The recent initiative taken by Chief Secretary Rajiv Gauba to bring in developmental schemes to the worst Naxal-infested areas of the State by encouraging area specific developmental projects for them are being adopted in letter and spirit by deputy commissioners (DC). Keeping security as well as development of the left Wing Extremism (lWE) affected areas on the priority list the State Government has decided to reach out even to the last person sitting on the social order.
“A directive has come to us from the office of Chief Secretary for which we have chosen Manatu area for the pilot project to bring in developmental projects on the lines of Saranda Action Plan. We have also started making plans to improve the infrastructure of the region as well as individual infrastructure by introducing livelihood programmes by utilizing the local resources available in the area,” said Palamu DC K Sriniwasan.
Divulging his plans, Sriniwasan further said that the focus will be to increase overall income of the people living in the area, which has been identified as major factor giving a boost to the problem of Naxalism in the area. The DC said that with the increase in their daily income, locals will not consider themselves neglected giving them a feeling that a government is there now to take care of them.
“This will ultimately check Maoist interference after they get support from the local people,” he added. The major focus however, will on the construction of roads in the area, other developmental programmes will be followed making it easier to implement them easily with a better infrastructure, he further said. Moreover, the fear-psychosis, rampant among the people and the Government servants as well, will be diminished which was the root cause of the problem.
Sriniwasan who was West Singhbum DC from 2011-13 has seen Saranda very closely, claims that if the menace could be removed from there, it can succeed in other Naxal infested areas also. “As soon as the officials start reaching out to the people living in the remote areas with different developmental programmes, positive vibe starts running in the area which ultimately creates a sense of disconnect with the rebels,” he added.
Chatra DC Amit Kumar who was also of the similar view, said that the idea was to provide basic amenities to such areas within as minimum possible period of time which may otherwise, take several years to implement them through routine developmental programmes. Once the schemes are focused accordingly, it become easier for us to bring people into the mainstream, he said.
“Although, it is in the planning stage, and Chatra being one of the worst hit areas, we definitely need to bring in dedicated plans so that the basic problems of those areas could be removed. Kunda, lawalong and Pratappur are some of the areas in Chatra, where such developmental schemes need to be focused making area specific plans for them,” said Kumar.
Kumar further added that those were basically a part of confidence building measure which is expedited through area specific programmes providing them some of the bare minimum amenities required to live a dignified life. “Our motive is to provide them some of the basic amenities of which they have been devoid for so many years and removing the regional disparity propagating a sense of integrity among them,” said Kumar.
Khunti DC Waghmare Prasad Krishna on the other hand, lauding the initiative taken by the State Government, said that areas based development schemes will ultimately help in checking the youth drifting away from the mainstream. “A proper roadmap will be prepared by us after discussion it with the other officers in the district administration for its efficient implementation,” said Krishna. Simdega DC Diprava lakra however, is yet to prepare a roadmap after a thorough discussion with other district level officers.
Ten lWE affected areas identified under the scheme includes – Saryu (latehar), Jhumra (Bokaro), Parasnath (Giridih and Dhanbad), bordering areas of Gumla-lohardga, Khunti-Saraikela-Chaibasa, Dumka, Godda, Chatra, Palamu, Jamshedpur, Giridih and Koderma. Principal Secretaries, Secretaries, Divisional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and other concerned officials have been asked to review the action plan made for the 10 newly identified lWE areas.
According to the directive issued by the CS the focus area will be on improving the basic amenities like electricity, water and road for the identified lWE affected areas. The State Government was also stress on profit making skill development and employment generating programmes, providing them basic infrastructural facilities to people living in the Naxal infested areas.
Saranda Action Plan (SAP), initiated about a couple of years back, envisages “all round development of Saranda” by building 10 IDCs, 13 roads and 21 camps for security forces. Saranda, home to about 7,000 Ho families, is Asia's largest Sal forest, covering over 820 square km of West Singhbhum district. The scheme was launched by former Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh.
The area was once considered to be the worst left Wing Extremism (lWE) affected region; several developmental programmes were implemented for over 36,000 people living in the 56 remote villages coming under 6 Panchayats, changing the overall scenario of the region. Today Saranda is claimed to be a clear zone by the state police where one can venture freely without having a fear of rebels.