New Delhi, Oct. 21: Road construction, employment generation, housing for the poor, safe drinking water in villages and watershed management projects will be the main vehicles of development in the Maoist-affected Jungle Mahal in Bengal.
Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today tentatively finalised these areas in which the Centre will provide all assistance.
“I have assured the chief minister of all support from the Union government for the development of the Jungle Mahal area. I requested her to send detailed proposals for the development of the region. As soon as the state government gives the proposal, we will clear them for speedy implementation,” Ramesh said after an hour-long meeting with Mamata here.
The rural development ministry has decided to make Jungle Mahal a test case to show how development can solve the Maoist problem in the area. The ministry is also planning similar development activities for the Saranda forest in Jharkhand, which has been liberated by the CRPF from the control of Maoists recently.
Jungle Mahal is made of 23 blocks spread over 8,000 sqkm in the districts of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia. Nearly 40 lakh people live in the zone, one of the most under-developed in the country. Lack of development has helped the Maoists spread their network in the area.
Ramesh had sent his private secretary, R. Vineel Krishna, to the area this week to make a preliminary assessment of the requirements and suggest how the ministry can help.
In his report, Krishna, who was once kidnapped by the Maoists in Orissa, has suggested that every habitation with population of more than 250 should get all-weather roads. He has estimated that around 1,500km of rural roads should be constructed in Jungle Mahal alone.
A placement-linked skill-development centre should be set up at Jhargram to cater to the unemployed youths in the 23 blocks. The skill-development programme will be designed in collaboration with industry, which will recruit the trained youths.
More projects will be sanctioned in the area under the integrated watershed management programme of the rural development ministry, which will also construct water supply projects.
Mamata raised the issue of including Purulia and Bankura under the integrated action plan (IAP) of the Union government.
“I have supported the proposal for inclusion of two more districts from Bengal under the IAP. The home ministry and the Planning Commission will take a final decision on that,” Ramesh said.
At present, West Midnapore is the only district from Bengal to get special assistance from the Centre under the IAP. The scheme is being implemented in 60 districts affected by Left-wing extremism.
The Union government last year started the scheme under which it has provided Rs 25 crore and Rs 30 crore per district for 2010-11 and 2011-12, respectively.
A three-member district-level committee in each IAP district, headed by the collector, spends this amount after drawing up development schemes.
This committee conceives proposals for public infrastructure and services such as schools, anganwadi centres, primary health centres, drinking water supply, village roads and lights in public places.
