PW gets a cut from politicians, officials

KURNOOL: It''s not only contractors who pay hafta to the People''s War (PW) in the Nallamala forest, politicians and government officials do so too.
In one recent instance, an important political leader tried to pay off the naxalites fearing a threat to his life. But the naxalites refused the huge bounty and killed him anyway, reliable sources told The Times of India.
Sources cited examples of government officials, particularly from the forest department, paying up to keep peace with People''s War.One of these instances was related to a Nabard-funded eco-development contract in the Nallamala forest. Since more than 75 per cent of the works taken up were in the dense forest, the contractors paid a 10-20 per cent commission to the PW. The naxalites also found that forest officials had received 20 per cent kickbacks on various works. The officials duly received a polite note to cough up.
Sources in Atmakuru and Srisailam said three forest officials met the naxalites in the forest and remitted the extortion money.
An irrigation official told The Times of India that the naxalites demanded money from officials of his department as well as the executing contractors last year while they were working on the Rs 13.5-crore Varadarajaswamy Project (VRSP) 20 km from Atmakuru. The irrigation officials did not pay up but the contractors had to.