Eye on tribal belt, FM blends welfare with infra push

Raipur: Chhattisgarh on Monday rolled out a Rs 1.72 lakh crore "SANKALP" budget that put Bastar and Surguja at the heart of its next development phase, pairing big-ticket infrastructure spending with welfare continuity and a security push in an insurgency-hit area that aimed to get Maoist-free. Framed as a shift from policy intent to execution, the budget blended roads, infrastructure and connectivity expansion with targeted regional schemes and an additional 1500 Bastar Fighter posts. For the common man there was no new taxes.Chhattisgarh finance minister O P Choudhary presented his third state budget on Tuesday in the present BJP govt at the new Vidhan Sabha building in Nava Raipur. The budget pegged the state's Gross State Domestic Product at about Rs 7.09 lakh crore for 2026–27. Total receipts and expenditure were both estimated at Rs 1.72 lakh crore, with revenue expenditure at around Rs 1.45 lakh crore and capital spending at about Rs 26,500 crore. The fiscal deficit was projected at roughly Rs 20,400 crore, or 2.87% of GSDP, remaining within the prescribed limits.In the state budget, the tribal belts of Bastar and Surguja emerged as a clear priority, with the budget combining development initiatives with security expansion. The plan included funding for Bastar–Surguja Olympics, a chief minister bus service scheme in remote areas and a homestay tourism policy. Along with livelihood schemes such as livestock-based income support and additional nutrition programmes, the govt also extended support for medical colleges in Dantewada, Kunkuri and Manendragarh, to balance development with stabilisation in Left Wing Extremism-affected areas. At its core, Choudhary said, 'Sankalp' is the approach aimed at ensuring balanced regional development while strengthening economic expansion and social equity together.Infrastructure spending formed a major pillar of the budget. P 2