PM wants zero tolerance for corruption in India’s naxal-hit areas

Pitching for 'practical and pragamatic' approach for development of naxalism-affected areas, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday said there must be 'zero tolerance for corruption' in implementation of schemes intended for these regions. Addressing a day-long meet on naxalism-hit areas here, he said there was a need for ensuring that monitoring takes care of any wrongdoing in the process of development. 'As an administrator, we must have zero tolerance for corruption. We must demolish the invisible wall between them (people of naxalism-affected areas) and us,' Singh told collectors of 60 naxal-hit districts gathered at the meet. He emphasised the need for winning the 'trust of people' in Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected areas and said the lessons learnt from the grassroots should be the key elements in the 12th Five Year Plan. Noting that lack of security is the biggest constraint in development of the LWE areas, the Prime Minister said 'practical and pragmatic' steps need to be taken to meet this challenge. He said many of development programmes in LWE areas cannot be implemented as intended because of security concerns. 'Therefore the struggle to give a modicum of security to those who are engaged in development process in these difficult areas must go hand in hand with emphasis on development as traditionally understood,' he said. Noting that lack of development leads to frustration and a sense of alienation among the inhabitants leading to lack of trust, the Prime Minister said, 'the sense of alienation is to be converted into a sense of belongingness.'