Rajnandgaon district in Chhattisgarh on the Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh tri-junction have been particularly affected by left Wing Extremism (lWE) as some effort had been made by the CPI(Maoist) to expand their activities, the Central Government has informed.
The other areas particularly affected among others are Wayanad, Palakkad and Malappuram, all in Kerala on the Kerala-Karnataka-Tamil Nadu tri-junction and Balaghat, Mandala in Madhya Pradesh, Gondia in Maharashtra over the past few years, it informed.
Changes in areas of operation are resorted to from time to time by the left Wing Extremists as part of their tactics. These are mostly undertaken to deflect pressure on armed cadres in their core areas, the Government informed.
The security forces have achieved considerable success in operations against left Wing Extremists which is reflected in a significant improvement in the situation both in terms of reduction of violence and its geographical spread, it informed.
The number of violent incidents has come down to 908 in 2017 from a high of 2258 in 2009. The geographical spread of violence has also shrunk considerably.
The Government has a holistic approach towards combating lWE wherein it supplements the efforts of the State Governments over a wide range of measures.
A National Policy and Action Plan has been put in place that envisages a multi-pronged strategy involving security related measures, developmental interventions and ensuring rights and entitlements of local communities etc.
Development initiatives include focussed schemes for development of roads, installation of mobile towers, skill development, improving network of banks and post offices, health and education facilities, particularly in the most affected districts.
These measures have contributed towards weaning away the people from Maoist influence and increased support for the Government.
Kabeerdham district in Chhattisgarh is among eight new districts now in the country included in the potential area of expansion by left Wing Extremists list of the Union Ministry of Home as a pre-emptive measure to check spread of extremism by rebels, the Union Home Ministry has informed.
In view of the improving security situation in lWE affected States, a review of districts covered under the ‘Security Related Expenditure Scheme ‘was undertaken by the Central Government. Accordingly 44 districts were excluded and eight new districts were included under the scheme from April 1, 2018, it informed.
The inclusion of new districts was a pre-emptive measure taken to address potential areas of expansion by left Wing Extremists. As a result of the review, 90 districts in 11 States are now covered under the 'Security Related Expenditure Scheme.'
The new districts included - West Godavari (Andhra Pradesh), Kabeerdham (Chhattisgarh), Mandla (Madhya Pradesh), Angul & Boudh (Odisha), Malappuram, Palakkad & Wayanad (Kerala).
The 44 districts which have been excluded are as follows:- Andhra Pradesh —Prakasam, Kurnool, Anantapur.Bihar —Patna— Bhojpur, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Begusarai, Khagaria, Chhattisgarh— Surguja, Koriya, Jashpur, Jharkhand —Deoghar, Pakur, Maharashtra -Aheri, Odisha -Mayurbhanj, Ganjam, Gajapati, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Telangana —Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Medak, Mahboobnagar, Nalgonda, Jagtiyal, Nagarkurnool, Rajanna-Sircilla, Jogulamba-Gadwal, Wanaparthy, Nirmal, Suryapet, Mahbubabad, Sangareddy, Warangal Urban, Janagaon, Siddipet, Yadadri-Bhongir, Kamareddy, West Bengal — Bankura, Purulia, Birbhum and West Medinipur.