Lack of gov, administration breeds naxalism

Bangalore, Sep 20: The Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC), holding its two day sitting here on Urban Governance, today lamented that lack of governance and administration had led to spread of naxalism across the country.

Commission Chairman M Veerappa Moily, talking to newsmen here, said out of 600 districts, naxalites were currently active in 160 to 200 districts and sought a concerted action to curb naxalism in the next two to three years through a combined and sincere effort.

''If extremism in Punjab could be wiped off, why not naxalism,'' he asked, stating that a multi-pronged attack was the need of the hour.

The situation should be dealt as a ''war-like situation,'' he said, adding that the rule of law should be firm. At the same time programmes meant for social and economic uplift of people should be implemented vigorously so that naxalite activities face a natural death, he added.

He said the Second ARC, which was currently engaged in examining issues Public order and Conflict Resolution would come out with the report on the subjects in November.

ARC, which had already come out with reports in June and July on Right to Information Act and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act respectively, had completed its exercise on Crisis Management and Disaster Planning and the report, which was under print, would be submitted to the government by this month end or early October.

Mr Moily said by September next year the ARC would submit as many as 17 reports encompassing various issues ,emtopmed om ots terms of reference. He said that the reports have extensively dealt with implementation of various recommendations and had urged the Prime Minister to put them on fast track for implementation.

''Corruption and Ethics in Governance was another report on which the Commission had already started the work,'' he said and referred to the two day meeting at the Natioanl Judicial Academy in Bhopal. The Commission would come out with suggestions to make Lok Pal an effective institution to curb corruption, he added.

It would be followed by one on Civil Services. He said the country should merge from the ''colonial hegemony'' on civil services and it should be open to experts in other fields, who can be appointed on a contract basis as Secretaries to the Union Government. Even Britain had made radical changes in the civil service, he added.

UNI