Govt unveils Rs 3,300 crore plan for naxal districts

The Integrated Action Plan (IAP) is intended to provide immediate redressal to problems of the people in tribal and backward districts in the sector like healthcare, drinking water, education and roads.

The IAP would be given as an additional central assistance scheme on 100 per cent grant basis to be implemented in two years, Home Minister P Chidambaram said about the decision taken at the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs held last evening.

"In the current year (2010-11), a block grant of Rs 25 crore will be made available to each of the 60 districts for which the schemes will be decided by a committee headed by the distrcit collector with district SP and district forest officer as members," Chidambaram said here.

The projects would have to be completed by March in a "concrete" and "visible" manner, he said.

The works would be taken up by district collectors by December 1, he said, adding the block amount of Rs 25 crore will have to be utilised in the remaining four months of the current fiscal.

Elaborating on the action plan, he said the grant would be utilised by a committee headed by district collectors of the state to undertake doable projects like construction of link roads, Panchayat Ghar (office building) etc.

The government, he added, proposes to call a meeting of the collectors of the 60 districts shortly to apprise them about the scheme and also the urgency to complete projects within the stipulated time frame.

During the financial year 2011-12, the block grant will be raised to Rs 30 crore per district and it will be reviewed for implementation in the 12th Plan at a later stage.

"Construction of roads and schools and proper implementation of public distribution system will take place in all these Maoist-hit areas," Chidambaram said.