Maoist bastion Abujhmad to be mapped for first time

New Delhi: Abujhmad, the uncharted citadel of Maoists in south Chhattisgarh since 1990s, will be surveyed and mapped for the first time since Independence.

As security forces fight the final battle to reclaim Maoist-infested territory, the Chhattisgarh government has initiated a survey of Abujhmad, roughly translated as "unknown hill" ('Abujh' means unknown and 'mad' means hill).

IIT Roorkee has been entrusted with the task of surveying 246 villages spread across 5,029.07 square kilometres. There are overall 419 villages but as per official data only 246 are ready for the survey.


Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai said, "There is no revenue map of the area. With the area under Maoists shrinking, it is finally possible to conduct a survey. This will be a big step forward as with mapping of this area the government schemes will finally reach villagers living here."

This difficult terrain has been an unbreachable citadel of Red terror since the 1990s. Abujhmad covers the entire Orcha block, most of Narayanpur district, parts of Dantewada and Bijapur districts of Chhattisgarh and Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra. IIT Roorkee is using geo-referencing of high resolution satellite imagery to prepare maps of the area.

As per Chhattisgarh government sources, about 70 persons have been deployed to begin the survey.

The teams will survey villages to produce cadastral maps which are ownership maps with precise boundaries of all properties. The cadastral maps will help in developing revenue maps of all villages in the area. Since the area has never been mapped, the team is first mapping villages and then putting out the maps for public objections before finalizing them.