New Delhi, Jan 4 (PTI) More than 5,000 square kilometres of Abujhmad, once a hotbed of Maoist rebels, that remained off official maps due to dense forests and the presence of red ultras, will be mapped soon, with the Chhattisgarh government signing an MoU with IIT-Roorkee for the purpose.
The exercise is likely to be completed by 2030, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai told reporters on Sunday.
Interacting with reporters, he said that the area that was never surveyed. However, with Naxal activities diminishing, the government has entered into a memorandum of understanding with IIT-Roorkee.
“Now a survey will be conducted, and all administrative facilities will also reach the area. The exercise is likely to be completed by 2030, but we would prefer that it happens earlier,” Sai said.
The chief minister exuded confidence of meeting the March 31 deadline given by Union Home Minister Amit Shah to eliminate Naxalism from the country.
“Eliminating naxalism is not enough. We will have to take development in the areas freed from the Naxals. There are areas which hardly anyone visited earlier because of the rebels. Abujhmaad is spread over 5000 square kilometres, and there are no roads. Forget roads, even a survey of its villages was never done,” he said.
Sai said that now, security forces are setting up camps, each of which covers a five-kilometre radius, resulting in the exodus of Naxals from that zone. “With Shah increasing the radius to 10 km, 400 villages have been set up in such a manner,” he said.
The chief minister alleged that the previous government in the state did not extend enough support to the Centre in the fight against Naxalism. About 75 per cent of the Naxals were centred in Chhattisgarh because of the lack of support from the state’s previous Congress government, he claimed.
“With a double-engine government now in place, security forces are fighting the Naxals with much vigour. We will meet the deadline of eliminating Naxals by March 31,” he said, adding his government is helping surrendered Naxals return to the mainstream with financial help, vocational training, and land for building homes.
Sai said families of Naxals killed in encounters are also receiving benefits under development schemes of the state government.
Citing the example of the mother of senior Naxal commander Hidma, who was killed in an encounter with security forces, Sai said, “His mother comes to the health centre that we had set in his village. We tried to make his mother speak to him on a video call, urging him to drop weapons, but he refused and was killed by forces.” The chief minister said the state had received investment proposals of Rs 8 lakh crore, with some of them already taking shape on the ground. Besides, Chhattisgarh has a large lithium reserve, which can give a boost to the battery and the semiconductor sectors, he added. PTI ABS NSD NSD
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