The Commission which is firming up the blueprint has suggested re-casting the focus from the districts to the tribal-dominated blocks where the scheme would be implemented and its execution intensively monitored. This effectively means that the Integrated Action Plan (IAP), which was hitherto being executed in 60 Naxal-hit districts entailing an expenditure of about Rs 3,500 crore, is being re-designed to make it block-oriented to carry out the development works.
“In the 12th Plan we are going to cover the entire central Indian tribal belts of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal. We need to allocate money in a more focused way by ascertaining which area needs how much money,” Commission member Mihir Shah told The Indian Express.
To ensure that execution of the scheme doesn’t become a business-as-usual exercise, the Commission has suggested that hand-picked officials with an impeccable career profile would be posted as officers equivalent to the rank of Block Development Officers and would be specifically entrusted to execute the scheme in a dedicated manner.
“We must entrust officers with exemplary service record to execute this programme. The execution of the exercise would be concurrently monitored by let us say the IEO. This is because there is a need to allow them report independently to the IEO in case they encounter any execution problems,” Shah said.
If the country’s apex planning body has its way then in the first two years of the 12th Plan, money will flow uniformly to all designated blocks districts for strengthening the human resource in the Panchayati Raj institutions, improving implementation of the Forest Rights Act and apt execution of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA). During these two years, the officers would prepare a comprehensive block-specific plan prepared in a participatory manner including the elected representatives, PRIs and civil society representatives.
The money would be routed through the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) route and would also be utilised in rainfed areas like Vidarbha and Bundelkhand, the Commission member said. After two years, those blocks which have met the stipulated benchmarks, would be extended further monetary assistance for the remaining part of the Plan period.
Besides, several other schemes in tribal areas such as food nutrition scheme for KBK (Koraput, Bolangir and Kalahandi) districts are also likely to be be made part of the scheme.
SHIFTING FOCUS
* Re-casting focus from districts to blocks
* To cover nearly 300 blocks across 7 states
* To be named Central India Tribal Plan
* Execution next year by hand-picked officers
* Direct monitoring by Independent Evaluation Office
* Funding through Backward Regions GrantFund