry

Animal Husbandry is a traditional practise by the farmers along with agriculture. It gives them another source of income. Any surplus milk and butteroil is sold in the town which offers quick returns and near stable price.

Trade and Commerce

The major towns in the district are popular in the surrounding area. So they show good level of trade and commerce activities. The district headquarter Solan town has an organised sabzi mandi with supporting facilities constructed at Kather on Solan by pass. This Mandi is popular since farmers are getting handsome return of their produce.

Industry

There are three main industrial hubs in Solan district:

BBN has emerged as a global Pharma hub.[11]

Culture

Attractions and tourism

Places of interest

There are many places of interest in Solan.

Education

There is a good educational infrastructure in Solan district. The major cities and suburbs are hub of educational institutions and training centres. The various Primary and High schools of government and private institutions meet the needs of undergraduate students.

Central government

State government

  • Government Boys Senior Secondary School
  • Government Girls Senior Secondary School
  • Government PG College
  • Government Polytechnic College for Women
  • Industrial Training Institute

Private public school

  • St.Luke's School Solan,founded in 1958, is well-known school located in Solan town.

Private Dental Colleges

  • Bhojia dental college and hospital, Budh (Baddi) Dist. Solan
  • M.N.D.A.V. Dental College & Hospital, Solan

Private medical college

  • MM University & Medical College, Solan District. Solan

Private engineering college

  • Green Hills Engineering College, Kumarhatti, Solan

Private GNM and other nursing schools

  • Murari Lal Memorial School & Collegr Of Nursing
  • Sai Sanjivini Hospital, Solan

Homoeopathic college

  • Solan Homoeopethic Medical College, Barog Bypass, Kumarhatti.

Private universities

A joint initiative of Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India, Govt. of H.P. & Baddi Barotiwala Nalagarh Industries Association (BBNIA)

  • Baddi Technical Training Institute[12]

Motilal Nehru Central State Library

Motilal Nehru Central state library is situated on The Mall, Solan. Established on 29 June 1959, it is the only Central State Library in Himachal Pradesh. All the schools and public libraries in the state come under it. Till 1973 the library was running a certificate course in library science, and had even initiated the Mobile Library project to benefit youth in rural areas of the state.

This library is Responsible for managing all school & public libraries in the state. There are thousands of precious and valuable books housed in this library. This library is centrally located above PNB on The Mall Solan.

Notable People

References

  1. ↑ "Solan Sub divisions". hpsolan.nic.in. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  2. ↑ "Solan Tehsils and sub tehsils". hpsolan.nic.in. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  3. ↑ "Solan Panchayats". hpsolan.nic.in. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "District Census 2011". Census2011.co.in. 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
  5. ↑ US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Retrieved 2011-10-01. Solomon Islands 571,890 July 2011 est.
  6. ↑ "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-09-30. Wyoming 563,626
  7. ↑ "DISTRICT CENSUS HANDBOOK, SOLAN VILLAGE AND TOWN WISE PRIMARY CENSUS ABSTRACT (PCA)" (PDF). censusindia.gov.in/2011census. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  8. ↑ "Districts of India, HP, Solan Agriculture". Districts of India. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  9. ↑ "What India's five manufacturing hubs expect from Modi government to kick-start growth". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  10. ↑ "BBN Development Authority". bbndahp.nic.in. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  11. ↑ "With Rs 30K cr turnover, Baddi emerges global pharma hub". The Indian Express. 2016-05-06. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  12. ↑ "Baddi Technical Training Institute". BTTI. Retrieved 16 September 2018.

Coordinates: 30°54′21″N 77°05′33″E / 30.9059°N 77.0925°E / 30.9059; 77.0925

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