Deliver on peace

Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrashekhar has gone into mission mode, taking a minute look at development initiatives in Naxal-affected states. After Jharkhand, where he is learnt to have expressed concern at the slow pace of delivery of the Centre8217;s flagship development programmes, he turned his attention to Chhattisgarh this past week. The state Government was asked to accelerate the development process and remove the bottlenecks in the system. Development on the ground is a must to wean people away from Naxal ideology was the unambiguous message delivered to the administration there. Senior officials in Delhi are hoping that the plainspeak from the top bureaucrat will galvanise the Chhattisgarh Government into action. The Northeast is also under Chandrashekhar8217;s scanner. But, going by the track record of some of these states, will success prove elusive despite the Cabinet Secretary8217;s efforts? Only time will tell.