RAIPUR: Ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to the Bastar region, Chhattisgarh Chief Secretary Vikas Sheel on Friday directed officials to prepare the roadmap for ‘Niyad Nellanar 2.0’ after reviewing development work carried out in the region under the existing scheme.
At a high-level meeting held at the state secretariat, officials reviewed the implementation of the “Niyad Nellanar” scheme in Bastar division, where the government said basic services and infrastructure had expanded in remote forest villages earlier affected by Left-Wing Extremism.
According to the review, villagers in interior areas have received ration cards, Ujjwala gas connections and bank passbooks, while houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana have replaced mud huts. Employment opportunities have also increased through MNREGA projects.
Officials said electricity lines and solar lighting had reached remote villages, while 425 villages were brought under public transport connectivity through the ‘Chief Minister’s Bus Service Scheme’. A total of 52 buses are now operating on 50 routes that were previously inaccessible.
The government also stated that mobile connectivity had been established in 3,056 villages, ending long communication gaps in several areas. Around 85 per cent of settlements in the division are now connected by all-weather roads.
During the meeting, officials said 5,016 new primary schools and 8,947 Anganwadi centres had been opened in the last two years. Specialised ‘Ayushman Mandirs’ were also established in identified villages to provide medical care to local residents.
The proposed ‘Niyad Nellanar 2.0’ initiative is aimed at accelerating development work and strengthening government services in the Bastar region.