Chhattisgarh stands fourth in the country in terms of the number of districts affected by left Wing Extremism (lWE). A total of 106 districts in the States are considered as left Wing Extremism (lWE)-affected. Of these, Bihar has maximum 22 districts, followed by Jharkhand (21), Odisha (19), Chhattisgarh (16), Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, — both eight each, West Bengal and Maharashtra,- four each, Uttar Pradesh (3), and Madhya Pradesh (1).
It is clear that number of districts, which witnessed some form of lWE activities, have been decreasing, as informed in the Rajya Sabha. Apart from the above mentioned information, the numbers of incidents of lWE violence and resultant deaths have also significantly declined during the last four years from 2011 to 2014.
The Central Government has revised the guidelines for ‘Surrender-cum-Rehabilitation Scheme of left Wing Extremists in the affected States’ with effect from April 1, 2013. As per the revised policy, the Central Government provides reimbursement of expenditure incurred on an immediate grant for surrendered lWE cadres subject to a ceiling of Rs2.5 lakh for higher ranked lWE cadres and Rs1.5 lakh for middle/lower ranked lWE cadres.
The additional incentives given for surrender of weapons/ ammunition is also reimbursed which ranges from Rs10,000 to Rs35,000 per weapon depending on type of weapon surrendered from detonator to light Machine Gun, Rocket launcher etc. In addition, the monthly stipend paid to the person who surrendered while undergoing vocational training is also reimbursed subject to the ceiling of Rs4,000 per month per person who surrendered for a maximum period of 36 months. The revised policy envisages formation of the Screening-cum-Rehabilitation Committees by the State Governments which are involved in the process of identification and rehabilitation of surrendered lWE cadres.
This was stated by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary in a written reply to a question by Sasikala Pushpa in the Rajya Sabha . Significantly, on March 20 this year, the Central Government had approved a revised cost of Rs3,045 crore under its Road Requirement Plan (RRP) for improvement of road connectivity in left Wing Extremism (lWE) affected areas of Chhattisgarh.
Overall, the Centre had approved a Road Requirement Plan (RRP) for improvement of road connectivity in left Wing Extremism (lWE) affected areas of a total of 34 Districts in eight States covering 5,477 km length (1,126 km NHs & 4,351 kms State Roads. In Chhattisgarh, the fund had been approved for improvement of road connectivity in left Wing Extremism (lWE) affected areas measuring 2,019 kms .
As per details of physical progress achieved as on March 1, 2015 under RRP the length of road completed between 2010-11 to 2014-15 in the insurgency infested areas in Chhattisgarh upto February 28,2015 is 868 kms. As per the State-wise details of fund allocated and expenditure incurred under lWE scheme, Chhattisgarh an expenditure of Rs190 crore was made from 2010-11 to 2014-15 upto February 28, 2015.
This information was given by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Planning, Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply in the lok Sabha. Notably, last year, the Central Government also simplified the procedure for offering general approval under Section-2 of Central Forest Conservation Act 1980, keeping in view the need of infrastructural development for public utility.
This implied that general approval for construction of roads on forest land in a total of ten left Wing Extremism (lWE) affected districts of Chhattisgarh will now be granted easily, official informed here. As per the simplified procedure, the general approval for construction of two-lane highways on forest land will be given by State Government itself. In this context, Chief Secretary Vivek Dhand had issued a circular to Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and Secretaries of all the departments and also to the Divisional Commissioners and District Collectors.
According to the officials, simplification of clearance procedure will largely benefit the areas of 10 lWE affected districts of the State, by expediting construction of roads in Chhattisgarh and connecting it to mainstream development. The 10 lWE affected districts include Bastar (Jagdalpur), Bijapur, Dantewada, Kanker, Narayanpur, Jashpur, Kabeerdham, Rajnandgaon, Koriya and Surguja. This simplified procedure will also be applicable in the new districts, which have been formed by reorganising the old districts.
