710 villages in Gadchiroli distt say ‘no’ to Maoists


* However, only 606 proposals for aid have got the approval of State Government so far

Staff Reporter
In Gadchiroli district, despite a reign of terror unleashed by the Left Wing Extremists, more and more number of villages have said ‘no’ to Naxalites/Maoists. As many as 710 villages have adopted a resolution saying ‘no’ to entry of Naxalites/Maoists. However, the State Government could approve promised financial assistance in only 606 cases.
In the year 2003, State Government launched a novel scheme ‘Gaonbandi Yojana’. Under the scheme, villages passing a resolution saying ‘no’ to entry of the outlaws were eligible to get financial assistance from State Government. The idea was to reward the Gram Panchayats/villages for showing trust in Government and refusing to support Naxalites/Maoists. In the very first year, 112 villages participated in the scheme. The next year, the number increase and more 115 villages said ‘no’ to outlaws. However, the very next year, the number came down to only seven as the Government did not release funds and the Maoists started issuing threats.
In 2003 itself, citizens of 30 villages in Korchi tehsil came together and banned entry to Naxalites through passage of a resolution. Various provisions were included in the resolution. These included no entry to Naxalites, no support to outlaws, villagers would not go to meetings called by Naxalites, no boy/girl to be a victim of Naxalites who took them to work in dalams, extending help to Government machinery to start developmental works, joint resistance to violent activities of Naxalites etc. The Government rewarded these and other villages (total 112 passed the resolution in 2003) with Rs 2 lakh each for developmental works.
Later on, in 2007, Tribal Development Department increased the financial aid to be provided to villages declaring ‘Gaonbandi’ to Naxalites/Maoists to Rs 3 lakh each. Official data reveals that a total of 710 villages in Gadchiroli district passed ‘Gaonbandi’ resolution till 2012. In Gondia district, 44 villages passed the resolution.
The norms have been revised gradually. As per the norms, villages with a population size up to 100 get Rs 3 lakh once the ‘Gaonbandi’ proposal is received at the Government level. Later, an aid of Rs 1 lakh is given per 100 population. As soon as a proposal is received, the respective District Collector releases 10 per cent of the assured financial aid immediately. The District-level Co-ordination Committee gets development fund money as advance.
However, as per official data with Anti-Naxalite Operation (ANO), of a total 710 proposals of ‘Gaonbandi’, the district administration has sent 680 to the Government. So far, 606 of them have got approval from the Government.

Year-wise number of villages adopting ‘Gaonbandi’ resolution

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Year     No of villages

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2003     112

2004     115

2005      07

2006     116

2007      85

2008      65

2009      91

2010      10

2011     103

2012      06

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Total     710

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(Published in The Hitavada CityLine on January 29, 2014) 

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