The Planning Commission on Thursday approved Rs 14,000 crore for 60 Naxal-affected districts on the condition that states would have to undertake governance reforms and improve the performance of existing flagship programmes. The decision comes two days before Home Minister P. Chidambaram,
Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh and Tribal Affairs Minister Kanti Lal Bhuria discuss development issues with officers of the rebel-hit districts.
The money in the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) will be allocated in the next four years and would be over and above existing grants for Naxal-affected districts.
In the plan, the commission will give the state governments one-and-a-half years to implement reforms and improve performance of flagship programmes before money under the IAP is released.
Fund utilisation in existing flagship schemes ranges between 30 to 70 per cent in 34 Naxal-affected districts being monitored by the commission.
The commission, in its internal meeting headed by deputy chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia, decided that states will have to implement the Forest Rights Act and Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act to get the funds.
“The Centre will not give any additional funds for Naxal-affected districts where FRA and PESA are not implemented,” said an official who attending the meeting.
“The plan deals with both development deficit and governance deficit as emphasised by the Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) last week.”
The commission has also addressed complaints of chief ministers at the recent National Development Council meeting regarding rigid guidelines for the central government schemes resulting in poor utilisation of funds.