Plan panel seeks details of development work in Naxal-affected districts

Wants info on works carried under Integrated Action Plan from officials of 82 districts spread across nine states

Alarmed by the shocking naxal attack in Chhattisgarh, the Planning Commission has sought details of development activities carried under the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for Naxalism affected districts from officials of 82 districts spread across nine states.

Officials said in a missive sent recently, the commission had directed all collectors, chief secretaries and heads of IAP in the naxal-affected states to furnish details about the work carried on under IAP by June 3. These include block-wise information of police stations, banks, mobile towers, post office, telephone exchange and gram sabhas.

The IAP for Left-wing Extremism (LWE)  affected districts was launched in 2010-11 to ensure holistic development of areas which have become hotbed of Maoist violence. It was initially restricted to 35 districts of the country, which was later scaled up to 82 districts.

According to official sources till March 2013, the Central government has released around Rs 5,540 crore under IAP for the 82
Left-wing extremism affected districts. Earlier, a sum of Rs 25 crore was allocated to each LWE district under IAP every year, which has now been raised to Rs 30 crore.

The deadly Naxal ambush on Congress convoy on Saturday near Darbha area of Chhattisgarh killed 27 people including state Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel and former leader of opposition Mahendra Karma. In Chhattisgarh, 10 districts are included under the IAP, which are Bastar, Bijapur, Dantewada, Jashpur,  Kanker, Kawardha, Koriya, Narayanpur, Rajnandgaon, Surguja.