‘Niyad Nellnar’ Becomes a Living Example of Good Governance: Where There Were Guns, There Are Now Books – A New Dawn Rising in Bastar from Fear to Trust.
Raipur, July 25, 2025//The remote villages of the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, which were cut off from the mainstream of development for years, are today moving towards new hopes and light. Where there was a lack of basic facilities like electricity, roads, schools, health services, and communication, those same villages are now rapidly progressing. The foundation of this change was laid on February 15, 2024, in the form of ‘Niyad Nellnar – Your Ideal Village Scheme,’ as a result of the visionary leadership of Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Deo Sai and his commitment to public welfare. This scheme is a revolutionary effort to ensure sensitive and active reach of governance to those areas where, until now, there was only silence of neglect and waiting.
Chief Minister Shri Sai has always strongly believed that merely establishing security camps is not enough, unless there is a sensitive presence of governance and the ray of overall development reaches there. With this thought, 54 new security camps have been established in the five Naxal-affected districts of Bastar—Sukma, Bijapur, Narayanpur, Dantewada, and Kanker. Identifying 327 villages within a 10-kilometer radius of these camps, it was decided that a new development model would be presented by connecting all of them to 100% of the schemes.
With this initiative, a wind of change has started blowing in the villages. In the field of education, the government has approved 31 new primary schools, of which classes have started in 13 schools. Approval has been given for the establishment of 185 Anganwadi centers, of which 107 have already started, providing children with nutrition and early education facilities. In the field of health services, 20 sub-health centers have been approved, of which 16 health centers have started. These are the same villages where people earlier had to cross miles of forest for even a common medicine.
Under the leadership of Chief Minister Shri Sai, special priority has been given to communication and connectivity. Where there was no sign of mobile signal earlier, a plan for 119 mobile towers has been made, and 43 towers are now operational. Approval has been given for 144 high mast lights, of which 92 villages are now illuminated at night. For road and bridge construction, 173 schemes have been made, of which 116 have been approved and 26 works have been completed. This development is not limited to infrastructure alone but has also become a strong medium for emotional connection and identity. Significant progress has also been made in the field of economic and social empowerment. So far, Aadhaar cards have been made for 70,954 people, age certificates have been issued to 46,172 elderly persons, and voter registration of 11,133 citizens has been done, enabling them to participate in the democratic process. Free medical facilities have been provided by issuing Ayushman cards to 46,172 people. Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, a target of 12,232 houses has been set, out of which 5,984 families have been approved. Financial assistance has been provided to 4,677 farmers under the Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana. Under the Swachh Bharat Mission, individual toilets have been constructed in 6,460 houses. With the aim of making kitchens smoke-free, gas connections have been provided to 18,983 women under the Ujjwala and Gau-Gas schemes. DTH connections have also been provided in 30 villages, connecting these villages to the mainstream of information and entertainment.
This transformation is not merely a compilation of schemes but a new relationship of trust between governance and the public, whose foundation is built on participation and transparency. People who were disconnected from governance for years are now themselves participating in the monitoring of development. Villagers are now themselves monitoring the attendance register of Anganwadis, the quality of ration shops, and the implementation of government schemes. This is the same Bastar that is moving from fear to trust and from neglect to participation.
This foresight of Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Deo Sai has once again proved that good governance comes not just from announcements but from ground-level implementation. ‘Niyad Nellnar’ is not just a scheme, but it is the journey of the renaissance of Bastar—a journey where there are now books in place of guns, light in place of darkness, and the spirit of participatory democracy in place of dissent.