The Chhattisgarh government has asked the Narayanpur district administration to acquire 54,543 hectares of land, official documents show, for the Army’s Maneuver Range inside the forests of Abujhmad in Bastar, the strongest fortress of Maoists in the state.

In an August 7 letter, Chhattisgarh’s Revenue and Disaster Management Department wrote to Narayanpur district collector regarding the establishment of the Indian Army’s Maneuver Range. The letter said that the range will be established in the Sonpur-Garpa region of Orchha tehsil of the district, which falls in Abujhmad forests. HT has seen a copy of the letter.

Umesh Kumar Patel, undersecretary of Revenue and Disaster Management department, confirmed the development and said the letter has been sent.

The development has come to light weeks after Union home minister Amit Shah told officers of states affected by Left-Wing Extremism that the “time has come to end Maoism”, highlighting that the extremists were holed up in small areas in Chhattisgarh due to continued security operations.

Abujhmad, which is a 4,000-square-kilometre expanse of forests that straddles Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, is one such area.

Abhujhmad is an amalgamation of the Gondi words “Abujh” and “Maad” that translates to the “hills of the unknown” — an area that is yet unmapped by the government of India. Several attempts at conducting preliminary surveys in the region have taken place since 2017, but each has been stymied by the extremely difficult geography, complete lack of infrastructure, and heavy Maoist fortification.

According to officials of the revenue department, acquisition of land for the Army’s range was pending since 2017. “Nothing much happened in the last seven years. Now, we plan to fast track the acquisition,” an official said requesting anonymity.

According to the revenue department letter, the Maneuver Range will be established over an area of 54,543 hectares, which will require the utilisation and transfer of government land in Narayanpur district, which is in Abujhmad area of Bastar.

The revenue department has also referred to its previous letters dated September 13, 2017, November 21, 2017, and February 17, 2021, and has requested the Collector to promptly send the required information.

Maneuver Range is an area for tactical war exercise involving fire tactics such as moving and firing in all directions, protecting flanks, and defending against enemy tanks.

“To practise these tactics, a large piece of land is required, which is why maneuver ranges are used. These ranges provide a dedicated area for tank training and simulation of various battlefield scenarios, allowing troops to hone their skills in a realistic and safe environment,” said an army officer, on condition of anonymity.

An internal security expert said that setting up such a range in a conflict zone helps in area domination and aids security forces to maintain law and order.

“The army will not be carrying out any operation, but they have a large area which will be dominated by them in the core area of Maoists,” said a senior police officer of Chhattisgarh.

This year alone, the Chhattisgarh police have opened up four new camps in Abujhmad — Maspur, Kasturmeta, Mohandi and Irrakbhati.

Chhattisgarh intelligence officials believe that most of the senior leaders of CPI(Maoists) are camping the southern and south western part of Abujhmaad near Maharashtra border and Narayanpur-Maharasthra-Bijapur trijunction.