Centre to review on Monday situation in Naxal-hit states

NEW DELHI: Home minister Amit Shah will review the security situation as well as progress of development schemes in eight Left-wing extremism-hit states in a meeting with their chief ministers on Monday. The meeting comes against the backdrop of a major success achieved by the counter-Naxal forces in Chhattisgarh, with the security personnel having eliminated 31 Naxals in the Maad area on Narayanpur-Dantewada border over the past two days.

With the high casualties inflicted on the Left-wing extremists in Chhattisgarh, the total number of Naxals killed by the security forces so far has risen to 238. While 202 Left-wing extremist cadres were neutralised until September 15, five more were killed over the next fortnight. Finally, 31 more were killed in a single two-day operation that concluded on Friday.

Shah will chair the LWE review meeting with the chief ministers of affected states like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Telangana, Odisha, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. With Shah having recently declared the government's intent to wipe out Left-wing extremism by March 2026, the counter-Naxal operations are at a decisive stage. The meeting is likely to discuss how the security forces must go deeper into the Maad region, to which Naxals' influence is now restricted, to remove the last vestiges of Left-wing extremism. This will be followed by setting up forward bases in these areas and reaching development benefits to the people there.

The Central Government has taken many steps, including impetus on road and mobile connectivity, to take developmental schemes to the remotest areas of the affected States. Around 14,400 km roads have been constructed and nearly 6,000 mobile towers installed in LWE-affected areas, so far, said an MHA spokesperson.

Five Union ministers handling charge of ministries closely involved with providing development support to the LWE-affected states will also be part of Monday's discussions. Deputy national security advisor and senior officers from Centre, States & Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) will also participate in the deliberations.

The home minister had last chaired the LWE review meeting with the chief ministers of affected states on October 6, 2023. During that meeting, he had given comprehensive directions with regard to elimination of LWE in a time-bound manner.

The efforts of the Modi government to tackle Left-wing extremism with an iron hand has resulted in a 72% decline in Naxal violence and 86% fall in deaths in 2023 as compared to the year 2010. The number of LWE affected districts has come down to just 38 in 2024.

In the first nine months of 2024, 723 LWE cadres had surrendered while 812 were arrested. With the Chhattisgarh government expected to come out with an updated surrender policy soon for Left wing extremists, more cadres are likely to lay down arms and join the mainstream.

"Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and guidance of Union home minister Amit Shah, the Central government is committed to completely root out the menace of Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) by March, 2026. The Central Government is providing all possible assistance to the LWE-affected state governments in fighting the menace of Naxalism," the ministry of home affairs said in a statement issued on Saturday.