Kapsi

Kapsi is a large marketplace village in the Kanker district of Chhattisgarh, India. It holds significance as a model village under two ambitious schemes of the Government of India, namely the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana and the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee National Rurban Mission. It is also the headquarters of the Kapsi forest range, the East Kapsi forest subdivision and the Kapsi water resource subdivision. Owing to its sizeable tribal population, it is defined as a Scheduled Area under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of India.

Geography


Kapsi is located roughly 10 km northeast of the tehsil headquarters Pakhanjur and 100 km southwest of the district headquarters Kanker. It is bordered by the Durgukondal tehsil to its northeast. Due to its location at the northernmost boundary of the erstwhile Paralkot jagir, it is also known as the Gateway of Paralkot. Its proximity to the trijunction of Kanker and Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki districts of Chhattisgarh and the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, makes it an important transit hub of the area.



Geographically, it lies in the northern lowlands of the Bastar plateau and is a part of the historical Dandakaranya region. The elevation of the village ranges from 310 m to 330 m above sea level. The Devda ravine, a tributary of Kotri river, meanders through the heart of the village and serves as its lifeline. The region primarily features fertile lateritic soil, which is well-suited to agriculture due to its fine texture and darker hues. With its dense green cover, undulating terrain, hillocks, and stream courses, the region harbours habitats for diverse flora and fauna.

Demography
According to 2011 Census of India, Kapsi had a total population of 4,179.

Bade Kapsi had a population of 1129 with 14.70% of the population under six years of age. The sex ratio was 1034 females per 1,000 males. Male literacy was 64.63% and female literacy was 51.64%. The effective literacy rate was 58.05%, which was lower than the Chhattisgarh state average of 70.28%.

Chhote Kapsi had a population of 3050 with 11.54% of the population under six years of age. The sex ratio was 992 females per 1,000 males. Male literacy was 88.54% and female literacy was 79.27%. The effective literacy rate was 83.91%, which was higher than the Chhattisgarh state average of 70.28%.

Administration
From the administrative perspective, Kapsi is divided into two independent gram panchayats (village councils) namely:


 * 1) Bade Kapsi: It lies to the east of the Devda ravine and covers an area of 7.55 km2. It is often referred to as Purana Kapsi in maps published by the Geological Survey of India.
 * 2) Chhote Kapsi: It lies to the west of the Devda ravine and covers an area of 4.36 km2. It is often referred to as Naya Kapsi in maps published by the GSI.

Both the gram panchayats fall under the administrative jurisdiction of the Koyalibeda Janapad Panchayat.

Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana
Chhote Kapsi was the first village in the Kanker parliamentary constituency to be identified for development under the ambitious Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana of the Government of India. The inaugural ceremony was flagged off at a public event on 27 March 2015, by then Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) Vikram Usendi, in presence of government officials and public representatives from the district. The primary objective of the scheme is to develop model villages to provide better standards of living and quality of life for inclusive growth of the rural population through improved basic amenities, better livelihood opportunities, enriched social capital, etc.

However, after the initial fanfare the scheme failed to achieve its declared objectives in the development of the village due to apathy, poor planning and lack of funds.

Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission


Under the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission, also known as the National Rurban Mission (NRuM), Bade Kapsi has been identified as a tribal cluster and one of the 300 Rurban clusters across the country aimed at making the rural areas socially, economically and physically sustainable regions. The integrated cluster action plan (ICAP) for the cluster was approved by the Govt. of India in 2018 under the phase II of NRuM.

The Bade Kapsi Rurban cluster comprises five gram panchayats, which together consist of several geographically contiguous villages.

Town and Country Planning
In order to regulate the development of land and its use in the cluster and to achieve a planned and holistic development, the Directorate of Town and Country Planning of the Government of Chhattisgarh has established the Bade Kapsi Planning Area on 1 March 2017. The planning area boundary comprises six gram panchayats — all five gram panchayats of the Bade Kapsi Rurban cluster and the additional gram panchayat of Premnagar. The land use map, covering an area of 40.4 km2, was published and notified in the State Gazette on 28 September 2018.

Electricity
The Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited (CSPDCL) operates a feeder substation and distribution centre at Bade Kapsi, which supplies power to the locality and collects payments for electricity bills.

Telephone and internet
State owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) provides wired landline, 2G/3G cellular telephony and fibre broadband internet services in Kapsi. Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (Jio) has started providing 4G LTE cellular services since November 2021 and 5G services since July 2023. However, the quality of voice and internet services remain dismal from both the telecom service providers due to undercapacity and lack of investment in upgrading their infrastructure.

A non-functional cellular tower erected by the now defunct Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM) of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group also exists. Both the BSNL and RCOM facilities were vandalised and set on fire by Maoist rebels in an attack in December 2008. The BSNL services were reinstated within a few weeks after the incident whereas the RCOM service remained suspended and was subsequently withdrawn.

