Centre to test incentives for government staff in naxal-hit areas

NEW DELHI: The Centre will soon put to test a bouquet of sops, including sponsored foreign education and free insurance cover, aimed at incentivising government service in areas affected by Left-wing extremism. Large swathes of forestland in central and eastern India have remained disconnected from social welfare schemes largely because of Left-wing extremism. The fear of attacks by Maoist rebels has also pushed up the vacancy level in government jobs there. 

Under a plan chalked out by the National Advisory Council, government employees willing to serve for at least three years in such areas will be offered the chance to pursue higher studies either in Cambridge or Oxford, besides incentives like free education for children, health insurance cover and higher salary. 

"There is a need to incentivise people to go and work in sensitive areas. However, differential pay alone is not the best way and we feel that the government should also consider giving them additional facilities, like educating their children, providing them with health insurance as well as life insurance and providing them with accommodation for the extra risk that they are taking to go to areas which are otherwise underserviced," said Mihir Shah, head of the working group on reforms in governance at NAC. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi heads the NAC. 

The proposal, which follows the Maoist rebels' attack on Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh in May, will kick-start on pilot basis in 900 blocks, across nine states, that are affected by Left-wing extremism. 

So far, the government's success in loosening the stranglehold of Maoist rebels in these areas has been limited, which in turn has discouraged government employees from taking up postings there. As per rough estimates, average vacancy in government jobs in these areas is about 50%, with the figure rising to 80% in some pockets. 

"We can also look at giving them at least 33% higher salary than their peers in non-tribal areas as has been done in the past," NAC member NC Saxena said, adding that non-monetary incentive could also inlcude sponsoring higher education abroad. 

The central India tribal belt stretches from Gujarat in the west to Assam in the east, and cuts across the states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Tamil Naduand Karnataka. Over 90% of the belt's tribal population practices some primitive form of agriculture. Shah is of the view that the economic backwardness of these districts can be removed only by strengthening democracy there. The Centre has earmarked Rs 11,500 crore this fiscal for tribal social welfare schemes across India.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com