Raipur/New Delhi: Two weeks after Chhattisgarh was declared “Naxal-free”, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai has signalled a decisive shift from internal security operations to large-scale rural development and rehabilitation of surrendered Maoists.
The chief minister’s ambitious plans also include developing Bastar, once identified as a hotbed of Naxal violence, as a tourist destination, besides promoting agricultural activities in the region.
In an interview recently, the chief minister credited the “double-engine government” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the strategic deadline set by Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the successful eradication of decades-old Naxal insurgency.
The 62-year-old Sai, who spent his formative years in the fields of Bagia village to sustain his family following his father’s death when he was just 10, feels a sense of relief that Chhattisgarh is finally free of the menace of Naxalism, which had been hindering the state’s progress.
“There was a time when it seemed uncertain whether this problem would ever be resolved. But today, with the ‘double-engine government’ and the guidance and determination of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with the courage of our security forces, we have moved towards a Naxal-free state,” the chief minister said.
Having missed his childhood, Sai regrets that people in the region were deprived of development for decades. “But now, development is reaching them and their lives will improve,” he said.
On apprehensions of a possible Naxal resurgence, the chief minister remains confident but vigilant about the state’s transformation.
He asserted that the permanent presence of security camps, coupled with the arrival of hospitals and schools, has created a “development shield.”
Having managed a household in crisis at an early age, Sai now applies that same sense of duty to a state emerging from decades of conflict, focusing on the basic needs which include healthcare, education and farming as that defined his own survival.
He is pushing to shed the “war-zone” label from the Bastar region and says the state government has unveiled a comprehensive “Bastar 2.0” blueprint, pivoting the mineral-rich heartland toward tourism, high-tech infrastructure and agrarian growth.
The chief minister highlighted the transformation of the Bastar region, an area geographically larger than Kerala, where the state has successfully delivered government schemes to over 500 formerly inaccessible villages.
Under the ‘Niyad Nellanar’ initiative, the government is installing mobile towers, building roads and ensuring every family has access to electricity and clean water.
Beyond basic infrastructure, the state has approved Rs 2,000 crore for the Devgav and Mathna irrigation projects on the Indravati River to bolster the agricultural economy.
“At present, our primary focus is on agriculture and tourism. We will look into mining activities at a later stage as development progresses further,” the chief minister said in reply to a question on whether the state government was looking at opening up mining in the Bastar region.
The BJP leader said he would focus on promoting agriculture, boosting tourism and creating value addition based on forest produce, adding that the government aims to promote homestays and fisheries, rebranding a region once synonymous with conflict as a destination for sustainable tourism.