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Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Friday attended a public court function at Chhota Nagra panchayat in Manoharpur block that forms part of the Saranda forest area in West Singhbhum district which has recently been reclaimed from the CPI(Maoist) ultras by security forces.
Accompanied by Chief Minister Arjun Munda and Deputy CM Hemant Soren, Ramesh spent around three hours at the meeting to hear the voice of the people on decades of socio-economic backwardness.
Later, talking to the media on the sidelines of hearing Ramesh, the Minister said that the that Central Government with help from Jharkhand will "carry out construction of the road on a 140 km stretch connecting Saranda forest area with the Chaibasa based district headquarters".
"We want to expand development activities across rural belt. We need to re-establish civil administration in the liberated villages and, for this, mass scale development of the villages is required," he said.
The visit has sent out mixed signals on the drive against the guerrillas that the Government is ready with a comprehensive plan to bring development in such areas. "In one sense you can say that the development is coming on the back of a security offensive. After the Union Home Ministry played its role in effectively pushing back Maoists from Saranda after more than ten years of their presence here, it is now the turn of the Union Rural Development Ministry to administer the healing touch," a senior State Government official said. The Government claimed to have smoked out the Maoists from Saranda who have virtually controlled around 56 villages with a sort of parallel Government.
The Minister's visit is part of the plan under which he is scheduled to visit some of the worst Maoist affected districts of Dantewada and Narainpur in Chhattisgarh and Vishakapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
Prior to his visit, a nine-member team headed by rural development joint secretary N Muruganandam had visited the forests area from October 18 to 20 to prepare a ground report ahead of implementation of the big ticket Saranda Development Plan.
"I have noted down all the grievances of the people. I have instructed to pace up construction of wells, ponds and roads under the rural jobs scheme," Ramesh said.
Mainly populated by the Ho community, Saranda has around 7,000 tribal households. The area has 25 per cent deposit of the iron ore in India. The nine-member team had identified 3,000 eligible families of Saranda who were left out of the BPL list.
Calling Saranda 'our legacy,' and urging to 'conserve it at all cost,' Munda said that the area has "defining moments of our history". However, those who expected a big and booming announcement of a package were left disappointed.
"Saranda, at the juncture of Odisha and Jharkhand, is a region forgotten by the Government. The natives have been left alone to eke out their livelihoods. Most of Saranda still lives essentially pre-modern existence," said Sulochana Mahato, a block functionary.
Accompanied by Chief Minister Arjun Munda and Deputy CM Hemant Soren, Ramesh spent around three hours at the meeting to hear the voice of the people on decades of socio-economic backwardness.
Later, talking to the media on the sidelines of hearing Ramesh, the Minister said that the that Central Government with help from Jharkhand will "carry out construction of the road on a 140 km stretch connecting Saranda forest area with the Chaibasa based district headquarters".
"We want to expand development activities across rural belt. We need to re-establish civil administration in the liberated villages and, for this, mass scale development of the villages is required," he said.
The visit has sent out mixed signals on the drive against the guerrillas that the Government is ready with a comprehensive plan to bring development in such areas. "In one sense you can say that the development is coming on the back of a security offensive. After the Union Home Ministry played its role in effectively pushing back Maoists from Saranda after more than ten years of their presence here, it is now the turn of the Union Rural Development Ministry to administer the healing touch," a senior State Government official said. The Government claimed to have smoked out the Maoists from Saranda who have virtually controlled around 56 villages with a sort of parallel Government.
The Minister's visit is part of the plan under which he is scheduled to visit some of the worst Maoist affected districts of Dantewada and Narainpur in Chhattisgarh and Vishakapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
Prior to his visit, a nine-member team headed by rural development joint secretary N Muruganandam had visited the forests area from October 18 to 20 to prepare a ground report ahead of implementation of the big ticket Saranda Development Plan.
"I have noted down all the grievances of the people. I have instructed to pace up construction of wells, ponds and roads under the rural jobs scheme," Ramesh said.
Mainly populated by the Ho community, Saranda has around 7,000 tribal households. The area has 25 per cent deposit of the iron ore in India. The nine-member team had identified 3,000 eligible families of Saranda who were left out of the BPL list.
Calling Saranda 'our legacy,' and urging to 'conserve it at all cost,' Munda said that the area has "defining moments of our history". However, those who expected a big and booming announcement of a package were left disappointed.
"Saranda, at the juncture of Odisha and Jharkhand, is a region forgotten by the Government. The natives have been left alone to eke out their livelihoods. Most of Saranda still lives essentially pre-modern existence," said Sulochana Mahato, a block functionary.
