About Seoni

Extensively used as a background setting for the famous Jungle Book stories and as the homeland for the Jungle hero, Mowgli by Rudyard Kipling, Seoni, is the beautiful and quaint city in the Indian state Madhya Pradesh. The key attraction of the place is the peaceful and harmonious environ marked by rich green carpeted forest and its pristine beauty which naturally refreshes both the mind and the soul. It is in fact, one of the prime locations for tourism in Madhya Pradesh.

History of Seoni

The beautiful district of Seoni, came into existence on 1st November 1956. According to some stories, Seoni was first formed in the year 1776. As per the tales, Jagat Guru was strolling through the wonderful meadows of the area and was so impressed by the exceptional beauty of the place that he named it Shironi. This was later renamed as Shiv Nagari or Seoni. According to others, this area remained covered with Seona trees, the reason why people named it Seoni.

Geography of Seoni

Based in the southern part of Madhya Pradesh, it is around 37% covered with deep forested area. The district is based on Satpura tableland and in it is majorly facilitated by the waters of Waiganga river. In the northern part of the district lies the Lakhnadon plateau and the eastern part has the elevated basin and watershed of Wainganga Rivers, the western region is based on Seoni plateau whereas the south western region is characterized with rocky land named as Dongartal. The average altitude of the plateaus here varies from 1800ft to 2000ft.

The exact location of Seoni according to the meridians is at 22.08° North latitude and 79.53°East longitude. The elevation of the area is around 611 meters or 2004 feet. The district falls on the Nagpur Jabalpur road and is generally famous for its public gardens and market places. The districts that borders Seoni district includes Nagpur on the south Mandla, Narsingpur and Jabalpur on the north, Chhindwara in the west and on the eastern side lies Balaghat districts.According to the geological study of the district, trap hills is found in the northern zone and crystalline rock in the south. Rich black cotton soil basically covers the majority of the district with some areas having siliceous soil with a larger quantity of clay.Among the various rivers flowing in this area, the main is Wainganga accompanied by others namely Thanwar, Bijna, Theli, Sagar, Sher and Timar. The total area of Seoni district is 8758sqkms and it falls under Hindi Belt India

Climate of Seoni

Tropical weather prevails over Seoni district. While the summer months are quite hot, the winters are cool and pleasant. The summer months in Seoni stretches from April to June. With the scorching sun the temperature during these summer months rises as high as 42°C. The next three months July, August and September remains the monsoon season where usually the sky remains clear with scanty rainfall of 53 inch. The winter season stretches from December to February where the minimum temperature records at 8°C. The weather here during this time remains cool with cold winds blowing. The best time to visit Seoni is the months of February and March and October, November when the weather remains pleasant and ideal for roaming and sightseeing.

Forest in Seoni

Seoni enjoys forest cover of 3, 28,200 hectares. Among the total number of villages based in the district, the maximum are settled in forest areas or near to those areas. For the better operation of the forested areas there are territorial divisions, a social forestry division, a forest development office and two production departments. Timber is one of the avid producers in this forest along with Teak which is also grown hugely here. Among the minerals available here stone or gitti, murum and sand are majorly found here.

Culture of Seoni

Seoni is dominated majorly by people of the tribal class. About 36% of the population consists of people from schedule tribes. Among the rest a larger section of people are from Gond and Bagri tribes. There are even people from other states and cities who have travelled to this part for employment and education. The city as a result is a combination of number of caste and creed which makes it enjoy multiple kinds of customs, rituals and faith. The people here are very much attached to these traditions and customs and they maintain the same religiously. The major festivals celebrated here include Ram Nabami, Arwa Teej, Bhagoria Festival, Shivratri, Holi, Dushera, Diwali, Bhilat Bala ki Mela during Chaitra fair, Laru Kaj Festival and others. The festivals are celebrated with traditional songs and dance which includes folk songs and dances like Ghoomar dance, Gridha dance etc.

Administration in Seoni

Among the 50 districts of Madhya Pradesh, Seoni is a prominent one especially for its tourist attraction and well administered society. Located at a distance of 298km on the western side of Bhopal this particular district is based on an area of 8758sqkm. The Ministry of Panchayat Raaj in the year 2006 declared 250 backward districts of the country of which Seoni is one. This particular district is among the 24 districts of Madhya Pradesh which receives fund from Backward Regions Grant Fund Program (BRGF). The district is operated under Seoni division and it is subdivided into five Sub Division, eight Tehsils, and eight development blocks. The total region is administered by 01 Nagar Palika, 645 Gram Panchyats or Panchyat Samiti, 1585 revenue villages with 4 assembly area. The major tehsils of the district includes Barghat, Dhanora, Chhapara, Keolari, Kurai, Ghansaur, Lakhnadon and Seoni.

