Government policy for Naxal-hit areas a picture in contrasts

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The scheme itself suffered from a major flaw. It offered the same amount for the most affected Gadchiroli and the least affected Bhandara. And even as the much needed fund flow stopped, the state government silently withdrew its government resolution (GR) of December 2014 to withdraw LWE incentive scheme for its employees to all tehsils, earlier declared Naxal affected, except four in Gondia and all tehsils of Gadchiroli. These excluded tehsils from districts like Bhandara, Chandrapur, Yavatmal and Nanded. This decision was based on the report of the State Director General of Police that the only Naxal affected parts of the state were the entire Gadchiroli district and four tehsils of Gondia district viz Salekasa, Deori, Arjuni Morgan and Sadak Arjuni.

In a new GR issued in February this year, the government withdrew the December GR and restored LWE status to all tehsils earlier declared as hit by LWE . “This means that the one-step promotion incentive (salary of the position one step above the currently held post) for government employees in all these tehsils have been restored,” said an official from one of the districts.

Incidentally, the incentive was also extended to state employees in certain tribal tehsils other than LWE ones in many other districts of the state.

“So what is the greater incentive for someone working under the most trying conditions that include security concerns in a tehsil like Bhamragarh over those working in, say, a tribal tehsil in Ahmednagar,” asked the state official.

“Clearly, even as funds for development of the locals have dried up, the same have been made available to state employees in many of the non-LWE affected tehsils,” the official added.