BHUBANESWAR: Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal on Friday said that Left Wing extremism (LWE) has been dealt with firmly in the State during the last five years. The number of LWE-affected districts has come down from 21 to 10 due to proactive response of the government and security forces.Addressing the Budget session of the Assembly, he said that as many as 58 Maoist cadres were neutralised in police actions, 194 arrested and 108 surrendered during the period.
The Governor said the turnaround in the situation in Swabhiman Anchal of Malkangiri, which was once a Maoist bastion, has been the most redeeming feature in the success achieved in the anti-LWE front in the State. He said that the State government is implementing an emergency response support system with a command centre at Bhubaneswar in which police and fire service, women and child helplines are now being brought under one umbrella helpline number - 112.
Besides, the government is also giving much needed emphasis on human resource requirements of the State Police, Lal said and added that during the last five years, 4,205 posts in different ranks have been created to augment the capacity of the force.“As many as 68 candidates were directly appointed as deputy superintendent of police and 6,027 posts in different ranks have been filled up during the period. Similarly, 29 police stations, five outposts and town outpost have been created,” he added.
Reiterating the State government’s commitment to provide pucca houses to all houseless and kutcha house dwellers in rural areas, the Governor said that around 31 lakh pucca houses have been completed in the most transparent manner since 2014-15 with an expenditure of Rs 31,050 crore.Claiming that Odisha has emerged as a ‘power-surplus’ State, he said the government is committed to provide rail connectivity in all the 30 districts, and has taken extensive steps to boost infrastructure.
“My government has identified it (railways) as a priority area and plans to cover all the districts with railway connectivity over the next few years. We have collaborated with the Railways to fill the viability gap wherever required,’ he said.
Lal said the State government has taken several initiatives for new railway lines and corridors, besides directly funding construction of the railway tracks and providing free land for such projects. Besides, 14 potential locations have been notified for development of non-major ports, out of which two projects - Dhamra and Gopalpur - are now operational.
On air-connectivity, Lal said the State has commenced regular flight operations on two new routes from Bhubaneswar to Jaipur and Goa. He also said more than five crore Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered to people in the State, and testing facilities set up at the block level.