Action Plan for 60 Naxal-hit districts

With the aim of giving a fillip to development schemes in tribal and backward regions, mostly affected by Naxal violence, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Friday approved the commencement of an Integrated Action Plan (IAP) in 60 selected districts.

The IAP would be an additional central assistance scheme on a 100 per cent grant basis. It is aimed at quick resolution of problems concerning healthcare, drinking water, education and roads.

In 2010-11 alone, each of the 60 districts will be given a block grant of Rs. 25 crore, with the total coming to a whopping Rs. 1,500 crore. In 2011-12, the grant will go up to Rs. 30 crore each.

“This is in pursuance of the Finance Minister's announcement in his budget speech of 2010-11 and the Prime Minister's address to the National Development Council on July 24. The scheme, to begin with, will be implemented over two years — 2010-11 to 2011-12,” Home Minister P. Chidambaram told journalists. .

Schemes would be decided by a committee, headed by the District Collector. The Superintendent of Police and the District Forest Officer would be its members. The IAP would be reviewed for implementation in the 12th Plan at a later stage, Mr. Chidambaram said.

KBK plan

The existing Kalahand-Bolangir-Koraput (KBK) plan would continue, with an annual allocation of Rs. 130 crore for all the eight districts in Orissa put together. The eight KBK districts have been included in the IAP. They would get an additional block grant of Rs. 25 crore each in the current year and a suitable additional amount under both State and district components of the IAP in the subsequent years.

The IAP would focus on improvements in governance and the States would have to comply with specific preconditions before availing themselves of the second tranche of the additional financial assistance in 2011-12 under the State component of the IAP. However, these conditionalities would not apply to the district component of the IAP, according to the CCEA decision.

The scheme would focus on effective implementation of the provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.

While the district component would be administered by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, the State component would be administered by the Planning Commission.