Amit Shah to review situation in Naxal-hit areas with 10 CMs on Sunday

NEW DELHI, (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah will review the security situation in Naxal affected areas with chief ministers of 10 states on Sunday, officials said.

Those who were invited for the day-long physical meeting are the chief ministers of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala.

The home minister will review with the chief ministers the security situation and ongoing operations against the Maoists in 10 Naxal-hit states, a home ministry official said here.

Shah is also expected to review development works like construction of roads, bridges, schools, health centres being carried out in Naxal-hit areas.

According to the Union Home Ministry data, Maoist violence has reduced considerably in the country and the menace is prevalent now in just about 45 districts.

However, a total of 90 districts in the country are considered Maoists-affected and are covered under the Security Related Expenditure Scheme of the ministry. Naxal violence, also called Left Wing Extremism (LWE), were reported in 61 districts in 2019 and only about 45 districts in 2020.

About 380 security personnel, 1,000 civilians and 900 Naxals were killed in different instances of violence in LWE-affected areas from 2015 till 2020. A total of about 4,200 Naxals have also surrendered during the same period, according to the data. (PTI)