Baghel urges Shah to expedite development work in Naxal-hit areas

New Delhi, Dec 11 : Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Singh Baghel on Friday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, requesting him to expedite approval for the pending proposals on development work in the Naxal-affected regions of the state.

He also sought the Centre’s assistance in generating employment opportunities in the region on a large scale, and urged Shah to approve new proposals sent by the state government to eradicate Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) from Bastar.

Referring to his meeting with the Home Minister last month, Baghel said the action plan to provide employment on a large scale in Naxal-affected areas of the state was discussed in the meeting as also details of the previous pending proposals.

The Chief Minister wrote that the Special Central Assistance Scheme, installation of 1,028 mobile towers under the scheme, approval for the formation of an India Defence Corps (IR Battalion) for deployment of Special Striking Force Black Panther, increasing resolution of the camera used in NTRO UAVs provided for anti-Naxal operations, deployment of Railway Protection Security Force at Kumarasadra (Bastar district) and Kamalur (Dantewada district) to protect railway property, among others should be continued.

For the construction of the remaining roads in the 1,991 km route approved under the LWE scheme in the Bastar region in 2020, a revised approval is required for the items listed in the administrative approval.

He said that there is a great need of OFC connectivity in Bastar and LWE-affected areas to increase the number of towers for IT & Telecom Infrastructure and to provide 3G/4G network facilities.

Action is underway to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the implementation of the Bodh Ghat project.

After the completion of the DPR, the amount required for the implementation of the scheme can be estimated.

Baghel wrote “Rs 63.47 crore is to be sanctioned for the pending electrification of 214 habitations of Bastar region and about Rs 53 crore is proposed to be sanctioned for 5,275 cases of pump electrification”.

He mentioned that the proposal for the said roads and completion of 18 new major bridges is pending with the Central government’s Ministry of Rural Development, after completion of 122 roads in 5 Naxal-affected districts under PMGSY-I.

Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from IANS service.