Chhattisgarh govt allocates ₹100 crores to Bastar’s former Naxal-infested regions: Abujhmad and Jagargunda to be developed as “Education cities”

· OpIndia

In a major push to transform the once red terror-hit regions, the Chhattisgarh government has announced that Abujhmad and Jagargunda in the Bastar region will be developed into “modern education cities.” An allocation of ₹100 crore was announced on Tuesday, 24th February, for this purpose in the 2026–27 state Budget.

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Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai later explained that the education cities are part of a broader push under the “Five Chief Minister Missions,” each receiving ₹100 crore annually for the next five years. These include the CM’s AI Mission, Sports Excellence Mission, Tourism Development Mission, Infrastructure Mission, and Startup & NIPUN Mission aimed at preparing youth for new-age industries.

The proposed education cities in Abujhmad and Jagargunda will have an integrated system from primary to higher secondary schools, along with sports facilities, roads, and hostels for students from remote villages. Officials said the aim is to create a safe and supportive environment for tribal children and those from weaker sections. The campuses will also offer IT and skill development training so that local youth can access employment-oriented education and explore self-employment opportunities.

The Budget has a strong focus on Bastar’s overall development. In the irrigation sector, the state has proposed the construction of Matnar and Deurgaon barrages on the Indravati River for ₹2,024 crore, which is expected to irrigate an additional 32,000 hectares of land. The government has also created 1,500 new posts for Bastar Fighters, a special police unit. Other allocations include ₹720 crore for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), ₹10,000 crore under the Krishak Unnati Yojana, ₹4,000 crore for rural employment, ₹250 crore for industrial parks, and ₹100 crore for EV subsidies.

The announcement was part of the ₹1.72 lakh crore Budget presented by Finance Minister O.P. Choudhary in the Vidhan Sabha. Last year’s Budget stood at ₹1.65 lakh crore. Capital expenditure this year has been increased slightly to ₹26,500 crore from ₹26,341 crore last year. The state’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) has also seen a healthy rise of 12.4%, increasing from ₹6,31,920 crore to ₹7,09,553 crore. Officials said the fiscal deficit stands at 2.87% of GSDP, lower than last year’s 2.91% and within the permissible 3% limit.

Abujhmad: From Naxal fortress to turning point

The Budget announcement comes at a time when Abujhmad, which was known as the strongest Maoist stronghold in the country, has witnessed a sudden transformation. In November, last year, Narayanpur Superintendent of Police Robinsons Guria said that almost 80% of the Naxals operating in the Abujhmad area have surrendered. He also said that security forces now have dominance over almost two-thirds of the area.

Abujhmad was isolated from the mainstream of development for several decades. There was no proper revenue survey, no land rights for the villagers, and hardly any roads, hospitals, or communication infrastructure. The Maoists had made it their stronghold in the 1990s and 2000s, and they had destroyed all the infrastructure, burned down schools, and established a parallel administration called “Jantana Sarkar.” The people lived in fear, and any development work was either stalled or destroyed.

The security scenario has been changing in the past few years because of the continuous efforts of central and state security forces. The turning point came with the killing of top Maoist leader Nambala Keshav Rao, alias Basavaraju, in May 2025 in the forests of Narayanpur. Basavaraju, the general secretary of CPI-Maoist and one of India’s most wanted insurgents, had a bounty of ₹1.5 crore on his head. His killing was described as a landmark achievement in the fight against Left-Wing Extremism.

Due to Naxalism, this area had little to no civil administration. With a population of around 40 to 45 thousand, mostly Abhujhmadhia tribe people, Abujhmadh included the Orcha block and some regions of the Narayanpur district. Abujhmadhia are among the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of Chhattisgarh and are entitled to special benefits and rights from the government meant for endangered groups like them.

There have been no roads, hospitals, and other basic facilities in Abujhmadh since the Naxalites would not allow any development work or any step towards mainstreaming of this region and its people take place. As per locals, Naxalites used to set buses ablaze if they entered villages in Abujhmadh. Maoists made sure that no land deeds were earmarked in Abujhmadh, no motorable roads were constructed, and no development ever reached the villages on this hill. To ensure this, the Maoist terrorists would either resort to violence or propaganda, mostly both.

Before that, Operation Black Forest, conducted along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border, neutralised several Naxals and destroyed hideouts and explosive stockpiles. Many cadres surrendered, and senior officers described the last two years as decisive in breaking the backbone of Maoist networks in Bastar.

