The Ministry of Rural Development has decided to bring sports back into the lives of the tribal boys and girls in the 60 left-wing extremist-affected districts where the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) has been implemented.
Union Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh has cleared the proposal to construct one playground in each village, falling under the 60 IAP districts under the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS works. The playground would be used for games like football, volleyball, hockey and kabbadi.
Underlining that tribal youth have excelled at the international level in hockey and archery bringing glory to the country, Mr. Ramesh said the idea was not just to spread the scope of sports and games to cover all the tribals but also to wean them away from being tapped by the naxalite outfits in these districts.
It will be the responsibility of the gram panchayat to provide the land and execute the construction of the playground.
For these villages under the IAP districts, Mr. Ramesh also allowed cement concrete roads within the residential habitations in the villages. The objective was to clean up surroundings and improve hygiene and sanitation in these villages particularly during the rainy season.
In a letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Ministry of Rural Development has said that it would consider bringing two more districts, Bankura and Purulia in Jangalmahal under the IAP in addition to Paschim Medinipur.
He hoped the State government would send its proposals for development in these three districts at the earliest for consideration of the Union government. Mr. Ramesh's personal secretary Vineel Krishna visited the area to assess the support that the Union government could extend to the State government.
The focus will be on Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, placement-linked skill development to address unemployment and watershed development programme.
