Naxal rehabilitation not a smooth affair

Naxal rehabilitation not a smooth affair

Kakinada, June 04: Several Naxalites -- from ordinary dalam members to commander level -- have surrendered mostly on health grounds and unable to withstand the hard life in the interior forests, taking advantage of the government's policy inviting them to join the mainstream.

In East Godavari district itself, as many as 77 naxalites have surrendered since 1984. But the rehabilitation is not smooth and the authorities are facing a piquant situation in facing the queries of the surrendered.

Reward amount

Though the authorities are able to provide Rs.5,000 to each of them towards immediate relief soon after surrender, they face problems in paying the reward amount. As against nine naxalites surrendered since March 2005, the reward amount has been cleared in case of one Jartha Lakshmi, deputy commander of SGS Srikakulam, that too only part payment .She was surrendered on August 6, 2005 and of the total Rs.50,000 reward amount recommended, only Rs.20,000 was paid to her and the balance of Rs.30,000 is pending. Among eight others, Naragoni Manjula, deputy commander of AOB SZC and wife of Gopanna, is to get Rs.3 lakhs and Naine Adilakshmi, member of Nagavali LOS Srikakulam division, is yet to receive the Rs.2-lakh reward amount. The authorities have sent the proposals promptly but remain pending at the government level.

While the reward amount is to be released from government, the district administration has to provide land and other financial assistance for their speedy rehabilitation.

Interestingly, a majority of the surrendered are refusing to take the government land provided, as they are not cultivable and require lot of investment for development. Official sources say that nearly 60 per cent among them have refused to take the land. The banks or the government agencies are averse to finance them owing to problem of loan recovery.

`No' to farm land

Another interesting thing, according to official sources, is that some of them who are in area committee secretary cadre, are refusing to accept the governmental assistance openly, for fear of dangerous consequences from the Maoist leadership. As a result, so far eight surrendered naxalites have been given the agricultural lands, six got house sites, while one has been financed for purchase of a tractor another with a truck, two have been given jeeps. Two surrendered naxalites died much before they received the package.

--Agencies

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Tags: naxalite rehabitalation