Tuesday, February 1, 2011

State wants 5 more dists as Maoist-hit

Times of India, Feb 1, 2011
BHUBANESWAR: The state government wants inclusion of five more extremism-affected districts under the Centre's Security Related Expenditure scheme and two dedicated helicopters to effectively fight Maoists, official sources said on Monday. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik would place the demands before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a meeting on internal security slated in New Delhi on Tuesday. Official sources said the state government would press for inclusion of Nuapada, Balangir, Sonepur, Bargarh and Kalahandi districts under SRE scheme, under which the Union government reimburses in full the money spent on anti-Maoist operations and police infrastructure improvement. Fifteen of the state's 30 districts are already benefiting under the scheme.

Official sources said the chief minister would also demand more central funds to carry out development works in extremism-hit areas and reiterate the state government's requirement of two dedicated helicopters to battle the left wing guerillas. Naveen, sources added, during his two-day visit to Delhi will also call on the Union shipping minister G K Vasan and point out the state's objections to expansion of the Kolkata Port Trust's jurisdictional limits in November on grounds that it would severely affect upcoming port projects in Orissa.

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