Naveen Patnaik seeks waiver of ₹4,561 crore charged for deployment of Central forces in Odisha
The Hindu
‘LWE is a national issue and a grave internal security threat to the integrity of the nation and it has to be addressed by both Centre and States jointly’, says Chief Minister
The Odisha government on Thursday urged the Centre to waive charges of ₹4,561 crore towards the deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) for combating Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in the State. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi pointing out that LWE was a national issue and a grave internal security threat to the integrity of the nation and it had to be addressed by both Centre and States jointly. In 2015, Mr. Patniak had urged the Centre to reconsider the decision of charging the State government for deployment of Central forces.More than 2.6 lakh village and ward volunteers in Andhra Pradesh, once celebrated as the government’s grassroots champions for their crucial role in implementing welfare schemes, are now in a dilemma after learning that their tenure has not been renewed after August 2023 even though they have been paid honoraria till June 2024. Disowned by both YSRCP, which was in power when they were appointed, and the current ruling TDP, which made a poll promise to double their pay, these former volunteers are ruing the day they signed up for the role which they don’t know if even still exists