New Delhi, August 2: The Left Wing Extremism (LWE) situation in the country has been improving consistently and is now well under control. Currently, 30 districts in 07 States are most affected by LWE violence. The information was given by MoS for Home Affairs Hansraj Gangaram Ahir in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
These 30 districts contributed 88% of violent incidents and 94% of deaths in 2017. Details of the 30 most affected districts are as under:-
The Government has a holistic approach towards combating LWE wherein it supplements the efforts of the State Governments over a wide range of measures. A National Policy and Action Plan has been put in place that envisages a multi-pronged strategy involving security-related measures, developmental interventions and ensuring rights & entitlements of local communities etc. Security-related measures include assistance to LWE affected States by providing CAPF Bns, helicopters, UAVs, construction of fortified police stations, funds for modernization of State Police forces, arms and equipment, training assistance, sharing of intelligence etc.
On the development side, apart from flagship schemes of the Central Government in infrastructure, education, health, skill development, agriculture etc, several initiatives have been taken specifically for the development of LWE affected areas. These include focused schemes for development of roads, installation of mobile towers, skill development, improving the network of banks and post offices, health and education facilities, particularly in the most affected districts.
Resolute implementation of the National Policy and Action Plan by the Central and State Governments has resulted in considerable improvement of the situation both in term of reduction of violence and the geographical spread. The number of violent incidents has come down to 908 in 2017 from a high of 2258 in 2009. The geographical spread of violence has also shrunk considerably.