Govt to develop playgrounds in Naxal-hit areas

New Delhi: Taking Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh's 'rural development programmes can defeat Naxalism' theory to the next level, the ministry has decided to develop village playgrounds in the 'Naxal-hit districts' in the country to 'save the kids from the clutches of the Naxalites'.

Jairam had earlier said, 'If the rural works are taken up properly, we will be successful in dealing with Naxalism in the next five or six years." As per this, the playground plan will be implemented in seven Naxal-affected districts initially and will be extended to the rest of the Naxal-hit districts. This will be done as part of the NREGA schemes implemented in these districts.

"When I had gone to visit the Naxal-affected districts, I got several complaints that there are no playgrounds in these villages. Hence, we have decided to build them in all these districts,” said Jairam at a press conference, which was organised primarily to announce that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) will now scrutinise all the schemes of the ministry.

An official with the ministry said the absence of the playgrounds in those villages was in a way catalytic to the growth of the Naxalite supporters in those villages. "If the village kids have no place to play or engage in activities, naturally they will turn to other means that look adventurous to them. The idea may look silly, but these playgrounds are capable of saving those kids from the clutches of the Naxalites," said the official.

Jairam has proposed a slew of measures, especially for the Naxal-hit districts quite in tune with his belief that effective implementation of the rural programmes would save the country from the 'Naxal menace'. One of them, according to the official, is a scheme by name Prime Minister’s Rural Fellows Programme to tap the potential in the private sector to implement and monitor rural programmes in the Naxal-affected districts.

"It is meant to attract professionals looking for a sabbatical from their current jobs and want to spend some time helping society."