‘Ground realities cannot be ignored in Maoist-hit dists’

Two-day meet on challenges to development begins

Hyderabad: Development programmes taken up in the LWE (Left Wing Extremism) districts did not yield desired results mainly because of the fact that the implementing agencies had failed to take into account the ground realities, felt many of the participants at a two-day consultative meet on development challenges in left wing extremism (LWE) districts that took off at the National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD) on Friday.

The district collectors and representatives from different departments from the 69 LWE-affected districts in the country took part in the meeting. They discussed measures to be initiated for the effective implementation of the programmes. The inaugural session of the meeting was chaired by MV Rao, Director General, NIRD. B N Yudandhar former Member, Planning Commission, and KB Sexena former Secretary, MoRD and Head, SC and ST Division, CSD were among the speakers.

Yugandhar said there were several laws governing land alienation but the governments suppressed them all to deny to the owners their rights. Similarly, 50 per cent of assigned lands of SCs were transferred to non-poor though the transactions were prohibited. He described tribal areas as highly disturbed and turbulent geography of India where mining, irrigation and power projects were implemented without fulfilling promises made to local people.

Saxena addressing the gathering that discussed “Poverty and Human Development scenario in LWE districts’ ( one of the themes on the agenda of the meet), requested all the collectors to delve into the structural component of the backward society and to bring about a complete metamorphosis in social thinking. He emphasised that the SCs and STs were deprived of other avenues of survival and they were resource poor. Environmental degradation, discrimination and exclusion, incarceration without any trial or charge were some of the issues needed focused attention.

Former Director General of Police Swaranjit Sen said in his address that the administrators should have a make-over attitude in favour of people. He was speaking on theme ‘Security and Development Issues and Experiences ‘ as part of a consultative meet. “Plethora of schemes is introduced in LWE districts without knowing how to implement them’’ he felt. He asserted that India needed leaders to change things. Stating that the bureaucracy should be grown up, he claimed that selection process of IAS and IPS should be changed in order to produce quality leaders.

Akun Sabharwal, assistant director of NPA (National Police Academy), opined that the absence of government gave rise to the left-wing extremism in tribal pockets. He emphasised on connectivity to rural parts could play a vital role in curbing the menace. He said that interior road network in Vishakhapatnam was bad. “Similarly, inclusion of local communities in recruiting as security personnel will also help rooting out naxalism,” he stressed.

Nikhil Gupta, deputy director of the NPA also spoke on the occasion.