Chhattisgarh has urged the Centre to continue a special assistance scheme, officials said on Saturday. The assistance would be intended for the Maoist insurgency-hit districts to improve infrastructure there.

Officials said that the scheme for Maoist insurgency-hit districts was launched in 2017-18 to improve security related infrastructure in these districts.

The demand for its continuation was raised on Friday during a meeting the Union home ministry held with representatives of Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Telangana.

Also Read: Mysterious Madvi Hidma- A Major challenge to CRPF, CoBRA and Chattisgarh State police

RK Vij, special director general (planning), Chhattisgarh Police said, “Though the scheme was intended for three years, the Chhattisgarh government requested its continuation. In the first year, Chhattisgarh got ₹5 crore for each district. ₹33.33 crore each for eight districts was provided in the second and third year. This year, we got ₹14.5 crore each for each district hence we requested continuation of the funds because many security-related infrastructures are being built in these districts.”

Special DG Vij added that sectoral allocation of the money to eight districts includes around 35% for roads.

Vij further added, “The fund is very important for a state like Chhattisgarh because we have a maximum number of Maoist affected districts and infrastructure is very important in these areas.”