Healthcare
Due insufficient healthcare facilities, the residents primarily rely on home-made remedies and quackery as the first response to medical needs. The government run Primary Health Centre (PHC) in the village is heavily understaffed and underequipped to provide any meaningful treatment even to the outpatients. A couple of privately run health facilities provide primary healthcare. Higher healthcare needs are referred to cities such as Dalli Rajhara, Dhamtari, Bhilai and Raipur.

Agriculture
The economy of Kapsi is chiefly agrarian. Large scale cultivation of paddy and maize are undertaken throughout Rabi and Kharif crop seasons. Fish farming and dairy farming are other major primary sector activities practised by the populace. Under the aegis of Department of Fisheries, Govt. Of Chhattisgarh, the Bade Kapsi Rurban Cluster has become an important centre for pisciculture in the state, even exporting to the neighbouring states of Maharashtra and Odisha. Sericulture and horticulture are also gradually gaining ground, albeit practised by a few.

Forest produce
Forests play an important role in the lives of the people, providing food and livelihood by way of minor forest produce and employment as casual labour in the Forest department. They provide for consumer needs such fuel, firewood, medicines, food, beverages, and housing materials, among others.

Trade and commerce
Kapsi hosts a regular market that provides goods and services to the surrounding locality. The Netaji market in Chhote Kapsi is the main commercial hub of the area. A new market in Bade Kapsi is also quickly taking shape to cater to the growing business requirements.

The following public-sector banks operate in Kapsi:

Tourism
Kherkatta Dam, officially known as Paralkot Reservoir (Devanagari: परलकोट जलाशय) is a popular local tourist spot and the largest dam in the district. It is built across the Kotri River near the village of Kherkatta, 10 km (6.2 mi) northwest of Kapsi. The construction of this medium irrigation project began in 1966 and was completed in 1981 by the Dandakaranya Development Authority, over a period of 15 years.

During the monsoon rains, it sees a large influx of visitors from all over the district as well as from the neighbouring districts, especially when water spills-over from the 12 m high spillway. Despite repeated demands by the public for its beautification and development of recreational activities such as boating to attract more tourists round the year, it remains devoid of even the basic amenities.

Road
Kapsi is situated on Chhattisgarh State Highway 25 and is served only by road transport. It is well connected to all regional towns and cities by buses operated at regular intervals. For local commute, auto rickshaws and share taxis are available throughout the day.



The approximate distance of regional towns and cities from Kapsi is as follows:

Rail
Kapsi is not connected to the network of Indian Railways. The nearest local railway station is Keoti (KETI), at a distance of 50 km from Kapsi, on the Dalli Rajhara–Jagdalpur line. Daily DEMU services connect this station to Raipur via Durg. The nearest long-haul railway station is Durg Jn. (DURG), 180 km away on the Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line.

There has been demands from various quarters to construct the proposed Gadchiroli-Bhanupratappur rail line via Durgukondal, Kapsi and Pakhanjur instead of via Manpur. This proposed line would serve as an alternative route between Nagpur and Vishakhapatnam — one of the busiest freight corridors in the country — by linking the Nagpur-Wadsa-Gadchiroli line to the Bhanupratappur-Jagdalpur-Vishakhapatnam line. When completed, this line would provide a much needed impetus to the development of this remote area.

In May 2022, the Ministry of Railways (India) provided an in-principle approval for the survey of this line. Subsequently, it allocated a budget of inr 33700000 for the survey. Given the importance of this project, the South Eastern Central Railway zone fast-tracked the regulatory process and in August of the same year floated tenders for the final location survey and preparation of the Detailed Project Report. The survey was commissioned soon after, also tracing its way through Kapsi as a possible station enroute. As of 30 July 2023, the results of the survey including its status, the final route and the deadline are yet to be made public.

Air
The nearest domestic airport from Kapsi is Swami Vivekananda Airport in Naya Raipur, approximately 210 km away.

Education
For primary and secondary school education, Kapsi has a number of Hindi as well as English medium schools, run by the government and private institutions. The quality of education in these schools is generally good with a fair emphasis on extracurricular activities, though the infrastructure is just about satisfactory given the rural setting. The colleges in the district impart basic post-secondary higher education. For good quality and specialised higher education, people are entirely dependent on the larger cities.

Human-wildlife conflict


Though instances of human-wildlife conflict in the region have been rare, a rapidly increasing human population contributing to high biodiversity interactions between people and wild animals are becoming more and more prevalent.

In July 2023, an adolescent wild elephant strayed from its group while traversing the forests and entered the residential areas of Kapsi, leading to chaos and panic for two days. Besides causing damage to several houses and crops in the neighbourhood, it trampled a man to death in the Silk Farm premises of Bade Kapsi despite efforts by the forest department officials to prevent conflict.

In June 2023, three persons belonging to Maharashtra were arrested from Matoli village by the Kapsi forest department officials for trying to smuggle a live Pangolin, whose market value was estimated at inr 1500000.