Over a decade ago, a young IAS officer deployed in Bastar told this reporter that as much as they wanted Bastar to be freed from the Naxals, their ouster from the jungle would immediately lead to it being taken over by mining companies.
The argument about industry bringing prosperity to the region is erroneous. First, a minimum qualification is imperative for a meaningful participation in industrial activity. In its absence, the local community is reduced to contractual and menial jobs, with all the middle and top-level positions being occupied by outsiders, further leading to local resentment.
The Wire Hindi recently reported (here and here) on how soon after the state regained control of Abujhmad forest in Gadchiroli, the Devendra Fadnavis government, despite protests and bypassing various laws and gram sabhas, handed over the resource-rich adivasi land in Gadchiroli to a single company, Lloyds Steel. https://thewire.in/rights/as-naxalism-fades-adivasi-futures-still-stand-on-precarious-ground
by Ashutosh Bhardwaj
21/11/2025