Will eliminate Naxalism with trust: Chhattisgarh CM

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday demanded more funds from the Centre to combat Left Wing Extremism in the state and said his government will eliminate the menace through development policies as well as providing security and generating trust among the people.

He attended a meeting of the chief ministers of Left-Wing Extremism-affected states at Vigyan Bhawan here and discussed various issues related to security, coordination between states and development.

"The Centre should provide 100 per cent funds instead of 60 per cent to Chhattisgarh for construction of roads under Rural Roads Project-II," Baghel said.

He said Chhattisgarh is bigger than Kerala in terms of area and being a Naxal-affected state, construction of roads in remote areas is difficult.

The meeting was chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and attended by Minister of State for Home Affairs G Krishna Reddy, Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and chief ministers of LWE-affected states.

Baghel said the government has distributed forest rights certificates to forest dwellers and re-started schools damaged and demolished by Naxals in Bastar.

"The state has witnessed less Naxal incidents this year as compared to last year," he said, adding that the state government has also taken initiatives for providing more job opportunities to locals.

The chief minister said wages of 'tendupatta' collectors (who collect and process tendu leaves) has been raised from Rs 2,500 per standard sack to Rs 4,000 per standard sack.

"Health checkups, treatment and distribution of medicines facilities have been expanded in tribal-dominated regions of the state under 'Mukhyamantri Haat Bazaar Clinic Scheme'," he said.

Baghel said the government will start providing free of cost nutritious food daily at each gram panchayat in the state from October 2 on the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

"It will prove to be a hallmark step in eradicating malnutrition and anemia from the state," he said.

Drawing the Centre's attention towards development in the field of security and coordination between states, the chief minister said six states including Chhattisgarh have set up a unified command for anti-Naxal operations.

He said the state has completed construction of more than 1,550 km of roads under the Road Requirement Project- 1 (RRP-1).

Baghel said the government has started taking back fraud cases against tribals, setting up food processing units in tribal-dominated areas to provide job opportunities, returning lands in Lohandigunda area and distributing revenue in Abujhmaad region. PTI CPS TDS TDS