New Delhi : Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai on Wednesday said that incidents of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) violence has been reduced by 77 per cent from an all-time high of 2258 in 2009 to 509 in 2021.
“The steadfast implementation of the National Policy & Action Plan to address Left Wing Extremism (LWE) -2015′ has resulted in a consistent decline in violence. The incidents of LWE violence have been reduced by 77 per cent from an all-time high of 2258 in 2009 to 509 in 2021,” Rai informed Rajya Sabha in a written reply.
On the question of BJP Rajya Sabha MP, Rai informed the Upper House that the deaths of people including civilians and security forces have been reduced by 85 per cent from an all-time high of 1005 in 2010 to 147 in 2021.
“The geographical spread of the violence has also been reduced and only 46 districts reported LWE related violence in 2021 as compared to 96 districts in 2010,” MoS Home said.
Rai further informed Rajya Sabha that the decline in the geographical spread is also reflected in a reduced number of districts covered under the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme. The number of SRE districts was reduced to 90 in April 2018 and further to 70 in July 2021.
Similarly, the number of districts contributing approximately 90 per cent of the LWE violence, categorized as ‘most LWE affected districts,’ came down to 30 from 35 in 2018 and further to 25 in 2021.
“As per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India, subjects of ‘Police and Public Order’ are with the State Governments. However, to address the LWE menace holistically, a National Policy and Action Plan have been implemented since 2015. The Policy envisages a multi-pronged strategy involving security-related measures, development interventions, ensuring rights and entitlements of local communities, etc,” MoS Home said.
On the security front, Rai said that the Government of India supports the LWE-affected State Governments by providing Central Armed Police Force battalions, helicopters, training, funds for modernization of State police forces, arms and equipment, sharing of intelligence, construction of Fortified Police Stations, etc.
“Central Government also provides funds for capacity building of the LWE affected States under various schemes, like Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme and Special Infrastructure Scheme (SIS) to fight the LWE menace effectively,” he added.