Kumar Bahukhandi
Survey personnel check levels along a rural road under development in Bastar. The photograph accompanies the government release issued in Raipur on Thursday, October 29, 2026, outlining approved and proposed road connectivity works for remote habitations. Photo: channel24india.com via CG/DPR
Vijay Sharma thanks Centre for support, seeks special eligibility relaxations to connect small and remote settlements with all-weather roads
Key Highlights
• Road works covering 485 habitations in Bastar division have received approval, according to a Chhattisgarh government release.
• Proposals for 263 roads spanning 841.825 kilometres, estimated at ₹804.06 crore, seek to connect another 280 habitations.
• Detailed project reports are being prepared for approximately 474 additional identified habitations.
• Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma has requested special consideration for small settlements that fall outside existing population-based eligibility norms.
• Proposals for roads and bridges remain at different stages of approval, examination and preparation.
Raipur: Road works covering 485 habitations in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar division have been approved, while proposals worth ₹804.06 crore have been received to connect another 280 habitations through 263 all-weather roads, according to a state government release issued on Thursday, October 29, 2026. Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma welcomed the Centre’s response to requests for improved connectivity and special consideration for small, remote settlements.
The proposed roads for the additional 280 habitations cover a combined length of 841.825 kilometres under the second batch of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana-IV (PMGSY-IV). Detailed project reports are also being prepared for approximately 474 other identified habitations.
The release distinguishes between works already approved and proposals still being processed. The ₹804.06 crore figure relates to the proposed road package, rather than completed construction.
Personnel undertake measurements along a rural road bordered by trees and wooden fencing in Bastar. The photograph accompanies the road connectivity update released on Thursday, October 29, 2026. Photo: channel24india.com via CG/DPR
Sharma had written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, highlighting Bastar’s difficult terrain, scattered settlements and the connectivity needs of villages emerging from the effects of Maoist violence.
Chouhan’s response outlined the progress of sanctioned works, pending road and bridge proposals, and the examination of requests for special relaxations.
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and Sharma thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chouhan for supporting Bastar’s development.
“Our priority is to ensure that villages which lived for years amid fear and insecurity now receive roads, education, healthcare, electricity, communication and employment opportunities,” Sharma said.
Under the first batch of PMGSY-IV, road works for 234 habitations in Bastar division have been approved. These include 87 in Bastar district, 44 in Bijapur, 12 in Dantewada, 41 in Kanker, 34 in Kondagaon and 16 in Sukma.
Further connectivity proposals are being prepared across all seven districts of the division, including Narayanpur. Surveys through the rural road survey application and integration with Gati Shakti planning are also being undertaken.
Personnel measure the width of a village road in Bastar as part of road development work. Improved connectivity is intended to ease access to education, healthcare and markets, according to the government release issued on Thursday, October 29, 2026. Photo: channel24india.com via CG/DPR
The proposed expansion is intended to improve access to schools, health centres, anganwadi centres, markets and administrative services. Better roads would also help farmers transport produce and support local trade and livelihoods.
“A road does more than connect two places; it provides a foundation for the social and economic development of remote villages,” Sharma said.
He explained that dependable road access could make it easier for children to attend school, patients to reach treatment and farmers to take their produce to market. It would also help government services reach families living in isolated areas.
Bridge construction formed another important part of the correspondence. According to the release, an empowered committee considered proposals for 206 bridges under PMGSY-IV Batch 1 and 167 under PM-JANMAN. Chouhan indicated that approvals would be taken forward shortly.
The release separately mentioned 55 long-span bridge proposals for Bastar division. In Narayanpur, 22 long-span bridges costing an estimated ₹87.45 crore have been proposed under PM-JANMAN.
Such projects are intended to address seasonal isolation caused by rivers and streams, particularly during the monsoon, when access to some settlements becomes difficult.
Sharma’s request for special relaxations focuses on Bastar’s small and widely dispersed habitations. Many settlements have populations below 100 and can fall outside the applicable population-based criteria for road connectivity.
He asked the Centre to consider flexibility in calculating cluster populations and the possibility of treating small habitations located within a 10-kilometre radius as a single cluster.
“No village should remain without road connectivity merely because it has a small population or faces difficult geographical conditions,” Sharma said.
Chouhan’s response stated that a four-month survey exercise through the Gram Sadak Survey application had been initiated to identify remaining eligible habitations and assess their requirements.
The request for a cluster-based approach and special relaxations will be examined against survey findings and applicable guidelines. The release does not announce a final exemption from the existing eligibility criteria.
Welcoming the response, Sharma said coordinated efforts by the Centre and the state were opening new development opportunities in Bastar. He linked the connectivity programme with efforts to extend public services to areas previously affected by insecurity.
“Our government is committed to ensuring that development reaches every village emerging from the influence of Maoist violence,” he said.
Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma in a file photograph. In a release issued in Raipur on Thursday, October 29, 2026, Sharma welcomed central support for road connectivity in Bastar and reiterated his request for special consideration for small, remote habitations. (Photo: Vijay Sharma/X)
Sharma expressed confidence that continued central support would help connect the remaining eligible habitations in phases, reduce travel difficulties and expand opportunities for education, healthcare and livelihoods.
He reiterated the government’s ambition to make Bastar a leading tribal division in terms of development.
