Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah has said that Bastar division of Chhattisgarh will emerge as the most developed tribal division in the country within the next five years. Addressing the media in Jagdalpur today, Mr Shah said the government aims to increase the average income of the people of Bastar six-fold by 2031. He said that after making Bastar free from Naxalism, the Centre and the Chhattisgarh Government have jointly prepared a scientific roadmap for the region’s development over the next five years. Under the plan, around seventy of nearly two hundred security force camps in Bastar division will be converted into Shaheed Veer Gundadhur Seva Deras. These centres will provide benefits of government schemes, including banking facilities, skill training, schools, anganwadis and forest produce processing units.
Mr Shah also announced that every tribal family in Bastar will be provided one cow or buffalo and a large cooperative dairy network will be established in the region within six months. For this, the Chhattisgarh Government has signed an agreement with the National Dairy Development Board.
The Union Home Minister said efforts will be made for the holistic development of Bastar, with special focus on empowering youth and women and preserving tribal culture. He added that violence cannot be a solution to any problem and development is possible only through peace and democracy.
Earlier, the Union Home Minister chaired the 26th meeting of the Central Zonal Council held in Jagdalpur today. The meeting was attended by the Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand, along with the Union Home Secretary, the Director of the Intelligence Bureau, Directors General of Police of the four states, and senior police and administrative officials.
