Will CM turn the tide in Gadchiroli?

Most of the time, Gadchiroli has seen chief ministers visiting it to lay wreaths on the coffins of policemen murdered by Naxalites. Monday will be different. Maharashtra's new chief minister Prithviraj Chavan will be in the district infamous for lack of development and Naxal presence without shadow of a major tragedy looming. That is why his visit is generating hope.

This former engineer who developed audio-recorders for anti-submarine warfare in US before joining Indian politics would not like to waste his two hours at the office of Gadchiroli's collector on Monday morning soft-peddling the issues staring this violence hit district in the face since years.

With RR Patil, home minister and Gadchiroli's guardian minister, by his side, Chavan would certainly look forward to add edge to his cabinet colleague's efforts to improve the lives of people here. Chavan, who has handled several crucial assignments in his nearly two-decade political career, would certainly prove a tough nut for the officials shirking their responsibilities of venturing out into the rebel-affected interiors at the cost of their department's output.

"Chavan is a no-nonsense man. Patil is sincere but too generous to be a strict disciplinarian. Chavan would not tolerate lackadaisical attitude and can send one or two senior officers packing on the reports of non-serious approach," said source. Patil's initiatives had promise but lacked in execution largely due to missing will on part of the district administration.

Gadchiroli district collector Atul Patne too faced a harrowing time motivating his workforce to implement the schemes for infrastructure development and socio-economic schemes aimed for the disadvantaged. A section of the officials working under him even resorted to rebellion and report against his attitude. Couple of circulars had to be issued to provide additional powers to Patne.


With large numbers of vacancies in different posts and issues related to law and order problems with Naxals growing both in strength and influence, Patne's work is far from easy despite budgetary allocations and special funds made available for developmental works. It goes without saying that this techno-savvy chief minister would be keen enough to dig into the issues pertaining to the implementation policies and urge officials to pull up their socks.

The apparent rift between the administrative and security wings in the district would also likely to come up in the Chavan's meeting. The engineer-turned-politician knows that for a place where rebels are fast making inroads, efforts much more than what exist today are needed.