Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Sunday, 24 May 2026, shared a statement by Union Home Minister Amit Shah highlighting the conversion of 70 former security force camps in Naxal-affected areas into civilian service centres named after tribal icon Veer Gundadhur.

Context

The post quotes Amit Shah, Union Minister of Home Affairs and Cooperation, as saying: 'एक समय था जब नक्सलवाद से लड़ने के लिए हमारे सुरक्षा बलों के कैंप स्थापित किए गए थे' ('There was a time when camps of our security forces were established to fight Naxalism'). Shah added that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, those same 70 camps have now been converted into 'Shaheed Veer Gundadhur Seva, Sadbhavana evam Jan Suvidha Kendras' — or Martyr Veer Gundadhur Service, Goodwill and Public Facility Centres.

Chief Minister Sai's decision to amplify this statement underscores the BJP-led state government's alignment with the Centre's framing of anti-Naxal gains as a development dividend for Chhattisgarh's tribal heartland.

Policy Backdrop

Security forces established forward bases across Bastar and surrounding districts during the 2000s and early 2010s as part of intensified counter-insurgency operations. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs formalised a multi-pronged approach through the SAMADHAN strategy from 2017 onward, combining security operations with infrastructure investment and local governance outreach.

Parallel to this, the Road Connectivity Project for Left Wing Extremism Affected Areas, approved in 2016, aimed to open formerly inaccessible Naxal zones in Chhattisgarh and neighbouring states to roads and public services. The naming of the new centres after Veer Gundadhur — the tribal leader who led the 1910 Bhumkal rebellion against British colonial rule — is a deliberate invocation of local history to build legitimacy in Scheduled Tribe-dominated districts.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries are tribal communities in Bastar and other formerly conflict-affected districts, who have historically had limited access to government services. Converting military infrastructure into civilian facilities signals a shift in the state's relationship with these communities — from a security-first posture to one that also delivers health, welfare, and administrative services at the local level.

For the security forces that once manned these camps, the transition reflects a receding threat footprint. The Ministry of Home Affairs has recorded a consistent decline in Left Wing Extremism-related incidents since 2014, a trend the ruling dispensation has cited as evidence of policy success. Similar camp-to-service-centre transitions have been undertaken in Jharkhand and Odisha.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to the operational rollout of these 70 centres — whether staffing, connectivity, and service delivery match the stated intent. District-level development data for Bastar and potential parliamentary or state assembly questions on rehabilitation spending will be early indicators of on-ground progress.

Broader LWE policy watchers will also track whether further camp conversions are announced, and whether the Veer Gundadhur branding translates into sustained community trust in areas where state presence was long associated primarily with armed operations.