Rs 500 crore plan for Naxal-hit states

The home ministry has unveiled a new Rs 500-crore fully Centre-sponsored scheme – which will be implemented by state governments -- for Naxalism-hit states.

The amount will be allocated over the 9th Plan period, and the Centre will give Rs 135-crore a year to the states, according to the Outcome Budget of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The scheme has five important objectives:

To provide mobility to the police by upgrading existing roads in inaccessible areas ;to build camping grounds and helipads at strategic locations in remote areas; to strengthen police stations that have been identified as being at risk; to upgrade and strengthen approach roads to police stations and outposts where there is risk of IEDs and landmines, and to provide for critical needs, specific to the areas where holistic anti-naxal measures are being taken in a focused manner.

Keeping with ministry's theme of "only when an area is secured can development work happen", the report concluded that "the benefits would bein the arena of security. Security in turn would also provide an enabling environment for development and economic growth".

Further, the report said, the states have been asked to prepare integrated action plans in the most affected districts to achieve the objectives. For this, the ministry has identified 15 action points that include preparation of a comprehensive connectivity plan for the 33 districts seriously affected by Left-wing extremism.