Chief secretary JK Banthia has asked the secretaries of various departments of the Mantralaya to spend their weekend in the troubled Gadchiroli district to get first-hand information on the status of development projects.

Legislators and bureaucrats who have come for the two week-long winter session of the state legislature prefer spending their weekends during the session at tourist places near Nagpur. However, this year, their weekend plans have been scuttled by Banthia.

"The chief secretary has formed teams of IAS officers who head government departments as secretaries and asked them to spend the weekend at the Gadchiroli district, where the development is badly affected by naxalites and poor governance," said an official, requesting anonymity.

"As the development plans for the district are prepared in the Mantralaya, senior officers need to be aware of the practical difficulties in its implementation," said the official.

Each team will be accompanied by local administrative officers who will take the secretaries to the areas where the developmental work has been or will be taken up.