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• Road development work in Left Wing Extremism-affected areas has increased two fold in comparison to the last financial year. Records available with TOI show that while in the last fiscal only 251km was completed, about 480 km has already been built in the troubled zones till this November.A senior highway ministry official said that about 1,000km would be built against the target of 800km by the end of this fiscal. "The coming months are crucial when road construction is usually much more because of good weather. We will make good progress in Jharkhand, and expect to touch 50-60km," he added.Among the eight Maoist-hit states, maximum progress has been made in Bihar - a three-fold growth (from 49km in 2010-11 to 137km in 2011-12). Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Odisha are also not lagging behind.Sources said that there is a temporary slowdown in road construction in some areas after senior Maoist leader Kishanji was killed in an encounter since locals are protesting against the police action.
• "But we are getting reports of things returning to normalcy. Contractors working in these areas have been asked to meet the deadline. We expect the life of people change in remote areas once they get road connectivity and that might convince them why they should cooperate with us to construct roads," an official said.The government has identified to build 5,477km in 34 troubled districts at an estimated investment of Rs 6,637 crore in the first phase.The ministry has divided roads into three categories in LWE-hit areas. In the first category, contractors might carry out the construction work without any security problem in 1,759km. The second category covers 2,261km, where agencies may need some security to carry out work. Developers building 1,457km in the third category will need special protection to implement the projects.

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