Road construction to gather pace in Chhattisgarh to counter Maoist menace

In the wake of the killing of 22 security personnel, the government has decided to speed up road construction activities in Chhattisgarh’s eight worst-affected districts to counter the Maoist menace.

Since 2018, 500 kilometres of roads have been constructed in such districts. Nearly 200 km was made operational in 2020-21. “We have opened up the critical Palli-Barsur axis by deploying forces in Bodli and Kademeta. The Aranpur-Jagargunda axis was opened up by deploying forces in Kamarguda. In 2021, we would be taking up the remaining work,” Bastar IG Sundarraj P told ET.

Termed the ‘epicentre’ of the Left-wing extremist violence, the Bastar region has alone accounted for the deaths of 50% of security personnel in the past five years. Maoists generally target important arterial roads connecting the National Highway and force security personnel to retreat by inflicting heavy damages.

The Bastar-Sukma-Bijapur axis is virtually the last Maoist bastion where its ‘Battalion One’ is located. To overcome the challenge, the CRPF in 2020 established 16 new base camps in the Bastar range. “Security camps not only protect the lives and properties of civilians but also provide an atmosphere for development,” an official said.

The road connectivity project for LWE-affected areas was approved by the NDA government in 2016. It proposed construction of 9,338 km of roads and 389 bridges at an estimated cost of ₹11,275 for 10 states. For Chhattisgarh, the government approved 2,479 km (291 roads), out of which 500 km have been completed in the Sukma-Bastar-Dantewada region. However, the slow pace of construction is a cause of concern for the Centre.

These roads will connect 11 pathways — Sukma-Konta, Kutru-Bedre, Awapalli-Illmidi, Injaram-Bheji, Bhopalpatnam-Bijapur, Dantewada-Katekalyan, Antagarh-Bedma, Barsur- Gondapara, Jeeram-Tongpal, Bhanupratappur-Irpanar and Awapalli-Usur.

As per MHA officials, 400 km in the Bastar range might be completed by 2023-24. “A robust road network provides better connectivity to locals who can have easy access to health, education and civil administration,” a senior MHA official said.

The Chhattisgarh government recently requested the MHA to drop construction of 35 roads and instead begin work on 52 new roads.

It may be recalled that Maoists in 2017 killed 38 security personnel in two separate incidents to thwart road construction.