Chas is a city and municipal corporation in the Bokaro district of Jharkhand, India. It lies in the eastern part of the Chota Nagpur Plateau and forms part of the Bokaro urban agglomeration, adjoining the planned steel city of Bokaro Steel City. Chas serves as the headquarters of the Chas subdivision and functions as a major commercial and residential centre of the district.
| Country | India |
|---|---|
| State | Jharkhand |
| District | Bokaro |
| Subdivision | Chas |
| Civic body | Chas Municipal Corporation |
| Region | Chota Nagpur Plateau |
| Languages | Hindi, Khortha, Bengali, Urdu |
Chas is situated on the plateau region of eastern Jharkhand, close to the boundary with West Bengal. The terrain is undulating, with the Damodar river flowing through the larger Bokaro region. The city is contiguous with Bokaro Steel City, and the two together constitute the principal urban cluster of Bokaro district.
Civic affairs in Chas are managed by the Chas Municipal Corporation, which was upgraded from a municipality to a municipal corporation as the population and urban footprint expanded. The corporation is responsible for water supply, sanitation, roads, street lighting and other urban services. Chas is the administrative headquarters of the Chas subdivision, one of the subdivisions of Bokaro district, while the district headquarters itself is located in the wider Bokaro area.
The economy of Chas is closely linked with that of Bokaro Steel City, home to the Bokaro Steel Plant of the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). Chas hosts wholesale and retail markets, small-scale industries, transport services and educational institutions that cater to the wider district. Coal mining and related ancillary activities in the surrounding Damodar valley region also influence the local economy.
Chas is connected by road to Dhanbad, Ranchi, Purulia and other urban centres of the Damodar valley. The nearest major railway station is at Bokaro Steel City, on the Adra–Gomoh line of the Indian Railways. The closest airport is at Ranchi, the state capital.
The city and the adjoining Bokaro Steel City together host a number of schools, colleges and technical institutions. Higher education is offered through colleges affiliated to Binod Bihari Mahto Koylanchal University and earlier to Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribagh.