History of Singrauli

Singrauli district came into existence on 24 May 2008, with its headquarters at Waidhan. It was formed by separating three tehsils of the erstwhile Sidhi district: Singrauli, Deosar and Chitrangi. The area in the eastern part of the state of Madhya Pradesh and the adjoining southern part of Sonebhadra district in the state of UP is collectively known as Singrauli. Singrauli is emerging as India’s energy capital. The place earlier known as Shringavali, named after the sage Shringi, was once covered with dense and unnavigable forests and inhabited by wild animals. The place was considered so treacherous that it was used by the kings of Rewa State, who ruled the area till 1947, as an open air prison for detaining errant civilians and officers.

In the 1800s, there were three separate rulers of Singrauli (previously known as Sidhi), ruling three parts of the territory: First were the Chandela rulers from Bardi (Khatai). Second was RajasahabMadwas, He was a Baland Rajput, ruled in Majhauli block mostly. Third was Rajasahab of Singrauli. Raja Kant Deo Singh of BardiKhatai continues to live in the ancestral Haveli located on the banks of the river Sone.

Just two generations ago, smallholders were tending their parcels of land here, and the original inhabitants were gathering honey and herbs in the forest. In the late fifties, a large scale dam banked up the water of the River Rihand. The dam known as GovindVallabh Pant Sagar was inaugurated by Pt. JawaharLal Nehru in 1962. Later, rich coal deposits spread over an area of 2200 km² in the state of M.P. (eastern part of Sidhi District) and U.P. (southern part of Sonebhadra District) were discovered close to the artificial lake that could be used to generate electricity.

Pollution threatens the shelters. Connectivity by road is very poor. This has been evident for several years but no action has been taken yet to improve road transport and quality of buses.

The Rihand Dam was built in 1961 across the Rihand River at Pipri in the neighbouring district of Sonbhadra, in Uttar Pradesh. Later, rich coal deposits spread over an area of 2,200 square kilometres(850 sq mi) across thestates of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh were discovered close to the artificial lake, GovindBallabh Pant Sagarformed by the Rihand Dam. That led to the transformation and development of the area.

Coal Mining And Power

Northern Coalfields is the major business of the district. The headquarters of the company are at Singrauli. The company is a subsidiary of Coal India, which is the largest coal producing company in world. All major companies operating in Singrauli are giants of Indian energy industry. The operations of companies include mining of coal to power generation. In recent past, several private companies have also joined the league of companies operating in Singrauli. It is expected by 2017, that Singrauli would feed around 35,000 MW of electrical power to the grid alone.

Major companies operating or coming up at Singrauli are:

• NTPC Limited (3 Power Plant with combined generation capacity of 9760 MW)
• Coal India Limited (Through its subsidiary Northern Coalfields Limited annual production 80 Million MT)
• Reliance Power Limited (3960 MW)
• Essar Power Limited (1200 MW)
• DB Power Limited (1320 MW)

The rail department is planning to expand their network here. Recently Singrauli station has been allotted an extra platform. On 24 May 2008, Madhya Pradesh government declared Singrauli as its 50th district by separating from Sidhi with 3 tehsils, Singrauli, Chitrangi and Deosar. On 1 April 2012 two new tehsils were added, Mada and Sarai.

By Air:

Singrauli at present doesn’t have an airport of its own but the airport at Khajuri-khutar airport near Waidhan is under construction, on completion of which the area will become more accessible via airways. Currently the nearest airport is at Varanasi.

By Rail:

Singrauli is well connected with the rest of Madhya Pradesh and the nearby areas of Uttar Pradesh via railway network. There are daily trains plying between Singrauli to Varanasi, Jabalpur, Patna, Lucknow etc.

By Road:

Singrauli has road connectivity with the nearby towns owing to the difficult terrain and undulating landscape. It is about 50km from Renukoot which has good train connectivity with Delhi, Amritsar, Rourkela etc. The ideal route would be to reach Renukoot by train and then travel by road to reach Singrauli.