ONCE echoing with gunfire and fear, Badesetti village in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district is now scripting a new chapter of peace and development. Declared the State’s first Naxal-free village under the Chhattisgarh Government’s Ilwad Panchayat initiative, Badesetti has emerged as a symbol of the changing ground reality in Bastar and adjoining regions that were long affected by Left Wing Extremism.

 

The transformation is being attributed to a coordinated push by the Centre and the state, combining intensified security operations with focused development, rehabilitation, and welfare measures. Under the Ilwad Panchayat scheme, the Vishnu Deo Sai-led Chhattisgarh Government has announced a special development package of Rs 1 crore for every village declared completely free of Naxalite influence. Badesetti is the first beneficiary of the scheme.

 

Following its declaration as Naxal-free, Badesetti received Rs 1 crore for development works aimed at strengthening basic infrastructure, including roads, drinking water, electricity, healthcare, and education facilities. Officials say the initiative has helped rebuild trust between villagers and the administration in an area once considered inaccessible.