Infrastructure boost in Left Wing Extremism-hit Malkangiri catches UNDP eye

BHUBANESWAR:  An appraisal of NITI Aayog’s Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has found some of Odisha’s Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected districts climbing the charts.

Of the 10 districts from the State which were included in the ADP, Nabarangpur, Rayagada and Koraput were ranked among top 20 out of the 112 districts evaluated.

Having faced the challenges of LWE borne out of decades of under-development, Nabarangpur was ranked 13, while Rayagada and Koraput districts were placed at 16 and 17 positions respectively.

The UNDP report ranked the districts based on change in net resilience since March 2018 to March 2020 across six developmental parameters - health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion, skill development and basic infrastructure.

Odisha government’s intense focus on improving the basic infrastructure in Malkangiri - which once was the hotbed of LWE - was cited in the UNDP report. 

Though Basic Infrastructure as criteria carried less weightage, the UNDP appraisal said, the sector witnessed substantial focus within ADP.

“Districts such as Bijapur (Chhattisgarh) and Malkangiri (Odisha) have improved their roadways and infrastructure projects as an attempt to reduce LWE activities,” said the report. 

Beginning 2018, when the Gurupriya Bridge was unveiled by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the district witnessed a new chapter as it linked the Swabhiman Anchal - once designated as “cut-off area” - to the mainstream, providing access to remote pockets apart from creating a corridor that could expedite development activities.

Similarly, assessing the five best practices that include health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion and skill development and basic infrastructure, the report cited Malkangiri’s work in health and nutrition category too.

“Some of the districts admitted to coping better with Covid-19 situation due to better healthcare infrastructure introduced through ADP which is an indication of the programme contributing to strengthening of healthcare and nutrition services,” the report added.

Malkangiri located close to both Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, the UNDP report said, became an entry point for migrant workers returning to the State during the initial phases of lockdown in the country.

The district officials claimed to have used their new infrastructure facilities (both in healthcare and otherwise) to serve as institutional quarantine centres for the migrants.

However in the net resilience evaluation, Malkangiri was placed at 103rd rank, behind all other Odisha districts such as Dhenkanal (32), Gajapati (46), Kandhamal (58), Kalahandi (63), Balangir (75) and Nuapada (76).

Two districts had figured among the top five most-improved aspirational districts in NITI Aayog’s Delta Ranking for July 2020.

Nabarangpur and Kandhamal had emerged as top districts in the ranking for having adopted sustainable agriculture practices and efficiently managing water resources.