New Delhi, Oct. 22: The Supreme Court today asked Orissa to “generously grant” compensation to rebuild Kandhamal churches, two days after the state argued its “secular policy” didn’t allow aid for places of worship.

The court also asked the state to ensure the warring groups in the district, where anti-Christian violence has raged over the past two months, started a dialogue to restore normality.

“The government will take a generous view on the matter (of compensation for churches),” a bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan said.

On Monday, the state had refused to grant compensation saying its secular policy prevented it from doing so but agreed to pay Rs 2 lakh to every school, college, orphanage and hospital damaged in the violence.

The court also directed the government to retain central forces such as the CRPF, which has been deployed in the riot-torn areas, till after Christmas as the community had voiced fears of fresh attacks during that time.

The trouble in Mumbai after Raj Thackeray’s arrest also cropped up in the observations of the court when Balakrishnan urged the Orissa government to facilitate peace talks between the warring sides in the trouble zones.

“Arrests don’t solve the problem. One arrest has caused so much inconvenience to public. People can’t even catch a bus to work,” he said in an allusion to the MNS chief’s arrest.

The chief justice appeared to suggest that it was important to convene peace meetings in trouble spots, whether in Orissa or Maharashtra, and start dialogues for harmony.

The court accepted Orissa’s request “not to transfer for now” to the CBI the case related to the alleged rape of a nun. The state government told the bench it had arrested the main accused in the case as well as his accomplices.

Orissa’s counsel, K.K. Venugopal, said the state was ready to “identify and try the guilty” but claimed “she is not willing to co-operate with the investigation”. “If she did (co-operate), a test identification parade could be held to identify the culprits.”

The counsel for the Cuttack archbishop, who had sought the court’s intervention to protect the life and liberty of Christians in Orissa, wanted more time to seek the nun’s views. Colin Gonsalves said she had left for an undisclosed location after the incident.