Panel nod to Rs 1,000-crore plan in naxal belt

The Planning Commission has cleared a Rs 1,000 crore version of the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) to push development in naxal-affected districts, down from the existing Rs 2,450 crore.

The Planning Commission has cleared a Rs 1,000 crore version of the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) to push development in naxal-affected districts, down from the existing Rs 2,450 crore.

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In its new truncated form, each of the 82 notified districts — 71 of them affected by naxalism — would be entitled to receive a base assistance of Rs 5 crore.

The districts would, however, be entitled for additional assistance depending on the population and area of the district.

Planning commission sources said they had retained the existing format, where a panel headed by a district collector, police chief and forest officer would decide the projects to be taken up in consultation with the local public representatives.

Of 1.07 lakh projects taken up earlier, nearly 80,000 have been completed in the last three years.