Administration
District Collector & Magistrate
The district's chief administrator — responsible for law and order, land revenue, disaster response, elections and the roll-out of state and central government schemes across the district.
Explore
Everything about the district, in one place
01
Overview
Janjgir-Champa sits on the Mahanadi plain in the middle of Chhattisgarh, which is why it …
02Government & Administration
Like every Indian district, Janjgir-Champa is run by a revenue administration headed by a…
03District Departments
The government departments that operate offices and schemes in the district.
04Geography & Blocks
The present-day district (after the 2022 formation of Sakti district) is organised into t…
05Heritage & Temples
Almost every notable heritage site in the district sits by a river — a reflection of how …
06Social Life & Culture
Life in Janjgir-Champa moves with the farming calendar and the river festival calendar — …
07Economy & Livelihood
Agriculture remains the base of the district's economy, but the last two decades have add…
08City & Town Guide
A quick look at the towns that anchor each part of Janjgir-Champa.
09Photo Gallery
Photographs of the district. Upload images from Admin → Pages → Gallery → Items.
Overview
A district at the centre of the state
Janjgir-Champa sits on the Mahanadi plain in the middle of Chhattisgarh, which is why it is popularly called the "Heart of Chhattisgarh." It was created on 25 May 1998 when it was separated from Bilaspur district, and its own eastern half was later separated again in 2022 to form Sakti district.
- StateChhattisgarh, India
- DivisionBilaspur
- HeadquartersJanjgir
- Formed25 May 1998
- Carved fromBilaspur district
- Later reorganisedSakti split off, 2022
The headquarters town, Janjgir, traces its name to Maharaja Jajwalya Dev of the Kalachuri (Kulchuri) dynasty, whose 12th-century Vishnu temple still stands near Bhima Talab in the old town. Champa, nine kilometres away, is remembered locally as being named after Champak, a horse belonging to Raja Veer Bahadur.
The district is drained by the Mahanadi and its tributaries, which is why so much of its identity — its temples, its fairs, its fertile paddy fields — sits along riverbanks. It lies on the Howrah–Mumbai railway line, and Champa Junction is one of the busier stations on that route.
A note on figures and places: Detailed population and area statistics are from the 2011 Census, before Sakti was separated into its own district in 2022. Some places often listed under old Janjgir-Champa guides — Chandrapur and its Chandrahasini Temple among them — are now in Sakti district, not here. Check the official portal for anything current.
Government & Administration
How the district is governed
Like every Indian district, Janjgir-Champa is run by a revenue administration headed by a Collector, alongside a police setup and a panchayati raj structure for rural local government.
Police
Superintendent of Police
Heads the district police force and works alongside the Collector on law-and-order matters, reporting through the Bilaspur police range.
Revenue
Sub-Divisional Officers
Each subdivision — Janjgir, Champa and Pamgarh — has its own SDM handling revenue and magisterial work for the tehsils under it.
Local level
Tehsildars & Janpad Panchayats
Tehsildars manage land records and revenue at the tehsil level, while elected Janpad and Gram Panchayats handle local rural governance and development works.
Local government
Zila Panchayat & Municipal Bodies
The Zila Panchayat oversees rural development district-wide; the Nagar Palika Parishads of Janjgir, Champa, Akaltara, Naila-Janjgir and other towns govern urban areas.
Departments
District departments
The government departments that operate offices and schemes in the district.
Geography & Blocks
Subdivisions, tehsils and blocks
The present-day district (after the 2022 formation of Sakti district) is organised into three subdivisions and nine tehsils, spread across the Mahanadi's alluvial plain.
Subdivisions and their blocks / janpad panchayats
| Janjgir | Nawagarh, Akaltara, Baloda |
| Champa | Bamhnidih |
| Pamgarh | Pamgarh |
Tehsils of the district
| Janjgir | District headquarters, Vishnu Mandir (Nakta Mandir) |
| Champa | Rail junction, handloom & textile training institute |
| Akaltara | Cement & power industry, birthplace of Thakur Chhedi Lal |
Heritage & Temples
Temples on the riverbanks
Almost every notable heritage site in the district sits by a river — a reflection of how settlement here has always followed the Mahanadi and its tributaries.
Janjgir · 12th century
Vishnu Mandir (Nakta Mandir)
Built during the Kalachuri period near Bhima Talab in Janjgir's old town, this Vishnu temple was raised in two separate phases that were never finished together — locally it's known as the "Nakta Mandir," the unfinished temple. Its sculpted panels of deities, gandharvas and kinnaras are still its main draw.
Shivrinarayan · 11th century
Laxminarayan Temple
Standing at the Triveni Sangam — the meeting point of the Mahanadi, Shivnath and Jonk rivers — this temple is linked in local tradition to Shabari's ashram from the Ramayana. It hosts one of Chhattisgarh's largest fairs, the Shivrinarayan Mela, on Maghi Purnima.
Pithampur · on the Hasdeo
Kaleshwarnath Shiv Mandir
A Shiva temple on the banks of the Hasdeo river, best known for its ten-day Shiv-Vivah (divine wedding) celebrations around Maha Shivaratri, when Naga sadhus and pilgrims from across the region gather.
Malkharoda area
Ashtbhuji Devi Temple
An old eight-armed-goddess (Ashtbhuji) shrine in the district's east — one of several local Devi temples that draw village-level pilgrimage alongside the larger riverside sites.
Near Janjgir
Dewar Ghata & river confluences
A picnic spot at a river confluence a short drive from Janjgir, along with the Kanhara and Damudhara waterfalls — the district's answer to a day out in nature.
Kotmi Sonar
Crocodile Conservation Park
A quieter, more recent addition to the district's attractions: a park built around a wetland crocodile habitat, blending conservation with a low-key tourist stop.
Social Life & Culture
Fairs, faith and everyday life
Life in Janjgir-Champa moves with the farming calendar and the river festival calendar — Chhattisgarhi in language and custom, and strongly shaped by the district's Vaishnav and Shaiva pilgrimage sites.
Maghi Purnima
Shivrinarayan Mela
Held on the full moon of Magh at the Triveni Sangam, this is one of the largest fairs in Chhattisgarh, drawing traders, pilgrims and performers to Shivrinarayan for several days.
Maha Shivaratri
Shiv-Vivah at Pithampur
A ten-day observance around the Kaleshwarnath temple re-enacting Shiva's wedding, with an unusually strong presence of wandering Naga sadhus during the festival window.
Everyday craft
Tussar silk & handloom weaving
Champa is a major tussar-silk (kosa) production hub, with weavers producing for both export and local markets: home furnishings, dress materials, carpets and throws for export, and kosa silk sarees and dupattas locally. The town is also home to the Indian Institute of Handloom and Textile Technology, and weaving remains a household trade in many surrounding villages.
Village faith
Local gods and goddesses
Beyond the well-known temples, most villages maintain their own local deity shrines and observances — a pattern typical of rural Chhattisgarh's blended folk and Vaishnav-Shaiva traditions.
Language
Hindi & Chhattisgarhi
Chhattisgarhi is the everyday spoken language across the district's towns and villages, with Hindi used in administration, schooling and formal settings.
Economy & Livelihood
Rice fields and power plants
Agriculture remains the base of the district's economy, but the last two decades have added a second identity: Janjgir-Champa is now one of the most power-plant-dense districts in Chhattisgarh.
Primary sector
Agriculture
The Mahanadi's alluvial plain makes this one of the state's strongest paddy-growing districts, with rice as the dominant crop alongside pulses and oilseeds — earning the district its long-standing reputation as a food-grain producer for Chhattisgarh.
Energy
Power & energy
Large thermal power stations at Akaltara, Marwa and Baradarha, developed by both state and private generators, have turned the district into a significant contributor to Chhattisgarh's electricity grid.
Industry
Industry & crafts
Cement plants around Akaltara, rice mills across the plain, and Champa's tussar-silk (kosa) cluster round out an economy that spans heavy industry and household craft.
City & Town Guide
Around the district
A quick look at the towns that anchor each part of Janjgir-Champa.
HQ town
Janjgir
The district headquarters, on the Howrah–Mumbai rail line via Janjgir-Naila station. Home to the 12th-century Vishnu Mandir near Bhima Talab, and connected to Raipur by NH-200.
Tussar silk hub
Champa
Nine kilometres from Janjgir, Champa is a category-A railway junction and a tussar-silk (kosa) production hub. It's also home to the Indian Institute of Handloom and Textile Technology.
Industrial town
Akaltara
Sitting between Bilaspur and Janjgir, Akaltara is known for limestone, cement plants and large thermal power projects, and is the birthplace of freedom fighter Thakur Chhedi Lal.
Pilgrimage town
Shivrinarayan
A small town at the Triveni Sangam of the Mahanadi, Shivnath and Jonk rivers, built around the 11th-century Laxminarayan Temple and its Maghi Purnima fair.
Subdivisional town
Pamgarh
Headquarters of the eastern Pamgarh subdivision, serving the surrounding agricultural blocks of that part of the district.
Agricultural blocks
Nawagarh & Baloda
Two of the district's rural tehsils under Janjgir subdivision, both squarely within the Mahanadi plain's rice-growing belt.