Naxalism confined within Chhattisgarh, need to be eliminated in next 3 years: Amit Shah

New Delhi [India], January 21 (ANI): Observing that Left Wing Extremism (LWE) or Naxalism problem has been essentially confined to some pockets within Chhattisgarh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday stressed to eliminate the menace within the next three years.
Shah's direction came while chairing a review meeting of the LWE situation in Chhattisgarh at Raipur. The meeting was attended by Chhattisgarh's Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Ministers as well as senior officials including Union Home Secretary, Director Intelligence Bureau, Chief Secretary of Chhattisgarh, Director General of Central Reserve Police Force, and DGP of Chhattisgarh.
"He (Amit Shah) observed that on account of the combined efforts of the security forces and all the Central and State agencies, the LWE problem has been essentially confined to some pockets within Chhattisgarh. In this context, the Minister mentioned that these areas need to be freed from the Maoist menace within the next three years," Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement.
In this context, Shah emphasised the need for a detailed roadmap to be drawn up by all the concerned stakeholders, particularly relating to the targeting of the entire ecosystem-sustaining LWE.
Further, the Union Home Minister directed the state police to fill up the remnant security gaps, ensure comprehensive investigations, closely monitor prosecution, choke finance streams and continue intelligence-led operations. He also stressed the need to review all inputs shared through the multi-agency center and operationalize verified inputs.
The Minister stressed the need for saturation coverage of Central and State Govt. schemes in LWE-affected districts and utilization of security force camps to ensure the benefits of these schemes in villages in proximate areas.
He mentioned that the MHA should be flexible both in the allotment of funds as also its usage in the highly LWE-affected districts in Chhattisgarh.
He also highlighted the need for a proactive and sensitive handling of all local grievances about bonafide entitlements. Subsequently, on the directions of the Union Home Minister, a detailed interaction was held by the Union Home Secretary with the Collectors and SSPs of the highly LWE- affected districts.
The Home Minister pointed out that the three internal security situations in J&K, North East and LWE have witnessed a significant improvement with a nearly 75 per cent reduction in violence and geographical constriction by nearly 80 per cent.
He also mentioned that the Armed Forces Special Power Act has now been withdrawn from close to 80 per cent of the areas in the North East. While appreciating the progress achieved in the fight against LWE, the Union Home Minister stated that there has been a significant reduction both in LWE-affected geographies and violence. (ANI)