NMDC chairman Amitava Mukherjee and senior leaders met panchayat heads from villages around NMDC projects in Dantewada to discuss grassroots concerns and strengthen local support systems. More than a dozen sarpanches and representatives from villages, including Gumiyapal, Samalwar, Kalepal, Cholnar and Kadampal, raised issues on drinking water, road connectivity, healthcare, street lighting, sports facilities and rural infrastructure. Senior officials present included Krishna Kumar Thakur, director (personnel), K. Sreedhar Kodali, chief general manager (mining) at Bacheli Complex, and Rabindra Narayan, executive director at Kirandul Complex. The chairman emphasised that NMDC is a mining major and a responsible public sector enterprise committed to uplifting the socio-economic fabric of its operating regions and that the company draws strength from community trust. He stated that community concerns will guide company actions and that efforts will be directed towards making villages self-reliant in the spirit of Viksit Bharat. The leadership described the meeting as part of an ongoing dialogue to translate local aspirations into practical measures. Residents near the Bailadila mines welcomed the direct engagement and said the outreach had fostered renewed hope for improvements in essential services and infrastructure. Officials noted that priorities repeatedly cited during the discussion included water supply, road maintenance, primary healthcare and street lighting. Krishna Kumar Thakur indicated that NMDC will remain in constant dialogue and that issues identified in consultations will inform development initiatives. Since starting operations in Bailadila in 1968, NMDC has advanced industrial growth and regional development through its Bacheli and Kirandul complexes and has supported drinking water projects, roads, sports grounds and clinics across Dantewada. As India’s largest iron ore producer, NMDC’s presence over 68 years is said to have built deep trust in local communities which the company intends to reinforce. Continued engagement with panchayats was presented as central to refining interventions and sustaining improvements in living standards.