PM to interact with CMs of naxal-hit states

New Delhi, Apr 12: The centre is expected to come out with a comprehensive anti-Maoists strategy, with special focus on rehabilitation of displaced tribals and railway safety, when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh interacts with the Chief Ministers of 13 naxal- affected states here tomorrow.

The day-long meeting of the Standing Committee of Chief Ministers of the 13 naxal-affected states has immense significance in the context of the fact that it is being chaired by the Prime Minister, deviating from the normal practice of the Home Minister chairing the meet.

With the naxal threat assuming alarming proportions, Dr Singh has volunteered to lead the proceedings which is expected to revolve around the entire gamut of issues relating to naxal menace.

''Dr Singh is expected to be present throughout the meeting,'' a home ministry official said, pointing out that the issue has now occupied the centre stage of the governmental agenda.

The meet, which comes two weeks after an anti-naxal session by the Chief Secretaries and the Directors General of Police in the capital, is expected to work out a strategy to take the Left extremists by their horns.

Besides the Chief Ministers of naxal affected states, the Union Ministers in charge of Home, Defence, Forests and Environment, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj will also attend the meet which will take stock of the emerging internal security nightmare posed by the Maoists who have been primarily aiming at civilian targets.

Despite the use of hi-tech weapons by the Maoists in recent times, the meeting is not expected to take any decision regarding use of the military for anti-naxal operations.

''We are not looking at using military personnel. We want to deal with a civilian movement with civilian forces only,'' a top home ministry official said.

Dr Singh, who has special interest in tribal welfare, is expected to lay special emphasis on rehabilitation of tribals who are uprooted by big projects so that they are not attracted into the naxalite fold.

The recent Maoists attacks on trains and railway stations will also receive due attention of the meeting and a strategy to ensure greater railway safety in naxal-affected states is expected to emerge.

''The chances of strong and harsh measures emerging at the meeting are possible especially in the context of April 9 incident in Bihar in which the armed naxals blew up a halt station and a portion of a railway track in Gaya, hoping to inflict heavy civilian casualties,'' official sources said.

Dr Singh has already been given a presentation by the Home Ministry on the magnitude of the problems arising out of the increased use of arms and ammunition and targeted attacks on innocent civilians in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttaranchal, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. Among the tough measures being considered is constitution of a ''dedicated force'' for a combined and coordinated action by the affected states.

Such a new force is likely to be modelled on the lines of the ''Grey Hound Commandos'' in Andhra Pradesh which is used exclusively to fight against Maoists.

''The scheme is found successful. Therefore, it is likely to be replicated in other states with the funding from the Home Ministry,'' the sources said.

Andhra Pradesh now has about 1,200 commandos in the Grey Hound force. A decision is also likely to enhance its strength substantially.

A contingency plan for the most-affected states of Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand is also likely so that it could be effectively ensured that the movement do not spread to other areas.

What worries the Home Ministry is apparently a recent assessment of the strength of the Maoists which brought to light the startling fact that they are heavily armed, that too with sophisticated weapons.

Maoists are now well equipped to fight security forces and possessed capability to strike at will anywhere in as many as 140 districts in the 13 naxal affected states.

They are in possession of sophisticated weapons like INSAS and AK 47 rifles and explosives ranging from locally available gelatine sticks to smuggled RDX.

Figures with the Home Ministry show that the Maoists in India has a total strength of more than 10,000 trained guerillas and 20,000 modern weapons, a majority of them looted from police stations and security agencies.

They had also procured good number of armoury from places where country-made weapons are manufactured. The figures were arrived at on the basis of the data provided by the naxal affected states.

It is also believed that the naxals were supplied arms and provided other logistics supports by the insurgents in the North East.

However, the Home Ministry does not have any clear proof to show any arms supply by the Maoists in neighbouring Nepal, though there is conclusive proof that they have some ''ideological linkages.'' The meeting will give shape to its stand on three major issues : the emerging anti-naxal ''Jan Jagran'' movements like ''Salva Judum'' in Chhattisgarh, an insurance cover to the civilian victims of naxal attacks and steps to fill up the vacancies in the police force in naxal affected states.

Sources said Dr Singh is ''extremely concerned'' over the increasing incidence of civilian casualties in naxal attacks, though the number of naxal violence has come down in the first three months of the current year, except in the case of Chhattisgarh.

The assessment of the centre and the state governments is that the local resistance groups are a useful instrument to effectively counter naxalism, but they are in favour of encouraging such groups only in areas dominated effectively by security forces so that people there are not rendered susceptible to naxalite attacks.

The Chhattisgarh government has already suggested an insurance scheme for the families of the members of "Jan Jagran" movements falling a prey to naxal violence and sought central assistance from the security-related expenditure scheme for naxal-affected areas.

The scheme is expected to be finalised at the standing committee meeting.

Among all the naxalism-infested states, Chhattisgarh had suffered the worst ever civilian casualty in insurgency in the first three months of this year because of the fact that ''Salva Judum,'' a powerful anti-naxal movement, is fast getting deeprooted in the tribal hamlets of the state with the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress extending political patronage to this local resistance group.

The Left-wing extremists have been at soft civilian targets to terrorise those associating with the ''Salva Judum.'' In one such incident last month, as many as 28 activists of the resistance group were killed in a landmine explosion in Dantewada when they were returning from an anti-Naxal meeting.

Chhattisgarh, the worst-affected by insurgency, claimed 105 lives during January-March this year as against three in the first quarter of last year.

The number of incidents had also gone up in Chhattisgarh with 162 in the first three months as against 97 for the same period last year.

Barring Chhattisgarh, the number of incidents was less in other naxal-affected states in the first three months of this year as compared to the corresponding period last year.

UNI