Thaindian News

New Delhi, Sep 13 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday said people in Maoist-affected areas should have an equitable share in the prosperity brought about by India’s growing economy, but stressed the need for administrators to have a “zero tolerance for corruption”.

He also assured that the rural development ministry’s appeal for additional funds for road connectivity in these areas would be considered.

In his valedictory address at the “National Workshop on Appropriate Development Strategies for Effective Implementation of Rural Development Schemes in IAP (integrated action plan) districts’, the prime minister said lack of development often leads to a sense of alienation among the inhabitants of left-wing extremist areas.

“If the sense of alienation is to be converted into a sense of belongingness, our programmes and policies must ensure that the people of these areas have equitable share in the prosperity that a rapidly growing economy like ours is bound to bring in,” he said.

“As administrators, we should have zero tolerance for corruption. We must demolish the wall between ‘us’ and ‘them’,” the prime minister told the district collectors of 60 Maoist-affected districts across the country.

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh read out key conclusions at the end of the day-long meeting.

Seeking the prime minister’s intervention, he said connecting almost all habitations in 60 IAP districts under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) would require an additional Rs.35,000 crore over the next three years.

Ramesh later told media persons that the prime minister had decided to discuss the issue with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P. Chidambaram.

He said 500 people will be enrolled as “Bharat Nirman Volunteers” in each IAP district by March 2012. The volunteers will act as a link between the administration and people.

The ministry, he said, proposes to launch the Prime Minister’s Rural Development Fellows Programme under which young professionals in 25-30 years age group will be recruited to work in IAP districts for a period of 2-3 years and will support the collector in the field.

Chidambaram, who spoke in the inaugural session, said left-wing extremism was the most “formidable challenge” to governance and added that real hurdle was not restoring peace or development but winning the minds and hearts of villagers.

He said more people had been killed in Maoist violence this year than in incidents of terrorism.

According to the minister, 26 civilians had been killed in the first eight months this year in incidents of terrorism, 46 in insurgency-related incidents in the northeast and 27 in violence in Jammu and Kashmir - the corresponding figure for civilians killed in left-wing extremism violence was 297.

He said 109 security personnel had been killed in Maoist violence this year while 50 had been killed in insurgency related incidents in the northeast and violence in Jammu and Kashmir.

“The numbers tell their own story. The most formidable challenge to governance is left-wing extremism,” Chidambaram said.

He said burden of governance cannot shift from the state to central government.

The minister said he had been told by the Planning Commission that none of the projects under IAP had been targeted by Maoists.

The battle was not for restoring peace or complementing development, but winning “minds and hearts of villagers”, he said.

In his speech, the prime minister said development can be meaningful if it is in tune with felt needs of people.

He said the workshop provides a very unique opportunity for sharing experiences and deepening understanding of ground realities.

The prime minister said that struggle to give a modicum of security to all those who are engaged in development of process in Maoist affected areas must go hand in hand with emphasis in development.

Referring to difficulties in setting up post offices and bank branches, he suggested police stations can be used for the purpose, thus providing sufficient security.

The IAP for 60 selected tribal and backward districts in nine states was approved by the government in November last year with a grant of Rs.25 crore for 2010-11 and Rs.30 crore for 2011-12.