Need to take development to Maoist-affected areas, says CM Sai

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Friday, December 12, 2025, said that merely ending Maoism is not enough and the government must bring development to the affected areas.

“Look, we know that just eliminating Naxalism will not be enough and we need to bring development to this area. [Bastar]and we have started doing that,” Mr. Sai said at a press conference in Raipur in response to a question on the government’s vision for Bastar, a left-wing extremism-affected region in southern Chhattisgarh, after March 31, 2026.

The press conference was held on the completion of two years of the current Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state and March 2026 is the deadline set by the Center for the elimination of Maoism in the country.

The Prime Minister said that a determined fight is being waged against Maoism. “In the last two years, 505 Naxalites have been neutralized, 2,386 people surrendered and 1,901 people were arrested. Bastar is being integrated into the mainstream through security and development,” he said earlier in his speech.

He added that under the Niyyad Nella Naar scheme, basic amenities such as ration cards, Aadhaar, Ayushman cards, housing, electricity and roads are being provided to remote villages. Schools have reopened in Bastar and events such as eco-tourism, Bastar Pandum and Bastar Olympics are creating a new identity for the region.

He said that Bastar has a great tourism potential as a region.

Claiming that the public’s trust in his government has become stronger in the last two years, the Prime Minister said that they fulfilled the promises made to the public “with complete loyalty and devotion”.

Listing out some of these promises that have been fulfilled, Mr. Sai said that on the second day of formation of the government, more than 18 lakh needy families were approved for the Prime Minister’s Residence. “Farmers are provided with a subsidy of Rs 3,100 per quintal and paddy purchase of 21 quintals per acre, making farming a profitable business,” he said.