Trade And Commerce (Commercial Area)
These are business centers where selling of finished products is carried out for day-to-day usage in urban areas. These areas are intermixed with residential areas. At few places commercial areas can aggregate to form definite clusters especially at the core i.e. CBD. The establishment of Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) gave a boost to trade and commerce in Raipur. Along with Durg, several towns like Raipur and Rajnandgaon also developed with the coming up of the BSP. Durg was basically a forest area owned by private individuals who received hefty compensation when they sold their property to the government for setting up the plant. While the plant was being set up, about 60-70 Russian families stayed in Raipur for several years, giving a fillip to the business of local traders.
Arial coverage of this category has increased from 170 ha to 180 hectare in 1971 and 2001 respectively, but land utilization rate decrease from 0.36 ha per thousand persons to 0.30 hect per thousand persons in the year 2001 which indicates increasing pressure of population on available land area. The land reserved for commercial use was distributed under different categories of activities. RDP 1991 envisages commercial development in the form of following categories-
- Commercial areas at city level
- A Trade center
- B Whole sale market
- C Specialized market
- D Mandi
- E Categorized Market
- F Weekly market
- Commercial area at P.U. level
- Commercial area at sector level
According to the development plan proposal only 64 percent of the commercial areas has been developed it includes the following complexes.
- Commercial complex at Sharda Chowk, D.K Hospital chowk and Vivkanand Ashram.
- Bombay Cloth Market at Pandari
- Vegetable Market at Labhandih
- Grain Mandi, along the G.E. road near Telebandha Tank.
However city level commercial areas viz wholesale and specialized markets, mandis, categorized markets etc. are partly developed. Still some of these activities are functioning within the town. Katora talab which is surrounded by residential colonies has taken the shape of retail commercial area due to absence of organized shopping centre. Jaistambh as a center is still functioning as a main central business district catering to the needs of extended city and floating population.
Concentration of commercial activities along major transportation corridor has created problems of parking and traffic problems. Therefore, the new plan proposal should be based on following strategies.
- Central area is proposed to retain its character as a city center.
- Hierarchical shopping centers at suitable locations are proposed so as to reduce increasing pressure on existing city and further conversion of residential uses in to commercial.
- Relocation of wholesale and incompatible uses creating land use and traffic problems.