Maoist problem continues to be a matter of concern: Rajnath Singh

New Delhi: The Maoist problem continues to be a matter of concern for internal security and the menace has badly hit 35 districts in seven states, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday.

He was addressing a meeting of the consultative committee for the Home Ministry on "Left Wing Extremism (LWE) related issues" here.

Singh said the Maoist scenario remains an area of concern for internal security of the country even though it has exhibited a significant improvement over the years.

He said 106 districts in 10 states were affected by LWE and 35 districts were identified as most affected in seven states.

The home minister said the Maoist scenario has been showing a declining trend in the last three years.

As compared to 2010, 2016 reflected a decline of 53 per cent in the number of violent incidents and 72 per cent in resultant deaths and the trend continued in 2017, an official statement said.

Singh informed the Parliamentarians that this year overall situation so far indicated a declining trend and the number of violent incidents had declined by 25.6 per cent as compared to the corresponding period of 2016.

The home minister apprised the MPs about security-related measures which include the deployment of central armed police forces battalions in the LWE-affected states, use of 56 specialised India Reserve Battalions mainly to strengthen the security apparatus, construction of about 400 fortified police stations and various training initiatives.

Singh said other security measures were deployment of UAVs, helicopters, unified command and joint command and control centers at Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh) and Gaya (Bihar).

The home minister said the central government has been doing proper monitoring with the necessary assistance of the states by empowering them with financial assistance and security forces with proper training, technology and latest equipment.

He said the joint operations of the central armed police forces and the state police have given good results in the recent past and hoped that the situation would improve further in the near future.

The MPs participated in a detailed discussion on the subject and appreciated the work of the ministry in controlling the situation in LWE affected states, the statement said.

The use of technology, intelligence sharing and specialised training for the forces was also discussed.

Some of the members mentioned that LWE problem was not a law and order problem alone but was also a socio-economic problem.

There was 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, the statement said.

The home minister informed the members that their valuable suggestions had been noted for appropriate action and further improving the situation.

Singh told MPs that a new initiative SAMADHAN has also been introduced to control the situation in the LWE affected states.

SAMADHAN stands for Smart Policing and Leadership; Aggressive Strategy, Motivation and Training, Actionable Intelligence; Dashboard for Development and Key Performance Indicators, Harnessing Technology for Development and Security, Action Plan for each Theatre and No access to Financing.

The home minister said 743 Scheduled Tribes candidates from four most affected LWE districts of Chhattisgarh-- Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur and Sukma--had been recruited in Bastariya Battallion in order to enhance local representation in security forces.