Left-Wing Extremism affected districts reduced to 70 this year: Centre

Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts covered under the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme reduced from 126 to 90 in April 2018 and further to 70 in July 2021, said Nityanand Rai

Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts covered under the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme reduced from 126 to 90 in April 2018 and further to 70 in July 2021, said Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai in a written reply to question in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

Five districts of Andhra Pradesh, ten districts of Bihar and Odisha, 14 districts of Chhattisgarh, 16 of Jharkhand, three of Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, two Maharashtra, six of Telangana and one district of West Bengal have been covered under the SRE scheme.

As per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India, subjects of 'Police and Public Order' are with the State Governments. However, the Government of India (GoI) has been supplementing the efforts of States affected by left-wing extremism, Rai said.

"On the security front, the Central Government assists the LWE affected States by providing Central Armed Police Forces battalions, specialized training to the forces in the States, helicopters for LWE related duties, funds for modernization of State Police Forces, equipment & arms, sharing of intelligence, funds for capacity building of the forces of LWE affected States and their infrastructure, construction of Fortified Police Stations etc."

"Projects worth approximately Rs 991 crore have been approved during 2017-20 under Special Infrastructure Scheme (SIS) for strengthening of State Police Forces and for construction of 250 Fortified Police Stations. Further Rs 871.75 crore has been released under the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme to 11 LWE affected States during the last three financial years."

On development front, the minister said that the Central Government has taken various measures including improvement in road and telecom connectivity, financial inclusion by improving banking facilities, post offices, skill development, education facilities etc. in the LWE areas.

"Apart from the flagship schemes of various Ministries, funds are provided to the States under 'Special Central Assistance (SCA)' to fill the critical gaps in public infrastructure and services. Rs 2423.24 crore has been released to 30 most LWE affected districts in seven States during the last three financial years," Rai stated.

"Under the Road Requirement Plan-I (RRP-I) and Road Connectivity project for LWE affected areas (RCPLWEA) with combined outlay of over Rs 20,000 crore, approximately 4700 km roads and 110 bridges have been constructed during the last three years," he added.