The Narendra Modi Government has drafted a new multi-pronged ‘National Policy and Action Plan to address left Wing Extremism’, aimed at eliminating the menace in the “shortest possible timeframe by using any element of the country’s national power”. The Government strategy is being billed as “balanced, holistic and robust” with multi-pronged interventions in the areas of security, development, rights and entitlements of local communities and public perception management.
“Winning the hearts and minds of the tribal population and other marginalised groups will lie at the core of the counter-insurgency strategy,” sources said, adding the Government will continue to consider any offer of talks from the CPI (Maoist) once they renounce violence and express faith in the democratic process.
According to the policy, the Naxal-affected States will take the lead role with full support from Central paramilitary forces. To reinforce the States’ efforts in eliminating Naxalism, the CRPF will be made a world-class counter-insurgency force with 39 more battalions to be raised during the next four years. The paramilitary forces have the responsibility of holding the counter-insurgency grid together, operating seamlessly across State borders in coordination with the State police forces.
The new policy has been finalised following discussions with the Naxal-affected States and DGPs of Central paramilitary forces after revisiting the existing two-pronged strategy. The policy, which has got Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s approval, doesn’t shy away from appreciating the existing one drafted by the UPA regime in 2010.
It envisages intensive and sustained security operations in 35 worst-affected districts, making Unified Commands effective, strengthening of police stations and posting competent officers as DM, SP, DFO and paramilitary commandants, filling up vacancies in State police, recruiting more tribal youth in the Central paramilitary forces and incentives for security personnel, among others. The Action Plan has also proposed a more effective surrender policy, development-related measures like improving schools, hospitals and PDS, creating development hubs in such regions and improving telecommunication networks.
The district police chiefs (SP) will be made the focal point of counter-insurgency operations; the Intelligence setup of the affected States will be strengthened and basic policing and police to population ratio will be improved. The paramilitary forces and the State police forces will be supposed to acquire the capability for using small/micro UAVs that can be launched from the battalion/district headquarters and remotely operated vehicles to defuse IEDs.
The thrust is also on infrastructure development and removing the bottlenecks. The Ministries of Railways and Road, Transport and Highways will adopt a special focused approach to increase the rail and road connectivity in the Naxal-affected areas. Development of road and rail infrastructure will not only enhance economic growth and development by improving access to these areas but will also help in countering Maoist propaganda in the absence of such paraphernalia, the sources pointed out. The improved road connectivity will also have a multiplier effect on the effectiveness of the security forces in carrying out operations.
The Environment and Forests Ministry will empower the State Governments to take the required decisions under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 with suitable safeguards for development works. The violence unleashed by the Communist Party of India (Maoist) between 2004 and 2014 has taken a toll of 5,000 civilians, mostly Adivasis, besides hundreds of security force personnel. The CPI (Maoist) was formed in 2004 after the merger of the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI) and the People’s War (PW). Ironically, the outfit has killed hundreds of tribals whose cause it claims to champion.
In spite of the apparent decline in Maoist violence since 2011, the core military strength of the CPI (Maoist) is still intact. Even after sustained anti-Naxal operations, the banned terror outfit exercises considerable sway over large areas in the interiors and it retains the capability to inflict significant damage on the security forces and civilians, the policy underscores. Inputs with the Centre suggest General Secretary of CPI (Maoist) Muppalla laxmana Rao, alias Ganapathy has emphasised the need for capacity upgradation and strengthening underground structures of the outfit to fight “protracted war” against the state. Ganapathy had made the assertion in an article written to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the formation of the outfit in September last year.
