The Centre has decided to roll out a revised anti-Naxal action plan for states battling Left-wing extremism, marking a shift from the bullet approach towards building a holistic plan to protect the rights of tribals and forest-dwellers and improve grassroots policing.
The action plan drawn up by the Union home ministry and cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security in 2009 had given the green signal for joint operations by Central and security forces to flush out the Maoists from their strongholds. However, steps such as the appointment of retired major-general of the Army as a member of the Unified Command in states for anti-Naxal operations have not been implemented till now.
Top government sources said in 2011, the MHA has decided to roll out a revised anti-Naxal action plan laying stress on enhancing the states’ capacities to tackle the Naxal problem. The MHA has written to LWE-affected states to address at least a dozen “core concerns” like development programmes and grassroot policing to fight the Naxal menace.
From drinking water facilities to construction of rural roads, the Centre is pumping in money in states to build basic infrastructure facilities in the Naxal-affected regions spread across 20 states. Security officials pointed out that the “action plan” in 2009 laid stress on the “operational” aspect of the problem.