Meet on safety of steel units in Naxal-hit areas
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Meet on safety of steel units in Naxal-hit areas
NEW DELHI: With the iron-ore rich states of Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh opening their doors to steel giants like the LN Mittal group, Tatas, Posco and Jindals, the Centre is keen on ensuring a safe environment for them to operate in the Naxal-affected region. The home ministry has called a high-level meeting in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday to strengthen the states' security mechanism in view of the Maoists' stand to oppose such developmental efforts in the region. Led by home secretary V K Duggal, top security officials, including DGPs of nine Naxal-affected states, would review the existing security scenario and the future strategy keeping in mind the huge private investment proposals lined up for these states. "The idea is to provide foolproof security which is important for the economic development of the entire region. The success of these investments will turn out to be the best antidote to poverty and backwardness which are considered the main reasons for the rise and spread of Naxalism,"said a senior home ministry official. According to records, Orissa has signed as many as 43 MoUs to take its steel production capacity to 58.04 MT followed by Chhattisgarh (42 MoUs), Jharkhand (31 MoUs) in the past couple of years. Among these MoUs, the L N Mittal group alone inked a deal for putting up a 12-million-tonne per annum (MTPA) steel plant in Keonjhar district of Orissa. Considering the flow of investment in the region, the Centre, an official said, did not want a repeat of the Kalinga Nagar type of agitation which witnessed the killing of 12 tribals during a protest against Tata Steel's proposed project in Jajpur district of Orissa. Thousands of tribals, backed by Maoists, had opposed the plant fearing displacement. Officials here believed that the time has come to reap the benefits of these investments in the backward regions affected by Maoists and for this a proper security arrangement is a must. The security of railways would also be discussed with MHA suggesting appointment of more personnel in RPF.
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Labels: Chhattisgand, Jharkhand, Orissa
posted by Bimal 12/31/2006 02:44:00 AM,