Former Maoist commanders who surrendered have publicly said that Abujhmad is no longer the “Red citadel” it once was. According to police, only a handful of senior leaders remain active, and their ability to operate has been severely restricted.

Despite the challenges, the security forces and the government relentlessly continued their efforts to end the Naxal menace not only in Abujhmadh but the entire Dandakaranya region.

In February 2025, a former Maoist, Giridhar, told TOI that Abujhmadh, the red citadel of Maoists, has “fallen”. The former commander of PLGA, who surrendered and quit Naxalism in 2024, said, “Abujmarh is no longer an impregnable Red citadel. The liberated zones have been smashed, commandos are conquering every inch of Dandakaranya jungles. Maoist cadre base has been practically wiped out.”

Highlighting the change in mindset of the youth in Naxal-infested areas and the administration’s friendly approach towards them, Giridhar, who masterminded the 2009 ambush that killed Rajanandgaon SP Vinod Chaubey, said, “Our cadre base was fast depleting. Police seemed friendlier, with their civic actions, freebies, jobs, and promise of a better life. With education and the lure of urban dazzle, nobody wanted to join us. The youth did not want to die with a police bullet in their head.”

Development push: Giving Bastar a fresh start

With the security situation improving, the government is now focusing on ensuring that people in these areas finally get access to basic facilities and opportunities. For decades, villagers in Abujhmad and surrounding regions lived in fear of violence. Development projects rarely reached them, and many families remained outside the formal education and healthcare systems.

The new education cities are being seen as a symbol of this transition. The idea is simple: once an area is cleared of violence, it must be stabilised quickly with roads, schools, hospitals, communication networks and livelihood opportunities. The state has already taken steps such as installing mobile towers, opening operation theatres, expanding road connectivity and increasing recruitment in local police units.

Efforts are also being made to bring more people into the electoral and administrative mainstream. Revenue surveys, welfare schemes and employment programmes are gradually reaching once inaccessible villages.

Officials say that development is the long-term answer to extremism. When children can attend school safely, when farmers have irrigation facilities, and when youth have skill training and job opportunities, the chances of insurgent groups regaining ground reduce significantly.

Operation Kagar and the Modi govt’s push for a Naxal-Free India

At the national level, the Modi government has amped up operations in Naxal strongholds to entirely uproot the Maoist cadres. The government has adopted a two-pronged strategy of eliminating the Maoist cadres through military operations clubbed with development-oriented works such as expansion of roads, transport facilities, water, electricity and other welfare schemes of the government reaching the villagers.

As part of this strategy, the central government launched Operation Kagar in January 2024 to wipe out Naxalism in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra (Gadchiroli), Odisha, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana. As part of the operation, about 1 lakh para-military forces, including the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), its elite forces CoBRA (Commando Units of CRPF), District Reserve Guards (DRG), and state police forces, armed with modern technology, have been deployed in the areas affected by left-wing terrorism to completely root out the naxal terrorism from its last remaining strongholds.

The success of the centre’s anti-Naxal operation can be judged by the fact that, from 2015 to 2025, the number of Naxal-affected districts reduced from 106 to 18. Of these districts, 12 were considered the worst-affected by Naxalism. However, this number was further reduced to only 6 worst Naxal-affected districts, including Bijapur, Kanker, Narayanpur, and Sukma in Chhattisgarh, West Singhbhum in Jharkhand, and Gadhchiroli in Maharashtra.

On 19th February, Bihar authorities announced that the state is now “Naxal-free” after the surrender of prominent Maoist Suresh Koda, also known as Mustakim, who had a reward of Rs 3 lakh. He surrendered himself to the Special Task Force (STF) of the Munger district police a day ago. It is pertinent to note that the number of districts affected by left-wing extremists (LWE) has also decreased to seven, as per a recent analysis of the affected region. 

Last month, the Centre released a detailed 10-point plan to ensure that areas cleared of Left-Wing Extremism remain peaceful. The plan is meant for the post-Left-Wing Extremism phase and focuses on stabilising districts that have lived through years of violence. It aligns with the development-oriented part of the Cen.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has reiterated that the government is determined to wipe out Naxalism before 31st March, 2026. The current operations and the collapse of the Maoist strongholds like Abujhmad are being seen as significant milestones in this direction.

As Bastar is all set to welcome the modern education cities in the regions that were earlier known for violence, the region is at a crossroads. For thousands of families who had lived for decades in the shadow of fear, the hope is that development and opportunities will finally come in place of the decades of violence.

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