The Odisha Government on Friday urged the Centre to provide two more battalions of the Central forces to tackle leftwing extremism (lWE) in the State.
Chief Secretary AP Padhi informed this to reporters after attending a meeting of Chief Secretaries of seven Maoist-hit States in New Delhi.
Official sources said the Government has sought two battalions of any of the four Central armed forces, the Boarder Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
Besides, the State also demanded the inclusion of Subarnapur, Boudh and Angul districts in the Security Related Expenses (SRE) scheme. Currently, a total of 17 battalions of Central armed police forces, including eight battalions each of CRPF and BSF and a battalion of Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA), are deployed in the State to tackle Maoists.