Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday chaired a meeting of the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Home Affairs on "Left Wing Extremism (LWE) related issues" here on Tuesday.
Chairing a meeting here to review the status of development projects and security related issues in LWE affected states, Singh reiterated that the LWE affected areas are of concern for internal security of the country and, therefore, it exhibits significant improvement over the years.
"Compared to data of 2010, 2016 reflected a decline of 53 percent in number of violent incidents and 72 percent in resultant deaths and the trend continued in 2017," the Home Minister said.
Singh further said that this year, overall situation so far also indicates a declining trend and the number of violent incidents have declined by 25.6 percent as compared to corresponding period of 2016.
He said that there are 106 districts in 10 states affected by LWE and 35 districts are identified as most affected districts in seven states.
He said a new initiative SAMADHAN (S-Smart Policing and Leadership; A -Aggressive Strategy, M-Motivation and Training, A-Actionable Intelligence; D-Dashboard for Development and Key Performance Indicators, H-Harnessing Technology for Development and Security, A-Action Plan for each Theatre and N-No access to Financing) has also been introduced to control the situation in the LWE affected states.
He further mentioned that the Centre has been doing proper monitoring with the necessary assistance of the states by empowering them with the financial assistance and security forces with proper training, technology and latest equipment.
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"The joint operations of CAPFs and state police have given good results in the recent past and hoped that the situation will further improve in the near future," he said.
Singh said that 743 Scheduled Tribes candidates from four most affected LWE districts of Chhattisgarh-Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur and Sukma have been recruited in Bastariya Battallion in order to enhance local representation in Security Forces.
He mentioned that opening of Kendriya Vidyalayas and Skill Development Centres in LWE affected districts are other development measures, adding that over 1,789 new branch post offices, 405 bank branches and 818 ATMs have also been opened in 35 most LWE affected districts during the last two years.
The members participated in the detailed discussion on the subject and appreciated the work of the Ministry of Home Affairs in controlling the situation in LWE affected states. The use of technology, intelligence sharing and specialized training for the forces was also discussed.
Some of the members mentioned that LWE problem is not a 'law and order' problem alone but is also a socio-economic problem. There is a need for adopting a sustained policy and intelligence sharing in the LWE affected States.
They also suggested that the police should be further strengthened with the use of better communication and connectivity facilities.
Under Road Requirement Plan-I (RRP-I) construction of 4,447 km roads has been completed out of 5,422 km road envisaged under the Plan till July 31, 2017. A new Plan, i.e. Road Connectivity Project for LWE affected areas (RRP-II), has been approved which envisages construction of 5,412 km roads and 126 bridges in 44 districts of LWE affected States at an estimated cost of Rs.11,725 crores.
The details of 2,199 mobile towers installed in LWE affected states and additional 2726 mobile towers in Phase -II of the scheme were also discussed with the members. The use of community radio stations and media plan for spreading awareness and to counter the false propaganda of the Maoists was discussed in the meeting.
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