Jairam Ramesh wants greater involvement of security forces in Maoist affected areas

New Delhi, Sep 13 (ANI): Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh today said that a greater involvement of the security forces in the Maoist-affected districts would bring about the over all development of the region.

Addressing the officials at a workshop called 'National Workshop on Appropriate Development Strategies for Effective Implementation of Rural Development Schemes of the IAP (Integrated Action Plan) Districts' here today, Ramesh urged Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram to direct the paramilitary, Central Reserve Security Forces, to actively help the administration in combating the Maoists, as it would help them to effectively implement various rural development and governance schemes.

"What we would like from you sir (Chidambaram) is a green signal for the greater involvement of the CRPF (Central Reserve Security Force), particularly in the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sabha Yojana (PMGSY), which to my mind is the single most important intervention that we are making in the IAP (Integrated Action Plan) districts. The programme is not going at the pace it should be going," said Ramesh.

"I do believe, that the greatest impact that we will be having in these districts is on the connectivity, in which the PMGSY plays a very important role and we like from you sir, some directions, both in terms of a direct involvement of the CRPF and secondly, an increased security cover particularly for the PMGSY works," he added.

The workshop, which was chaired by Union Home Minister Chidambaram, saw the presence of 60 district magistrates of the Maoist-affected states, who presented a first-hand account of the situation in their districts.

According to analysts, Maoists oppose the development activity like the construction of roads, provision of schools and drinking water facilities in the area.

Therefore, with an aim to boost development in tribal-dominated regions, mostly affected by Maoist violence, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had approved the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for 60 selected tribal and backward districts.

The IAP is aimed at solving problems related to healthcare, drinking water, education and infrastructure.

The IAP districts have been identified by the government with certain common characteristics. These districts are tribal-dominated, forest-rich, mineral-rich, they fall at the tri-junction area of three states, they are far away form their administrative capitals and some blocks in the districts are larger in area than that of some of the states in the country.

Ramesh said these districts demand more attention in terms of policymaking, and added that there was need to amend certain laws.

"These characteristics of the IAP districts are demanding policy attention, the forest-rich nature of these districts, the changes in forest administration, how to bring about greater degree of convergence between the objectives of the Forest Conservation Act, Forest Rights Act and the aspirations of the people," said Ramesh.

"As far as the minerals are concerned, the government is contemplating amendments to the Minerals Act to allow for greater revenue sharing with local tribal communities," he added.

Ramesh further said that the slow pace of development was a major impediment to the overall growth of the tribal dominated areas.

"The need for addressing the tri-junction infrastructure issue is very important. On the CRPF issue, I want to bring to your attention, that there are number of projects in some of these districts which have been on the annual for over 30-35 years, which for some reason or the other, have not seen the light of the day," he said. (ANI)