Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav on Monday attended the review meeting of Chief Ministers of Left Wing Extremism affected states at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah chaired the meeting. State Chief Secretary Anurag Jain and Director General of Police Sudhir Saxena were also present in the meeting.
Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Telangana and Deputy Chief Ministers/Home Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Kerala and West Bengal participated.
The current scenario of Left Wing Extremism and various issues related to security and development of Left Wing Extremism affected states were discussed in detail in the review meeting. Union Minister Shah reviewed with the states security issues such as intensive campaign against Left Wing Extremism, intensive investigation and prosecution of violent incidents, coordination between states and the Centre and intelligence capacity building of the states.
Development issues such as increasing road connectivity in Left Wing Extremism affected districts, upgradation of mobile towers, financial inclusion and boosting health facilities were also discussed in the meeting.
Chief Minister Dr. Yadav expressed hope that the coordination between the Central and State Governments against Naxalism and Left Wing Extremism will definitely strengthen the efforts to root it out.
Action taken so far to control Naxal activities in the state
Naxal activities in Madhya Pradesh were first reflected in Balaghat district in 1990. Three districts of the state, Balaghat, Mandla, and Dindori are Naxal-affected, out of which Balaghat is the most affected.
- Naxal activities are being monitored in Mandla and Dindori.
- The first major violent incident by Naxalites in Balaghat was in 1991 in the Lanji police station area, in which a police vehicle was damaged in a mine blast in which nine policemen were martyred.
- The second major incident took place in Narangi village of Rupjhar police station in Balaghat in which a police vehicle was damaged in a mine explosion. 16 policemen were martyred in this incident.
- The then Transport Minister of the state, Shri Likhiram Kanvre was murdered by Naxalites in 1999.
- A special force ‘Hawk Force’ was formed by the state government in 2000 to control Naxal activities.
- After formation, the Hawk Force controlled Naxal activities to a great extent. The MMC Zone (Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh) was formed in 2016 to expand the area of influence by the Naxal organization.
- The Naxal organization has so far failed to expand due to the continuous action of the security forces.
- Due to the continuous action of security forces in Bastar, the possibility of Naxalites coming towards the state cannot be ruled out due to a reduction in their area of influence. For this, many new camps will be constructed soon.
- To control this, joint camps have been set up in the border areas with the border state Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra Police.
- During the last 5 years, 20 hardcore Naxalites have been killed by security forces in various encounters, on whom the combined reward announced was Rs 3.31 crore.
- During this period, 6 Naxalites were also arrested in the encounters on which the combined reward declared was Rs 85 lakh.
- In the last 8 months, 4 Naxalites have been killed in 3 encounters and one woman Naxalite has been arrested.
- In the last 2 years, 3 Naxalites of the DVCM (Divisional Committee Member) level were killed in encounters. Three AK-47 rifles and BGL shells (Barrel Grenade Launcher Shell) were recovered from them.
- In 2023, SZCM Ashok Reddy alias Baldev of North Bastar Division was arrested, on whom a combined reward of Rs 82 lakh was declared.
- To encourage deputation in Hawk-Force and Special Intelligence Branch, the government approved new allowances in the year 2022, as a result of which there has been an expected increase in the morale of the police personnel posted there.
- Out-of-turn promotions have been given to 262 policemen who played a prominent role in anti-Naxal operations. Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav has given out-of-turn promotions to 52 police employees in the last 8 months.
- Policemen have received 37 gallantry medals for displaying presence of mind and courage in encounters.
- To include Naxalites in the mainstream of society and encourage them to surrender, the state government implemented a new ‘Madhya Pradesh Naxalite Surrender, Rehabilitation cum Relief Policy 2023’ in 2023. These provisions are being publicized. These provisions are being publicized. The surrendered Naxalite will be given a reward amount as per the name of the post he holds in the organization and the weapon he holds, Rs 1.5 lakh for construction of a house, Rs 1.5 lakh for vocational training for livelihood, Rs 20 lakh for immovable property, Rs 50 thousand as incentive for marriage. Besides the benefits of Ayushman Bharat and food grain assistance.
- The state government is working on a multi-dimensional strategy to solve the Naxal menace, in which on one hand strategic campaigns are being run and on the other hand, infrastructure development work is also being done in the affected areas to raise the standard of living of the residents of the area through various development schemes.
- New roads, bridges, and culverts have been constructed with the help of the Central government to ease the movement of the common people. Besides construction of many roads is also in progress.
- To facilitate communication, many mobile towers have been installed and construction of many more is in progress.
- Roads, and bridges have been constructed and electrification has been done in Naxal-affected villages through the Special Central Assistance Scheme.
- Residents are being provided benefits of Aadhar Card, Ayushman Bharat Yojana, Antyodaya Yojana, and other schemes under “Jan Maitri Abhiyan” to increase goodwill among the common people living in the area, through police posts and security camps.
- To increase the sense of security among the residents of the area and to control Naxal activities, 8 police check posts of Balaghat district have also been upgraded into police stations. The construction of their buildings is in progress.