Why Devendra Fadnavis wants to continue as guardian minister of Gadchiroli
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said that the Mahayuti government intends to make the tribal belt of Gadchiroli Naxal-free in the next three years.
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Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis says Gadchiroli has already attracted investments worth Rs 50,000 crore and companies such as Llyod Metals, ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel have invested in te district. (Express File Photo)Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s remark last week on wanting to continue as the guardian minister of Gadchiroli has brought the Naxal belt in the state into the limelight, indicating that the Mahayuti government is likely to push for the region’s development in its second stint.
Carved out by bifurcating Chandrapur district in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra in 1982, Gadchiroli district accounts for 4.68 per cent of the state’s area. The district comprises 12 tehsils – Gadchiroli, Armori, Chamorshi, Mulcheri, Aheri, Ettapalli, Bhamragad, Desaigang, Dhanora, Kukhed and Korchi – and more than 75 per cent of it is under forest cover.
Though the tribal belt is a part of India’s Red Corridor and has seen intense Naxal activity for the past seven decades, it is also a region rich with untapped natural resources like mines and minerals.
“It is my wish to take charge as guardian minister of Gadchiroli. We are determined to make Gadchiroli the next steel hub of India. It has huge potential with abundant resources…The tribal belt will account for 30 per cent of the country’s iron and steel… it will open the doors for holistic development and employment,” Fadnavis said during a media interaction held at Nagpur last week.
Mahayuti yet to appoint guardian ministers to all districts
The remark comes at a time when the three-party-led Mahayuti is yet to appoint guardian ministers for all 36 districts of the state. With 42 ministers (including Fadnavis and the two deputy CMs) and 36 districts, the BJP, the Shiv Sena and the NCP are in a bind over the allocation of districts.
Earlier, Gadchiroli was perceived as a punishment posting for police officers. The governments in power, too, would entrust the responsibility of the district to those representing the region. It was the late R R Patil, the former Maharashtra home minister and leader of the undivided NCP who took the bold decision to take charge as Gadchiroli’s guardian minister. Patil, who hailed from Sangli district, took on the guardianship between 1999 and 2014. During the Congress-NCP regime, Patil as home minister pushed a special incentive package worth Rs 1,000 crore for infrastructure development in the area.
Under Fadnavis, the Mahayuti government is also likely to push mega investment projects to develop the tribal belt plagued by unemployment. “Naxalism in the district is at an all-time low. Major Naxal operators have either been ambushed or surrendered. In the next three years, we intend to make Gadchiroli Naxal-free,” Fadnavis said.
According to Fadnavis, the region has already attracted investments worth Rs 50,000 crore and companies such as Llyod Metals, ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel have invested in this district.
Generally, the chief minister does not hold guardianship of any district. But with Fadnavis announcing his desire to hold on to the district he was in charge of in the previous Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government, he is likely to get his way.
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