Maoist Threat Over, Win Gadchiroli Tribals’ Trust Through Governance: Chief Secretary

Nagpur: Chief secretary Rajesh Aggarwal on Sunday directed the civil administration to strengthen governance in Gadchiroli through effective services, development and public outreach to win the trust of tribal communities. Aggarwal, who is also guardian secretary of Gadchiroli, has been camping in the district since Saturday, holding a review of all departments.Sunday's crucial meeting was also attended by Maharashtra DGP Sadanand Date with other senior police officials joining in to discuss the law-and-order situation.Chairing a state-level review meeting on post-Maoist transformation in Gadchiroli, Aggarwal said the next 10 years presented an opportunity to transform the district and asked officials to adopt a people-centric approach. "Tribal citizens are the true owners of forest resources. The forest department and civil administration must function as facilitators, not owners. If services are delivered with sensitivity and understanding, the gap between the govt and society will narrow further," Aggarwal said.DGP Date, reviewing three decades of anti-Maoist operations, said security forces have dealt a decisive blow to left-wing extremism. Date said 244 police personnel and 609 civilians lost their lives in the conflict and called the end of Maoist movement a victory for Indian democracy.Date said an elite force was being created from select C-60 commandos with advanced training for special operations at state and national level. The remaining C-60 personnel would be given education and skill development opportunities. He said the Gadchiroli police would now need to shift focus to conventional policing, including domestic violence, theft, burglary, and traffic management. A proposal for a living memorial and museum in Gadchiroli to preserve the history of the anti-Maoist operations was under govt's consideration, he added.Aggarwal directed that large-scale skill development programmes be launched for local youth to benefit from the industrial investment, steel projects, railway, airport and other infrastructure projects coming up in Gadchiroli. He expressed concern that without skilling, higher positions would go to outsiders while local youth would get limited employment.The chief secretary said the railway was reaching Gadchiroli after a wait of 125 years and govt had also approved the extension of the Samruddhi expressway to Nagpur, Chandrapur, Gondia and Gadchiroli. He directed that mining project approvals and land acquisition be completed expeditiously within the legal framework.Aggarwal directed officials to ensure daytime power supply to farmers and to facilitate the solarisation of 33,000 agricultural pumps in the district. He said 50,000 bank correspondents would be appointed through MahaIT to take banking services to rural areas.On healthcare, Aggarwal said 5,000 new posts have been sanctioned and directed that mobile health units reach every village. He called for regular ST bus services in remote areas for teachers, nurses and students. He also directed a special Aadhaar registration drive at the village level for the elderly, disabled and residents of remote areas.Gadchiroli collector Avishyant Panda presented the district's post-Maoist transformation plan. Gondia collector Mangesh Gondawale reviewed the Gondia district situation. State's commissioner of intelligence Shirish Jain, additional DGP Chhering Dorje, inspector general Sandeep Patil and divisional additional commissioner Madhavi Khode were among the senior officials present.