BRO begins infra projects in Maoist heartland in C’garh

BRO, which comes under the defence ministry, is constructing roads with a total length of 125 km and at least 30 bridges in the Bastar region

NEW DELHI: The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), which is at the centre of the India’s infrastructure push along the Chinese border, has begun executing connectivity projects worth at least ₹300 crore in Chhattisgarh’s Naxal heartland for the first time in nearly two decades, a challenging mission because of the opposition by left-wing extremists, officials aware of the matter said.

BRO begins infra projects in Maoist heartland in C’garh

BRO, which comes under the defence ministry, is constructing roads with a total length of 125 km and at least 30 bridges in the Bastar region including Naxal hotspots such as Bijapur, Sukma, Dantewada and Narayanpur, HT has learnt.

“Through these efforts, BRO has reaffirmed its capability to deliver quality infrastructure in high-risk, insurgency-affected zones, fostering connectivity, development and national integration in areas that have long remained isolated due to difficult terrain and conflict,” a BRO spokesperson said in response to a HT query.

Around 20 years ago, BRO constructed a 100-km stretch of NH-63 between Jagdalpur and Geedam when Naxal activities in the area were in full swing. “The entire region was a Maoist hotbed back then and road construction was akin to a direct confrontation with the Naxals. The building of the Jagdalpur-Geedam road stretch helped security forces carry out swifter operations in the area,” said one of the officials cited above, who asked not to be named.

The Union government has set a deadline of March 31, 2026 for eliminating left wing extremism , and bringing residents of Naxal controlled villages into mainstream, and over the past year-and-half pumped in resources into Chhattisgarh for what security forces have described as the last phase of the war against Naxals.

Security forces in Chhattisgarh said that there are not more than 300 armed cadres left who have refused to surrender and are putting up a fight. At the movement’s peak in the mid 2000s there were nearly 8000-10000 Naxal cadres across the state.

Over the last one and half years, at least 435 Naxals have been killed and 1440 have surrendered. In the last two months, the forces have neutralised two Central Committee Members of the proscribed CPI(Maoist), including its chief Nambala Keshava Rao aka Basavaraju. The outlawed party is yet to announce its new chief.

The BRO’s role in Chhattisgarh is significant as it is mostly known for executing infrastructure projects in border areas of Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh; works that have boosted military mobility and logistics support for deployed forces in forward areas.

Nine of the 30 bridges planned in the Bastar region have already been built, and the remaining works are expected to be completed next year. “This road network of 125 km aims to provide inter-state and inter-district connectivity. It will reduce the travel time between bordering districts of Chhattisgarh and Telangana by more than three hours,” said a second official, who also asked not to be named.

It was during a meeting in mid-2024 that Union home minister Amit Shah said the BRO would be asked to build roads in these sensitive areas, the officials said.

“Road construction and building of cell phone towers along with opening hospitals is the first initiative taken by the security forces and state government, once they take control of the Naxal stronghold area. Having roads means security forces can easily reach any village in a short time. Having roads also means the Naxals will avoid such areas and prefer to go deeper inside the jungles. And the final but most important goal of having a road is that villagers can be finally connected to the district headquarters,” the first official said.

The second official cited three examples of the BRO projects that were progressing smoothly --- Puvarti to Kondapalli(9.25km), Kondapalli to Dharmavaram(18.72 km), Elmaguda-Duler-Metagudem road(18.96 km).

“These were places which were under the control of Naxals for the last 4-5 decades. In February 2024, the forces finally took control of the Puvarti village. Later that year Kondapalli camp was set up. These are places where Naxals trained, hid, and did not let the government come in. After camps or forward operating bases were set up by forces, the villagers have been connected to the government. Now that BRO is involved, the project will be completed on time and the roads will be of a superior quality too. There is continuous supervision by the army,” the second official said.

Explaining how BRO is working in areas that were once considered impenetrable, he said, “Puvarti village is home to Maoist commanders Madhvi Hidma and Barse Deva. This village saw the maximum recruitment of Naxal cadres. Puvarti will be connected to Kondapalli. Kondapalli will further be connected to Dharmavaram. These villages are in the remote areas where road construction has been a challenge all these years. Now that BRO is here and is building roads, development will follow.”

Constructing roads and railways has always been a challenge for the security forces in the LWE affected areas of Chhattisgarh because of the opposition by Naxals. Last month, the Chairman of the Railway Board wrote to the state chief secretary about railway officials being assaulted by Naxal groups while they were out to conduct a survey in Dantewada and Bijapur district for the laying of a railway line.