Around four crore tribals have been displaced over the last few decades as the existing land acquisition law did not provide for rehabilitation and this paved the way for spread of Naxalism, Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh said today.
"Due to no provision of RNR (resettlement and rehabilitation) in the 1894 Land Acquisition Act, as many as 3-4 crore tribals were displaced. This paved the way for the spreading (of) the Maoist ideology in these regions. The problem of Naxal menace is largely due to the land acquisition law," Ramesh told a press conference here.
"Large part (spread of Naxalism) of it is because land was acquired for mining projects, irrigation projects and forest administration.
"There are 88 districts in India today which are Maoist affected. Four of them are in Maharashtra -- Gondia, Bhandara, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli," he added.
