Union Home Minister Amit Shah is being felicitated during the closing ceremony of the Bastar Olympics, along with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and Speaker of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly Raman Singh, in Bastar on December 13, 2025. Photo: X/@vishnudsai via ANI
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday (December 13, 2025) said that India stood on the verge of eliminating Maoism by March 2026 and that the government has now set its sights on making Chhattisgarh’s Bastar the most developed tribal division in the country by 2030.
“Our resolve is to free the entire land of India, and especially the Bastar region, from Maoism. But we won’t stop there. I declare before all of you today that Kanker, Kondagaon, Bastar, Sukma, Bijapur, Dantewada, and Narayanpur — these seven districts of the Bastar division—will become the most developed tribal districts in the country by December 2030,” he said during his speech at the concluding ceremony of Bastar Olympics.
Bastar Olympics is an annual mega sports event in Jagdalpur in which participants from all seven districts of the region compete in various sports events. This year it also saw participation from surrendered Maoists.
Asserting that peace only can pave the road for development, he laid out the contours of the 2030 vision which he said would include basic amenities, expanding services and specialised schemes.
“..every household will have access to basic amenities, every village will be connected by roads, every village will have electricity, banking facilities will be available within a 5-km radius, and most importantly, both the central and state governments of the Bharatiya Janata Party will work to establish a network of Primary Health Centers (PHCs) and Community Health Centers (CHCs),” he said.
Mr. Shah also said that units for processing forest produce will be set up here on a cooperative basis, and the government would also target increasing incomes through dairy production.
“We will also establish new industries, higher education institutions, top-notch sports schools, and as many hospitals as needed in Bastar. Special schemes will be launched to combat malnutrition. And we will also bring in excellent rehabilitation schemes for those who have surrendered, laid down their arms and returned from Maoism, and for all those who have been injured due to Maoism,” he added.
Mr. Shah lauded all participants, especially mentioning the surrendered Maoists, who competed in the Bastar Olympics, even as he reiterated his appeal to all Maoists to lay down arms.
“When I received the news that more than 700 surrendered Maoists, our brothers and sisters, had participated in these games, I was overjoyed. 700 young people whose lives could have been ruined by falling into the trap of Maoism have now found a new path through sports,” he said.
Published – December 13, 2025 05:35 pm IST
