End Of Maoism Paves Way For Implementation Of ‘Bastar Roadmap 2.0’: Sai
-Raipur: Following the end of decades of Maoist violence that disrupted development, education and normal life in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar, the tribal region has now entered a new phase of peace, security and inclusive growth, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said.
He said the fall of the Maoist stronghold in Bastar paved the way for the implementation of ‘Bastar Road Map 2.0’, an ambitious project launched with the aim of transforming the region into the country’s leading tribal division.
“The government’s focus has now shifted to the long-term development of Bastar through ‘Bastar Road Map 2.0’, which aims to transform the region into the country’s leading tribal division (after the end of Maoism),” the Chief Minister told the state Assembly late on Wednesday evening.
Outlining the road map, he said that under ‘Bastar Munne Abhiyan’, a total of 31 government schemes and 14 community services have been implemented in saturation mode, benefiting more than 39 lakh people in 5,542 villages.
Security camps are being converted into ‘Shaheed Gundadhur Seva Deras’, serving as integrated centers for public services, livelihoods and welfare of citizens.
The Chief Minister said that health screening of more than 34 lakh people in Bastar has been completed under the government’s health plan and digital health profiles have been created to improve healthcare delivery.’
Under another government plan, public confidence in the administration was strengthened by implementing 43 individual and social welfare schemes in 17 departments in 525 villages within a 10 km radius of the security camps.
Highlighting the projects undertaken for development of road, rail and air connectivity, he said work on the Rs 3,513-crore Jagdalpur-Raoghat (in Bastar) rail project is progressing, air connectivity at Jagdalpur is being expanded and Raipur-Vishakhapatnam Expressway is nearing completion, which is expected to boost connectivity, tourism and investment.
He described how the decades-old Maoist menace had been brought to an end by the coordinated efforts of the Center and the state government and recalled that at a high-level meeting of police chiefs of Maoist-affected states in Raipur on August 24, 2024, a time-bound action plan was prepared and subsequently implemented.
Alongside intensified security operations, the state launched a comprehensive rehabilitation policy offering financial aid, land, skills training and self-employment opportunities to surrendered Maoists, encouraging many to return to the mainstream.
