Fifty-two villages with a population of 9,601 people will have to be evacuated for the Indian Army’s proposed war exercise range spread across 54,543 hectares of land in Chhattisgarh’s Abujhmad forest, an internal survey has revealed.
52 villages with a population of 9,601 people will have to be evacuated for the Indian Army’s proposed war exercise range spread across 54,543 hectares of land in Chhattisgarh’s Abujhmad forest, an internal survey of the Narayanpur district administration has revealed this.
An internal report of the Narayanpur district collector states that the army range will cover 52 villages under 13 gram panchayats in Kohkameta tehsil of Narayanpur district. The proposed area is highly sensitive. Therefore, it would be appropriate for the government to issue orders to deploy drones, police force, forest department personnel and experienced senior officials from the state level to conduct a detailed survey. Funds for this detailed survey work should be allocated by the state government.
On August 7, the Chhattisgarh Revenue and Disaster Management Department wrote to the district collector regarding the establishment of the Army’s war exercise range in the Abujhmad forest in Sonpur-Garpa area of Orchha tehsil. It cited its previous letters of 13 September 2017, 21 November 2017 and 17 February 2021 and requested the collector to immediately send information about the army range. The move was seen as a step towards expediting the process of setting up the war exercise range.
Abujhmad stretches between Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. It is known as the ‘unknown hill’ as the 6,000 sq km dense forest has not been surveyed since the British era. The forest is a hotbed of Maoist activities. About a dozen senior cadres of the CPI (Maoist) are said to be still camping there. Encounters between Maoists and security personnel have increased in Abujhmad in the past six months.
The district administration report said all the villages in the proposed Indian Army manoeuvring range are unsurveyed and local residents have their own houses, gardens and farms. “Since the villages have not been surveyed, those living on the land should be considered as landowners. Rehabilitation measures as well as compensation in case of displacement should be decided at a higher level,” the report said.
According to the district administration, there are 2,417 families (as per ration cards) in these villages, with a total population of 9,601. The number of houses is 2,417. The number of cattle sheds is 2,417, agricultural land is about 4,834 hectares and residential land is 97 hectares. According to the report, the estimated compensation for this entire land is about Rs 70,28,64,000.
An Army official said the Army’s maneuver range provides a dedicated area for tank training and simulation of various battlefield scenarios. This helps soldiers hone their skills in a safe environment.
Chhattisgarh intelligence officials believe that most of the senior CPI (Maoist) leaders are camping in the southern and south-western parts of Abujhmad near the Maharashtra border and the Narayanpur-Maharashtra-Bijapur trijunction.
