RAIPUR: Consigned to live in the shadow of Red Terror for years, several villages across the insurgency-hit Bastar division are now voluntarily approaching the Chhattisgarh government, seeking to be officially declared 'Naxal-free' under the Ilwat panchayat (neat & clean) scheme.
The sudden surge in proposals has prompted the state Home department to prepare a clear standard operating procedure (SOP) to determine which gram panchayats genuinely qualify, as officials warn that the scheme must not be diluted by rolling it out in areas that were never affected by Left-wing Extremism.
Over the past two days, deputy chief minister and home minister Vijay Sharma travelled through Sukma, Bijapur and Narayanpur, meeting sarpanches, ward members and traditional community heads. During these interactions, several panchayats expressed their willingness to be evaluated for Ilwat status - a declaration that brings with it a Rs 1-crore development grant and priority execution of village-level works.
Officials say the number of villages stepping forward is far greater than what the state had anticipated when the model was introduced last year.
The Ilwat panchayat scheme, conceptualised under the govt's Niyad Nella Nar initiative, recognises villages where Maoist presence has ended and residents have fully returned to civilian life. Two villages in Sukma—Badesatti and Kerlapendra—have already been certified Naxal-free under this model.
Now, the five villages of Bastar division has proposed the same to the home minister and Shara has asked the sarpanch and village representatives of Ketulnar Petha, Mangapetha, Rani Bodli, Ambeli and Darbha—to begin the formal process by passing gram sabha resolutions.
Bastar range inspector general of police Sundarraj Pattlingam said that there were more than 1,800 gram panchayats in the Bastar division, not every village can or should qualify.
"The first key criterion is that the village must have been historically Naxal-affected. “If a village in a relatively calmer belt like Keshkal sends a proposal, it cannot be considered. Ilwat panchayat is a conflict-to-peace transition model; only genuinely impacted areas will be eligible," Sundarraj told TOI.
He added that the second criterion is the absence of recent Maoist activity—typically, no violence, recruitment, threats or sighting of armed cadres for several months, ideally close to a year. A third requirement is demonstrable community effort: preventing recruitment, providing information on Maoist movement, or facilitating the surrender of cadres from the same village. In several cases, such community-led actions are expected to weigh strongly in favour of the proposal.
The most sensitive question before the govt is how to treat villages where a resident cadre remains active elsewhere.
Now, as the insurgency weakens further, home minister Sharma has indicated that relaxations may be applied if the top cadres have stopped visiting the village altogether.
Under the Ilwat framework, the first step rests with the village. The gram sabha must pass a resolution declaring that no Maoist remains in the village and no resident is involved in the Maoist organisation. The resolution then goes to the district collector and is jointly verified by the district administration and the police. The verification process, officials estimate, can take two to three months.
Even if a stray Maoist throws a pamphlet into the village, police said the larger pattern of peace will matter more than an isolated provocation.
The govt is now drafting a detailed SOP that lays out scheduled dates for gram sabhas, submission windows for proposals, checklists for verification teams, and reviewing the Naxal-free tag if any future Maoist activity emerges. Officials also stress that legal action will be taken if a village, after certification, is later found to be involved in Maoist recruitment or sheltering cadres, though chances for such a thing are bleak.
Bastar IG Sundarraj Pattlingam mentioned that the “Ilwat Panchayat” scheme, introduced as part of its broader strategy to address LWE, is a community-driven initiative aimed at empowering erstwhile LWE-affected gram panchayats to formally declare that none of their residents are any longer associated with any kind of Maoist activities.
Panchayats achieving this status become eligible for special development assistance of up to ₹1 crore for infrastructure and welfare works such as roads, drinking water, electricity, education, and healthcare, thereby reinforcing peace and development at the grassroots level.
As LWE is now facing rapid extinction, an increasing number of villages are coming forward to avail the benefits of this scheme by passing resolutions in their respective gram panchayats declaring the absence of any active Maoist presence within their jurisdiction. Such resolutions are subjected to careful scrutiny and verification based on police records and relevant documents before further action is taken under the scheme.
During his Bastar tour, Sharma told community leaders—gayta, sirha, pujari, baiga and others—that “violence and development cannot go together”, urging them to persuade any youth still in the forests to return and accept rehabilitation.
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