The Planning Commission has been mandated “to design a holistic development programme” for Maoist-affected areas “in consultation with States and other stakeholders,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here on Saturday. But “there should be no doubt that Left-wing extremism (LWE) has to be met and it will be met, with the Centre and the States cooperating fully with one another.”
Addressing Chief Ministers at the National Development Council (NDC), the Prime Minister, while touching on tribal development and LWE, one of the key issues flagged by the Planning Commission for discussion, reiterated his government's two-pronged approach to the issue. Action against Maoists, he said, had to be supplemented with effective implementation of the Forest Rights Act and the Panchayati Raj (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act. “Failure to implement these laws in letter and in spirit reduces the credibility of our commitment to bring development to these neglected regions.”
In his closing remarks, Mr. Singh said the Planning Commission, which was working on an integrated programme of development for selected backward districts “to help strengthen the developmental element in the fight against extremism,” would take on board the suggestions made by the Chief Ministers on how tackle the challenges posed by LWE.
Earlier, he admitted that development schemes had not worked well in “the areas inhabited by the Adivasi population” and stressed the need to “bridge the development deficit” to “reduce whatever sense of alienation that may exist.”
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, in answer to a question, clarified that the proposed integrated plan would, for the moment, cover only the 35 worst affected districts, amidst suggestions that Chief Ministers coping with LWE might want that list expanded. First in the race to secure more funds from the Planning Commission was Chhattisgarh, with its Chief Minister Raman Singh submitting a Rs. 4,553-crore scheme for rapid socio-economic development in seven LWE-affected districts.
In addition, he wanted special assistance, via the integrated development plan, for another six districts and the establishment of a suitable construction agency to improve road connectivity in the Naxal-affected Bastar district.
