Bilaspur State (1950–1954)
Bilaspur State was a state of India from 1950 to 1954 with Bilaspur town as its capital. The state was established after the province of the same name created in 1948 from the princely state of Bilaspur.
Bilaspur State | |||||||||
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Former state 1950–1954 | |||||||||
| Etymology: from a Fisher-woman named “Bilasa” | |||||||||
Location of Bilaspur State in India | |||||||||
| Coordinates: 31.33°N 76.75°E | |||||||||
| Country | India | ||||||||
| Region | North India | ||||||||
| Before was | Kahlur | ||||||||
| Formation | 1950 | ||||||||
| Consolidation | 1954 | ||||||||
| Capital and largest city | Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh | ||||||||
| Government | |||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
| • Total | 1,401 km2 (541 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population (1951) | |||||||||
| • Total | 126,099 | ||||||||
| Time zone | UTC+05:30 (IST) | ||||||||
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The 31st state of Bilaspur, which had been until then a separate entity under the control of the Chief Commissioner, was integrated with Himachal Pradesh on 1 July 1954 thereby adding one more district to the state.
The main reason why Bilaspur was made a separate state, instead of being merged with Himachal Pradesh from the beginning, was because of the ongoing construction of the Bhakra Dam in the area. This was expected to cause extensive flooding that would displace a lot of people, who would then need to receive compensation as well as be relocated. The central government wanted to have Bilaspur as a separate state so that they could deal with these matters separately instead of being subsumed under Himachal Pradesh.