New Delhi, Aug 12 (IANS) The number of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) or Maoism affected districts have come down from 126 in 2013 to 18 districts in April 2025 along with a sharp dip in violent incidents, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, in a written reply, said LWE-related violent incidents and resultant deaths of civilians and security forces have come down from the high of 2010 by 81 per cent and 85 per cent in 2024.
Maoism, which has been a serious challenge to the internal security of the nation, has been significantly curbed in recent times and has been constricted to only a few pockets, he said.
Highlighting the Central government’s support for state governments battling LWE, the MoS said Rs 3,364.32 crore have been released since 2014-15 for capacity building of states.
These funds were for operational expenditure of forces, expenditure incurred on training State Police Forces, rehabilitation of surrendered LWE cadre and solatium to families of civilians killed in LWE violence/martyred security force personnel under the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme.
Shedding light on the slow pace of development in LWE-affected areas, MoS Rai said these areas are marred by dual challenges of a vicious circle of backwardness and the security concerns arising out of LWE influence.
Poverty, low levels of literacy, poor health standards, lack of infrastructure and connectivity are all manifestations of LWE violence, he said.
The Central government also provides financial support to states for impetus to development and filling critical gaps in public infrastructure in Most LWE-affected Districts under the Special Central Assistance (SCA) scheme, he said.
Till now, Rs 3,769.44 crore have been released since the inception of the scheme in 2017, he said.
As part of developmental achievements in LWE-affected states since 2014, a total of 12,012 km of roads have been built – the maximum of 3,535 km in Chhattisgarh, followed by 2,600 km in Jharkhand.
In the same direction, 8,640 mobile towers and 5,899 post offices have also been set up in Maoism-hit states, said the MoS.
–IANS
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