RAIPUR: Governor Ramen Deka on Monday told the Chhattisgarh Assembly that the state is witnessing a decisive turnaround in its decades-long fight against Maoist insurgency, with the “shadow of terror” giving way to a “new dawn of development”.
Addressing the Budget session of the Chhattisgarh Assembly, coinciding with the silver jubilee year of the state’s formation, the Governor said sustained security operations and welfare-led governance had significantly weakened Maoist influence in core areas.
Highlighting the impact of the Niyad Nella Nar (Your Good Village) scheme, Deka said the initiative had helped rebuild trust in former Maoist strongholds by delivering 25 welfare schemes and 18 essential services at the doorstep through the convergence of 17 government departments, particularly benefiting tribal communities.
On the security front, the Governor said that over the past two years, 532 Maoists had been neutralised, 2,704 had surrendered and joined the mainstream, and 2,004 had been arrested. “The youths who were once misled are now trading weapons for the Constitution,” he said, referring to what he described as a more humane surrender and rehabilitation policy.
The address also underscored a major infrastructure push in the Bastar region, long considered the epicentre of Left-wing extremism, alongside efforts to promote cultural revival. Deka announced that Chhattisgarh would host the first Khelo India Tribal Games, signalling a shift in how Bastar is perceived nationally and globally. “The world will no longer see the smoke of gunpowder in Bastar, but the grand milky view of the Chitrakoot waterfalls,” he said.
Beyond security, the Governor outlined the Anjor Vision document, a roadmap to transform Chhattisgarh into a fully developed state by 2047. He cited record procurement of 141.04 lakh metric tonnes of paddy from over 25 lakh farmers, distribution of more than ₹15,596 crore to 69 lakh women under the Mahtari Vandan Yojana, and investment proposals worth ₹7.83 lakh crore in emerging sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence and information technology.
Concluding his address, Deka urged legislators to sustain the momentum of “inclusive development” and ensure that the benefits of a “double engine government” reach the last citizen, even in the most remote forested regions of the state.