The Supreme Court on Friday said it will consider appointment of a committee to monitor relief and rehabilitation work in Naxal-affected areas in Chhattisgarh after it was alleged that the State government was not carrying out the task properly.
A bench of justices B. Sudershan Reddy and S.S. Nijjar said that it would consider the plea for setting up a committee headed by retired Chief Justice of Delhi High Court A.P. Shah to monitor development work in the area.
The court was hearing a PIL filed by sociologist Nandini Sundar, historian Ramchandra Guha, former bureaucrat E.A.S. Sarma and others, seeking a direction to the state government to refrain from supporting and encouraging Salwa Judum and initiate development project in Naxal-affected areas.
Senior Advocate Ashok Desai, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that incidents of violence were still happening in the area despite the apex court monitoring the case and suggested formation of a committee under the chairmanship of Justice Shah, which would also include social activist and member of the Planning Commission.
The need for setting up a committee of eminent persons to monitor the action of the authorities in the Naxal-hit areas has been a bone of contention between the state government and the activists.
The state government has already constituted a unified command under the chairmanship of the chief minister comprising members from the Planning Commission, Ministry of Home Affairs and two independent members from Dantewada — Mahendra Karma (former MLA) and Bhima Manddavi (MLA) to look after the rehabilitation work.
