The Chief Minister's Office of Chhattisgarh shared a statement by Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Wednesday, 15 July 2026, detailing the scale of welfare scheme saturation across Bastar division as the state government moved a resolution thanking the Centre for the decline of Naxal violence in the region.

Context

Speaking on the occasion of a thanksgiving resolution on the naksalvad ki samapti (end of Naxalism), CM Sai outlined a sweeping list of welfare deliverables achieved through a special saturation campaign in Bastar. The campaign was designed to ensure that both Central and state government welfare schemes reached every eligible household in the division, which spans seven districts in southern Chhattisgarh and has been affected by Left-Wing Extremism for decades.

The statement cited that 6 lakh 79 thousand ration cards have been issued to families, 17 lakh Jan Dhan bank accounts opened, and 24 lakh 66 thousand Aadhaar cards created in the division. Additionally, 22 lakh Ayushman health cards have been issued, giving beneficiaries access to cashless hospitalisation cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per year under the Ayushman Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.

Policy Backdrop

The figures span several flagship Central schemes. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, launched in August 2014, was designed to bring zero-balance banking to the unbanked, with Bastar's tribal and forest-dwelling communities historically among the most excluded. The National Food Security Act, 2013 mandated subsidised grain coverage for up to 75 per cent of the rural population, making ration card issuance a legal entitlement.

On land rights, 1 lakh 18 thousand individual forest rights pattas have been distributed under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, which recognises the claims of Scheduled Tribes and traditional forest dwellers over land they have historically cultivated. 3 lakh 89 thousand farmers have received Kisan Credit Cards, enabling institutional credit access for agricultural and allied activities.

On housing, 1 lakh 76 thousand homes have been sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the Central rural housing scheme launched in 2015. Notably, a separate tranche of 15 thousand houses has been sanctioned specifically for families affected by Naxal violence and for aatmasamarpit naksaliyon (surrendered Naxals) — an acknowledgement of the human cost of the insurgency and an incentive structure for former cadres reintegrating into civilian life.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries are Bastar's tribal communities, smallholder farmers, and families displaced or affected by decades of Left-Wing Extremism. The saturation approach — pushing every eligible household into scheme coverage simultaneously — is intended to close gaps that insurgents have historically exploited by positioning the state as absent or hostile.

Surrendered Naxal cadres represent a distinct stakeholder group. The dedicated 15,000 housing allocation signals that reintegration is being backed by material support, not just amnesty. Farmers receiving Kisan Credit Cards gain access to formal credit at subsidised rates, reducing dependence on informal moneylenders who have long operated in the region's economic vacuum.

What's Next

The BJP government in Raipur has framed the saturation drive as an ongoing process rather than a one-time exercise. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs publishes quarterly data on Left-Wing Extremism violence, and any sustained decline will be closely watched as a metric of whether the development-security linkage is holding.

With Chhattisgarh assembly elections due in 2028, the state government is expected to extend the saturation model to remaining LWE-affected pockets beyond Bastar division. The thanksgiving resolution itself marks a political milestone — it is rare for a state assembly to formally acknowledge the Centre's security role — and underscores the alignment between Raipur and New Delhi on the Naxal-free roadmap.