Ranchi/New Delhi: Chief Minister Hemant Soren demanded the outstanding amount of Jharkhand from the Center in the review meeting of Left Wing Extremism chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. He said that the Government of India owes Jharkhand crores of rupees which it is not getting. In Jharkhand, the mining companies of the Government of India owe Rs 1 lakh 36 thousand crore to the state government. Due to the non-availability of this amount, the development of Jharkhand is being hampered.
He said that there will always be better coordination between the state and central governments in the anti-Naxal campaign. There is full hope that together we will win the ongoing fight against extremism. CM said that the state government is working under a multi-dimensional action plan to end extremism. Campaigns are being conducted against leftist extremist organizations. In this operation, special teams like Jharkhand Jaguar and SAT along with central paramilitary forces are being used extensively.
CM said that the Naxalites had kept an inaccessible place like Budha Pahar in Jharkhand as their shelter, but with the help of the Central Government, this area was freed from the Naxalites. After conducting an in-depth survey, an action plan has been prepared for the development of 6 panchayats there. The work of implementing this scheme has been started.
CM said that about 8 lakh eligible beneficiaries in Jharkhand are still deprived of the benefits of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. The Rural Development Ministry of the Central Government is not taking any positive decision in this regard despite repeated requests from the State Government.
Hemant said that the insurance item has been removed from the SRE scheme. To maintain the morale of the security forces, reimbursement of insurance amount under the SRE head should be continued as before. Koderma, Ramgarh and Simdega districts of Jharkhand have been removed from the list of SRE districts.
The Chief Minister said that the Government of India is going to make changes in the guidelines regarding the spending of DMFT funds. Due to this Jharkhand may have to face practical problems. According to the proposed guidelines, the amount can be spent only within a radius of 15 kilometers of any mining area, which is not possible for a state like Jharkhand covered with forests and mountains.
CM said that the government is not getting the expected support from banks for development in Jharkhand. This is clearly visible from the state’s CD ratio being 45, whereas the national average is around 67 percent. Due to the non-cooperation of banks, Jharkhand is being deprived of the benefits of investment worth lakhs of crores of rupees.
CM said that due to the joint efforts of the Central and State Governments, a total of 762 Naxalites and militants have been arrested from January 2022 to August 2023. These include 3 members of the Special Area Committee, 1 member of the Regional Committee, 10 Zonal Commanders, 16 Sub Zonal Commanders and 25 Area Commanders.
Apart from this, 20 Naxalites were killed in the police encounter, which included two of the Special Area Committee, 4 sub zonal commanders and one area commander. Apart from this, 1160 IDs and 76 weapons have also been recovered. During this period, 37 Naxalites have surrendered before the police, including one from the Special Area Committee, three from the Regional Committee, 4 Zonal Commanders, 9 Sub Zonal Commanders and 10 Area Commanders.