Jairam to tour Naxal-hit areas

New rural development minister Jairam Ramesh, who declared his intent to focus on Naxal-hit areas on the day he took charge, is set to visit these. Ramesh, who his ministry officials describe as a man in a hurry, is setting off to Raipur, Jagdalpur and a few more places in Chhattisgarh. The visit is likely this week, sources said.

At the signing of a loan agreement today with the World Bank for a Rs 4,000-crore loan for the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM, which he also decided to rename), he reiterated today his intent to have a concentrated approach in all rural development programmes towards areas affected by left-wing terrorism. He indicated 18 more districts might be added to the existing 60 declared as Naxal affected.

Ministry officials say it is incorrect that programmes like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) or the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana have been at a standstill in Naxal areas. They do work, though there are some difficulties, especially in areas which are too remote, said one. The minister's visit is to find more on these obstacles, sources said.

The problem of Naxalism was compounded in these areas by the absence of bank branches and post offices sufficient in number to take the wages to NREGS workers on time, an official said. For instance, in the district of Malkangiri in Orissa, there were just five bank branches. In the case of NREGS, the activation of business correspondents is seen as a possible remedy for non-payment of wages in remote areas, especially those affected by Naxals. The World Bank loan is to help push the NRLM in some of the most backward districts, including the 60 Naxal-affected ones.

Ramesh described the programme today as the most important flagship programme of the UPA government, the term usually given to NREGS.

The minister’s impatience to get things move has been visible since day one of his arrival. NRLM, earlier called the Sampoorna Grameen Swarozgar Yojana, is a programme for self-help groups. The minister today not only signed a loan agreement but also decided to rename it ‘Ajeevika’. “No one understands what NRLM means. So, we are calling it Ajeevika,” he said.

One of the main problems with the programme has been the failure of self-help groups to survive the initial year, for banks did not provide them loans and merely accepted deposits. Ramesh today said women would now have their own bank, the National Women's Bank, which would provide the loans to self-help groups. The idea of a bank for these groups has been around for more than a couple of years. A budgetary allocation of Rs 500 crore was also made this year for a development fund for SHGs. However, the matter has not moved beyond that. “We will take it up with finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and the bank would be a reality soon,” Ramesh said today. With the speed with which the minister works, it should happen in a month or two, says rural development secretary B K Sinha.