DM and Collector, Seoni
Bharat Yadav (IAS)
Phone: 07692-220444
Website: https://seoni.nic.in/

Superintendent Of Police, Seoni
Ph.( Off.): 226689
Ph.(Res.): 225589
Fax: 220241

Business and Economy in Seoni

Business and Economy is not much progressive in Seoni. There are various reasons behind the same but at the same time it is true that the region has much potential to develop.Though there are prospects for various industries but at present it is the agricultural business which takes the maximum credit for revenue contribution for the district. Agriculture is the primary occupation in Seoni district apart from few allied activities. The area of Seoni can be divided majorly into three divisions, agricultural land, barren lands and forested land. As per the records around 43.22% of land is used in agriculture of which only 11.93% of land is utilized for double cropping. Around 11% of the land forms a part of irrigated land. Agricultural practice followed here is not much modernized due to lack of knowledge, training and exposure to the outer world. As a result the process followed is of traditional type and the fertilizer composition is also much less.


The major crops cultivated here include rice, soyabean, kodo kutki, maize and Tur as khariff crops and wheat, chickpea, lentil, linseed and pea as rabi crops. Horticulture crops are also popular production here. Among fruits the major production is there of orange, guava, mango and lemon whereas in vegetables there are tomato, onion, brinjal, chilli etc. Apart from this the inhabitants also maintain livestock of cows, buffaloes, goats, pigs, and dogs to generate income from this business. The production of milk eggs and meat is sufficient from this stock but due to lack of purchase power the same are not utilized properly. There is a huge scope for dairy business here but again lack of training and knowledge along with absence of green fodder during summer season is the main disadvantage here. It may be noted that the total area of the district has a considerable forest land. Around 37% of the total area of Seoni district is under forest and almost 50% of the inhabitants of the district lives around this forest land. As a result of this after agricultural business, the nest most prominent mode of income here is the non-timber forest produce. Teak is widely found here. There are various medicinal plants which are of huge demand in the market. But the income is not as much from this industry due to lack of infrastructure, knowledge and proper facilities for export.

Regarding industries, there are very less number of industrial units present in seoni district. There are no large scale industries in seoni district. One can find small scale industries only based here majorly focusing of products like wood based furnitures, rubber and leather based companies at Khawasa, metal based companies and quite a considerable number of repair and servicing units. A notable company in this area is the Baidhnath Pvt Ltd, employing around 5000 people. Cottage industries are there in the district with several people being engaged into it.

Tourism in Seoni

Seoni is one of the prominent and famous tourist spot in Madhya Pradesh. It has the largest soil dam based on River Wainganga which is named as Sanjay Sarowar Dam. The main utility of this dam is to support irrigation of places in and around the river and facilitate better agriculture. Since Kiplings “Jungle Book” has the reference of this place, it is interesting to visit the workplace of the little hero Mowgli in Seoni Mandla State Highway near Amodagarh. The historical reference of this place is the Sona Rani Palace which is still visible here.

Apart from this for all those who love wildlife and adventure, there is the option of visiting Pench Tiger Reserve and experience the exquisite forest attractions. Apart from this one can visit Barghat for beautiful hills, attractive and magnetizing environ and the pleasure of trekking and camping. There are some notable religious spots too which can also be visited like Shiv Temple and Mahakaleshwar temple which are also popular tourist destination. For more information on tourism, click here

Transport in Seoni

Transportation in Seoni is quite good. Infact it has good connectivity with major states and cities of the country. The nearest airport to Seoni is the Jabalpur Airport which is at a distance of 133km and connects many domestic places in the country. The district has its own railway station named as Seoni Railway station which connects various trains from Nagpur. One can travel multiple places across the country through Nagpur again. The station is around 20.24 kms away from the heart of Seoni city. Apart from this there are other stations like Bhoma Railway station, Chhindwara Railway Station and Linga Railway station at a distance of 43kms. However for the neighboring places one can travel through private taxis and buses.

Seoni Railway Station
Train Station
Address: Railway Station Rd, Adhunik Colony, Seoni, Madhya Pradesh 480661

Quick Facts on Seoni

State: Madhya Pradesh
District HQ: Seoni
Population (2011): 1,379,131
Area (km²): 8758
Tehsils : Barghat, Chhapara, Dhanora, Ghansaur, Keolari, Kurai, Lakhnadon, Seoni
Lok Sabha Constituencies: Balaghat
Languages: Hindi