| Solan district | |
| Settlement Type: | District of Himachal Pradesh |
| Total Type: | Total |
| Coordinates: | 30.9059°N 77.0925°W |
| Coor Pinpoint: | Solan |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Himachal Pradesh |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Seat Type: | Headquarters |
| Seat: | Solan |
| Parts Type: | Tehsils |
| Parts Style: | para |
| P1: | 1. Solan, 2. Kasauli, 3. Nalagarh, 4. Arki and 5. Kandaghat 6. Baddi 7. Ramshehar |
| Area Total Km2: | 1936 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Total: | 580,320 |
| Population Urban: | 18.22% |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Demographics |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Literacy |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 85.02% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Sex ratio |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 880 |
| Leader Title1: | Lok Sabha constituencies |
| Leader Name1: | Shimla (Lok Sabha constituency) (shared with Sirmour and Shimla districts) |
| Leader Title2: | Vidhan Sabha constituencies |
| Leader Name2: | 5 |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +05:30 |
| Blank Name Sec2: | Average annual precipitation |
| Blank Info Sec2: | 1253 mm |
| Website: | http://hpsolan.nic.in/ |
Solan district is one of the twelve districts of the Himachal Pradesh state in northern India. The city of Solan is the administrative headquarters of the district. The district occupies an area of 1936 km2.
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. The name of the district as well as its headquarters comes from Mata Shoolini Devi. It's said that she saved Solan from being destroyed.
The district comprises five Vidhan Sabha constituencies: Arki, Nalagarh, Doon, Solan and Kasauli. All of these are part of Shimla (Lok Sabha constituency).
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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 purposes, 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 the 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
A number of Central Govt. Offices too have their own departmental buildings.
The offices at Baddi:
According to the 2011 census the district has a population of 580,320,[4] giving it a ranking of 532nd in India (out of a total of 640).[4] The district has a population density of 300PD/sqkm.[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%. 17.60% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 28.35% and 4.42% of the population respectively.[4]
At the 2011 census, 39.47% of the population identified their language as Hindi, 29.70% named it Pahari, 8.92% Punjabi, 5.61% Handuri, 2.58% Baghati, 2.35% Nepali and 1.42% Bhojpuri.[5]
District Highlights of 2011 Census[6]
See main article: Solan.
Agriculture is the prominent feature of Solan district. It is the main occupation of the inhabitants of Solan district and about 60 per cent of people are dependent on their livelihood 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 the district.
Vegetables like cabbage, turnip, beans, ladyfinger, tomato, radish, chilies, garlic, etc. are grown in many parts of the district. Besides 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 involved in the agriculture of the mushroom but they also use it for preparing 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".
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 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.
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.
See main article: Baddi.
There are three main industrial hubs in Solan district:
BBN has emerged as a global Pharma hub.[11]
See main article: Solan.
See main article: Solan.
There are many places of interest in Solan.
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.