Ramdev Baba’s help will be taken to buy local products like honey in these districts, said the minister.
The Union Home Ministry is likely to entrust yoga guru Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved with purchasing local products in the 35 worst-affected Left Wing Extremist (LWE) districts in the country. The move is part of a recently cleared proposal by the Centre to initiate special civic action programmes by CRPF in LWE districts.
An annual outlay of Rs 30 crore per district every year has been earmarked with which CRPF camps across 450 villages in 35 LWE districts will help locals in activities like water harvesting, sericulture and fishery. While the initiative has already started in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, high Naxal violence in districts of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha have left security forces with little time to conduct civic action programmes.
Union Minister of State (Home) Hansraj Ahir told The Indian Express, “Ramdev Baba’s help will be taken to buy local products like honey in these districts. We started this initiative in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra and now plan to take it to other LWE districts. The proposal has been approved by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.” “In Gadchiroli, we imparted training to 50 youths at Chandrapur’s Central Institute of Plastics Engineering Technology (CIPET). All of them have secured placements.”
These camps, according to officials, are secure to hold training workshops. “It will help Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to diversify its civil action programmes and reach out to the locals,” said a Home Ministry official. The official also said that the government will now use security camps to impart skill development, capacity building and tinkering its two-pronged theory of development and security.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit the best performing district on April 14. (Express photo/File)
The 35 worst-affected LWE districts are also part of the 115 aspirational districts being monitored by the Cabinet Secretary and the NITI Aayog. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit the best performing district on April 14, the 127th birth anniversary of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, said officials. Besides skill development, Ahir said 170 youth from Bhamragad district in Gadchiroli were trained by the Department of Sericulture.
“For other LWE districts, nearly Rs 30 crore will be sanctioned every year and district collectors have been empowered to draw up schemes to financially strengthen local produce so their earnings increase. Some of the local products will be bought by the security camps. We are planning to involve corporate houses active in states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar and use CSR funds. In the next phase, the plan is to set up flour mills which will provide employment to the locals,” Ahir said.
According to Ahir, more than 1,000 youth have benefited from the special drive in Gadchiroli and are now gainfully employed. “As many as 1,000 youths underwent training so that they may be utilized for construction of thousands of toilets and houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana and Swatch Bharat Abhiyan. CRPF also facilitated driving and training of 150 youths and they were given driving license after qualifying tests,” he said.