NEW DELHI: In the final leg of operations to eliminate Maoists footprints, the Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to reconstruct and fortify police stations located in areas worst-affected by left-wing extremism. Four hundred police stations are already being fortified under the Integrated Action Plan.
According to ministry sources, the Centre is also planning to shift the supervision of the plan from the Planning Commission to the ministry to fast-track development work, including the construction of school buildings, anganwadis, drinking water facilities, roads in the affected areas.
The plans will also include the construction of development hubs with modern hospitals, communication infrastructure and education institutions at the block level in the worst-affected 23 districts.
Under the new strategy to counter ultras, the government is also planning to upgrade the jungle warfare schools.
“The ministry is planning to send more paramilitary men to 23 worst-affected districts, strengthening our ground position. We already have around 90,000 boots on the ground in nine states,” a source said.
The security forces killed 53 Maoists till September 30 while they arrested 1,182 guerrillas. The corresponding figure last year was only 1,069 arrests. Intelligence sources said the offensive against Maoists had increased, and that 169 encounters with Maoists were reported.
According to details accessed by Express, 171 civilians lost their lives in the last nine months, a sharp decrease from 200 deaths last year for the same period.
Newly carved state Telangana reported 10 Maoism-related incidents and four deaths till September while worst-affected Chhattisgarh clocked 250 such incidents and 87 deaths. Jharkhand reported 276 incidents and 70 deaths. Last year, Jharkhand reported 113 deaths for the corresponding period.