'Govt firmly following road to inclusive growth in J'khand'

Jharkhand Governor Droupadi Murmu Thursday said that the state government is committed to development based on inclusiveness, justice and economic progress.

"The state governments priority is not only to provide basic amenities but also infrastructural development, covering all sections of the state, including farmers, the poor, the exploited and the deprived," Murmu said while addressing the first day of the Budget session of the state Assembly.

She said that the government had made changes to the previous policies and work culture in the state has improved.

To uproot corruption, Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has been re-organised and, besides its headquarters in Ranchi, six additional ACB regional units have been set up which led to the arrests of 424 corrupt government officials.

Stating that left-wing extremism had been a legacy that Jharkhand inherited after becoming a state, Murmu said that Maoists have been an impediment to development.

Murmu said the renewed surrender/rehabilitation/reward policy led to the arrest of at least 200 higher-ranked extremists and more than 125 ultras have surrendered.

The efforts have reduced the naxal-affected districts to 19 from the earlier 21 and most-affected districts to 13 from the earlier 16, the governor said.

She expressed hope that in the rapid path of development, everyone would constructively participate and put the state among the leading states.

Thereafter, the Assembly made obituary references to noted filmmaker Mrinal Sen, actor Kader Khan, former Vishwa Hindu Parishad president Vishnu Hari Dalmia and former ubdivided Bihar MLA Dainanath Paney.