Home Minister Amit Shah will review the operations undertaken by the states to tackle Naxals, and also the ongoing development process in area affected by Maoists.
Civil officials, Senior Police officers, and Chief Ministers (or their representatives) of 10 10 states that are being affected by Naxals’ activities will be attending the meeting. Additionally, paramilitary forces’ senior officers and officials from Home Ministry are also expected to attend this meeting with Amit Shah.
According to an official from the Home Ministry ‘The home minister will review the ongoing operations against the Naxals and the development activities are undertaken in the Naxal affected areas’.
The 10 states that have major influence of Maoists are Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana, and West Bengal. During 2009-2013, there were close to 9,000 cases reported for Naxal related violent acts, which reduced to less than 5,000 during 2014-2018, reduction of over 45%, according to data shared by Home Ministry.
The data also revealed that during 2009-2013, over 3,300 people, which includes Security Force Personnel were martyred, but between 2014-2018, the number came down to a little over 1,300, reduction of over 60%.
Between 2009 and 2018, close to 1,400 Naxals were killed, in in the initial 5 months of this year, over 300 Naxal violence incidents were reported in which at least 88 Naxals lost their lives.
Earlier this year, G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs said that the headstrong policies implemented by the government has helped in reducing the violent activities, additionally, the territory occupied by the LWE (Left Wing Extremism) has also reduced, as they are seen retreating.
Reddy said ‘Of these, only 10 districts account for two-third of LWE violence. The LWE-related incidents of violence between April 2014 and May 2019 have been 43 per cent lesser when compared with the preceding five-year period’.
The government approved National Policy and Action Plan in 2015 to tackle LWE, which will entail multiple long-term strategies which will focus on developments, security measures, and providing rights and privileges to the local communities.
The government can be seen investing around Rs. 1,000 crores per year with the help of centre to fill the gaps that has been persistent in terms of infrastructure and services.
