The security forces had gunned down 51 Maoists as on May 15, 2017 this year compared to 85 in the corresponding period of the previous year in Chhattisgarh, the latest data of the Union Home Ministry has revealed.
The Maoists during the period had 81 encounters with the police compared to 147 in the corresponding period of the previous year, it informed.
The number of incidents of attacks on police including use of landmines by Maoists numbered 41 compared to 50 last year, it stated.
A total of 357 Naxal incidents took place as on May 15, 2017 this year compared to 462 last year.
The security forces recovered 228 arms used by Maoists this year as on May 15, 2017 compared to 342 lastyear.
Notably, Chhattisgarh stands fourth in the country in terms of the number of districts affected by left Wing Extremism (lWE).
A total of 106 districts in the Country are considered as left Wing Extremism (lWE) affected. Of these, Bihar State has maximum 22 Districts, followed by Jharkhand (21), Odisha(19), Chhattisgarh (16), Andhra Pradesh and Telangana,- both 8 each, West Bengal and Maharashtra,- both 4 each, Uttar Pradesh,- 3 and Madhya Pradesh, one.
Apart from the above, it is worth mentioning that the numbers of incidents of lWE violence and resultant deaths have although significantly declined during the last four years from 2011 to 2014, officials stated.
Maoist activities decreased in all the states except Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh with number of incidents rising to 42 per cent, observes the annual report of the Union Ministry of Home for 2015-16.
The report mentioned that the rise in incidents had been due to conduct of Panchayat polls in January-February month in 2015-16 in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region.
It further mentioned that the Dandakarnya region in South Chhattisgarh had been the nucleus of Maoist activities. A meeting of all insurgency-hit states will be held on Monday (May 8) in New Delhi to look at ways of rooting out lWE, Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh stated on his visit to Raipur on April 25this year in the aftermath of 25 CRPF troopers getting martyred in Sukma.
The Minister said the lWE groups were anti-development and sought to de-stabilise development in the state. The Home Minister added Maoists were using tribals as fodder.
"They are being used as human shields," he said. It may be recalled that the Central Government has also decided to upgrade the Government multi-specialty hospital at Jagdalpur in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh.
A decision to this effect was taken in a review meeting of the progress of work in lWE States chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on June 24, last year, officials informed. Other issues such as installation of mobile towers in grey areas, increasing the reach of networks of DD and AIR, improvement in programmes, expansion of railway lines, banking & postal services were also discussed in detail.
The officials of concerned Union Ministries and Chief Secretaries of the seven lWE-affected states participated in the meeting. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is planning to procure a highly sophisticated Micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system for its anti-insurgency operations in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.
The UAV would carry out surveillance, reconnaissance and detection during day and night, official sources informed. Notably, Chhattisgarh is now becoming the country's key paramilitary force station in the Central sector in the aftermath of the martyrdom of 25 CRPF troopers in Sukma in a Maoist ambush in Bastar on May 24 this year.
On May 8 review meeting of lWE affected states this year, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had stated in his address: "You will all agree that in addition to the various facets of security, the socio-economic empowerment of the people at large is essential so that the public support stays with the Government."
It is necessary for States to work on a coordinated strategy of security and development so that the confidence of the public in the democratic process is maintained in the lWE affected areas, he stated.
Our Government (Centre) has taken various steps with this objective, so that the confidence in our Government has grown in the minds of the tribals and others living in the lWE affected areas.They are coming forward to avail the benefits of Government Schemes, Singh said.