BS Round Table: Development driving out rebels, says Chhattisgarh CM

Chhattisgarh would be among the three most developed states in the country by 2022, Raman Singh said

A spate of development works taken up by the Chhattisgarh government in Bastar, infamous for Naxal violence, has emerged as a decisive tool in the fight against left-wing extremism (LWE).

“Bastar is now connecting; not only with good roads but also with rail, and it is a significant development as we are succeeding in the fight against LWE,” Chief Minister Raman Singh said at the Business Standard Chhattisgarh Round Table 2017 organised on Thursday. The policy of the state government had resulted in reforms in Naxal-affected areas that had remained cut off from the mainstream for long.

“Reforms have taken place in education and connectivity. We are fighting Naxalites by connecting the state,” Singh said, adding the fight against the red army was a long-drawn process. The rebels had been pushed back in Sukma, considered the national headquarters of the Naxalites, and they would be flushed out from the state, he said.

Singh said an action plan has been prepared for the state’s growth. Chhattisgarh would be among the select league of the three most developed states in the country by 2022, he said. In five years, Chhattisgarh’s economy would further strengthen, Singh said, adding that funds were not a hurdle in executing the development plan.

“Chhattisgarh would become the country’s biggest logistics hub with the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST), as it is bordered by seven states and has access to a potential market of a cumulative population of about 500 million,” the chief minister said.

Singh said coal mine auction under a new policy was held for the first time and hence a few industries quoted much higher prices in enthusiasm. “I, too, was surprised how a company could sustain itself by bagging coal blocks at much higher price.” In the next phase of auction, things would be probably in order, the chief minister said.