CAPF to be remain deployed in LWE affected areas: MHA

Asserting that central government is committed to the eradication of the Left Wing Extremists (LWE) insurgency from the country, the Union Home Ministry has made it clear that the central armed police force (CAPF) will remain deployed in the areas for providing support to the state police forces till the menace is reduced to an insignificant level.

New Delhi:The Union Home Ministry has said that central armed police force (CAPF) will remain deployed in Left Wing Extremists (LWE) areas for providing support to the state police forces till the menace is reduced to an insignificant level.

The ministry further said that the security forces will also ensure early completion of 9,338 km sanctioned roads under road connectivity project for LWE affected areas.

Under the road connectivity project for LWE affected areas (RCPLWE) that was approved in 2016, only 1,796 km of roads have been completed.

"The project, approved in December 2016, envisaged construction of 5,412 km of roads and 126 bridges at an estimated cost of Rs 11,725 crore. However, 9,338 km road length have been sanctioned under the scheme till now. Of this 1,796 km length of roads are complete," said the MHA in a report submitted to the Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs.

Asserting that central government is committed to the eradication of the LWE insurgency from the country and holistic development of the affected areas at par with other developed areas, the MHA said that two major schemes are under implementation for improvement of the road network.

The road requirement plan-1 (RRP-1) is still under implementation for improving road connectivity in 34 LWE affected districts of 8 states including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharastra, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh.

The scheme envisages construction of 5,422 km road length at an estimated cost of Rs 8,585 crores. "Of these, 4,902 roads have been completed," the MHA said.

The Parliamentary Committee, headed by Congress MP Anand Sharma, however, said that delay in construction of roads in most sensitive LWE areas in Telangana and Chhattisgarh is also a reason for slowing down the inclusion and development process of these regions, negatively affecting the capability of CAPFs and state police in tackling the LWE menace.

The MHA informed that the government has been supporting the states in the capacity development and strengthening their security apparatus to address the LWE menace effectively under two major schemes, security-related expenditure (SRE) and scheme and special infrastructure scheme (SIS).

Under the SRE, assistance is provided to 90 LWE affected districts in 11 states for recurring expenditure relating to operational and training needs of security forces which also include the expenditure incurred by the States for the rehabilitation of the LWE cadres. Rs 1,687 crore has been released since 2014-15 under the scheme.

The SIS, on the other hand, has an outlay of Rs 1,006 crore with 60 per cent central assistance.

SIS provides support to the LWE affected states for the strengthening of their special forces (SFs) and special intelligence branches (SIB) along with the construction of 250 fortified police stations in LWE affected areas.

The MHA has further informed that the government is giving reimbursement to the surrendered LWE cadres. Accordingly, Rs 5 lakh is allowed for higher-ranked LWE cadre, Rs 2.50 lakh for middle and lower-ranked LWE cadre and a monthly stipend of Rs 6,000 each for a maximum period of 36 months for vocational training.

Meanwhile, MHA statistics said that the LWE related incidents of violence in last 6 years (2015 to 2020) have been 47 per cent lesser while compared with the preceding 6 years (2009 to 2014) period.

It said that the LWE related violence have reduced by 70 per cent from an all-time high of 2,258 in 2009 to 665 in 2020.

"Similarly resultant deaths of civilians and security forces have reduced by 80 per cent from an all-time high of 1,005 in 2010 to 183 in 2020," the MHA said.

Chhattisgarh witnessed maximum LWE related violence (315) in 2020 followed by Jharkhand 199 and Odisha 50.

As many as 475 LWE cadres have also surrendered in 2020, the MHA said.