The ambitious Integrated Action Plan for Naxal-hit districts for developing infrastructure has been a success, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said on Wednesday.
“By all accounts, the Integrated Action Plan has been a success,” he said in Rajya Sabha during Question Hour.
The IAP aims at bringing development work to 78 tribal and backward districts, he said.
Mr. Chidambaram said Rs. 25 crore per district was sanctioned in the first year for 60 districts and in the second year Rs. 30 crore per district has been allocated for 78 districts.
“It is undoubtedly a success,” he said adding the scheme, aimed at bringing some relief to the people in the affected districts, was constantly being monitored.
Under the plan implemented by Planning Commission, so far over 70,706 works like building schools, culvert and community centres, have been taken up. Of these 48,992 have been completed.
“A sum of Rs. 3,840 crore has been released for 2010-11 and 2011-12 against which expenditure of Rs. 2,188.14 crore (56.98 per cent) has been reported (as on May 1, 2012),” he said.
The government has also approved a scheme for development of 5,477 km road in 24 districts of 8 Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected states at an estimated cost of Rs. 7,300 crore.
Mr. Chidambaram said state governments are doing their best to tackle LWE but it was not enough given the difficult situation on ground.
“We have to do better... It is a long haul,” he said and hoped to get an upper hand on the situation “eventually”.
