Rs 75,000 cr for development of Naxal-affected states: Patil

New Delhi, Apr 21 (UNI) Home Minister Shivraj Patil today assured the Lok Sabha that the government was adopting a multi-dimensional approach towards dealing with terrorism and naxalism by using force wherever necessary and allocating Rs 75,000 crore for the economic development of ten states affected by such problems.

Following the hour-long reply by Mr Patil to the debate on the Demands for Grants for the Home Ministry for 2008-09, the House passed by voice vote the allocations sought for the Ministry.

Besides tackling terrorism and other forms of violence from the law and order angle, the government was taking care of economic and social development and regional imbalances, the Minister said.

The Centre was providing sufficient funds to the states for the purchase of state-of-the-art weapons such as AK-47 and SLRs, bullet proof jackets and vehicles, night vision devices, metal detectors and helicopters.

Besides internal security, his Ministry was also responsible for maintenance of Centre-state relations, border security and disaster management, he said.

The government was committed to implementing the recommendations of the commission that was going into aspects of importing Centre-State relations, he said.

On infiltration, he said the state governments had been empowered to deport illegal immigrants to their respective countries.

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