Home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi holds meeting with 7 Naxalite-affected states

NEW DELHI: Union home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi on Friday held review meeting with chief secretaries of seven Naxalite-affected states and secretaries of key central ministries to take stock of development projects initiated in Maoist-hit areas.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh also addressed the meeting and stressed on the need to build upon progress made in past two years. The home minister also noted that deaths due to Left Wing Extremism (LWE) incidents had declined by 42% in the year 2015 as compared to the year 2013.

During the meeting, special projects like construction of roads both RRP-I & II, installation of mobile towers, development measures such as schools with hostel facility in the worst-affected districts were discussed threadbare. It was also decided to upgrade the multi-specialty hospital at Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh.

Other issues such as installation of mobile towers, increasing the reach of networks of DD and AIR, improvement in programmes, expansion of railway lines, banking & postal services were also discussed.

Secretaries of central ministries like road transport and highways, environment, forest and climate change, health and family welfare, railway and Information and Broadcasting, besides departments of telecom, school education and literacy, attended meeting, an official spokesperson said. Among the states, chief secretaries from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana and Maharashtra attended.