The Hindu Business Line : Co-ordinated efforts needed to tackle naxal menace: Patil

(From left) The Union Home Minister, Mr Shivraj Patil; the Orissa Chief Minister, Mr Naveen Patnaik, the AP Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, and the Jharkhand Chief Minister, Mr Arjun Munda, at the Chief Ministers' Conference in Hyderabad on Tuesday. - A. Roy Chowdhury

Hyderabad , Sept. 21

THE Union Home Minister, Mr Shivaraj V. Patil, on Tuesday said that the naxalite problem should be addressed by solving socio-economic, political and regional inequalities prevailing in the naxalite-affected areas.

He also emphasised the need for a coordinated approach among all the States in tackling naxalism. Inaugurating the conference of Chief Ministers, Home Ministers and senior civil and police officers in Hyderabad this morning, he said in the absence of a coordinated approach and each State Government adopting a different strategy, the problem may defy a viable solution.

Mr Patil said that the Central Government's policy is to resolve the issues through discussion and it believes that there is no problem that cannot be resolved through talks when the parties concerned adopt a spirit of mutual understanding. However, it is left to the State Governments to adopt an appropriate strategy.

The Minister added that there is a need for a dedicated and sincere administrative response in the trouble-prone areas and for catering to the needs of the poorer segments.

The Central Government has decided to include five naxal-affected districts under the Backward Districts Initiatives of the Planning Commission to provide an additional Rs 15 crore per year per district for three years starting from this year.

Besides this, a special allocation of Rs 37.5 crore was given by the Ministry of Rural Development under the PMGSY (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana) scheme for the naxal-affected States and asked the State Government to utilize these funds to create the infrastructure for the development of the area.

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy said since the initiatives of the State Government, physical violence has come down totally, but there are reports that extremists are likely to consolidate.

"Our endeavour is to put more social and moral pressure on the armed groups to act more responsibly and evolve into a political party within the democratic framework, as it happened during the Telangana Armed Struggle of the 1950's".

Stating that the extremists were maintaining that they were fighting for the people's causes and left wing thinkers were always finding fault with the State for its alleged anti-people policies, Dr Reddy said "We have enlisted the cooperation of the same intelligentsia, including left wing leaders to be the mediators during the peace talks. Our efforts have given mixed results".

Mr Sriprakash Jaiswal, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Dr Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Mr Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Orissa, Mr Arjun Munda, Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Home Ministers and Revenue Ministers of naxal-affected States, senior police and intelligence officials attended the conference.

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