RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh government has initiated a comprehensive action plan to rehabilitate displaced tribal families who migrated from the earlier conflict-ridden South Bastar region to the neighbouring states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh during the controversial Salwa Judum (anti-Maoist campaign) two decades ago.
A high-level survey has identified that 31,098 individuals from 6,939 families have migrated from the south Bastar region to 651 villages across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh due to various regional conflicts and socio-economic reasons faced during the year 2005-06. The first meeting of the newly formed state-level inter-departmental committee was chaired by additional chief secretary (Home) Manoj Kumar Pingua.
Official data presented during the meeting highlighted the significant scale of migration from three key districts of the Bastar division: Dantewada, Sukma, and Bijapur.
To comply with this, the Bastar Divisional Commissioner has instructed the collectors of the three districts to submit detailed reports within 15 days through a time-bound survey.
The initiative follows a petition filed with the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) on behalf of the displaced families. In response, the Commission has directed the state to conduct a survey and provide a list of migrated families within a month.
Valasa Adivasulu Samakhya, an organisation based in Telangana, had earlier petitioned the NCST and submitted a list of over 48,000 displaced Bastar residents following their survey and verification process years ago. Pingua emphasised the need for precision in data collection. The district collectors must cross-reference data with original villages to ensure accurate rehabilitation.