Amit Shah's Big Security Update On North East, J&K, Maoist-Hit Areas

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the internal security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the North East and Left Wing Extremism-affected areas have witnessed a significant improvement with nearly 75 per cent reduction in violence and geographical constriction by nearly 80 per cent.

Chairing a review meeting in Raipur on the LWE situation in Chhattisgarh, he said the menace has been essentially confined to some pockets due to the efforts of the central and state security forces the and asserted these areas will have to be freed from the problem in the next three years, a PIB statement said.

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, his deputy Vijay Sharma, Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, state chief secretary Amitabh Jain, Director General of Police Ashok Juneja and other senior officials from Intelligence Bureau and CRPF attended the meeting, the release added.

"Shah pointed out that the three internal security situation in J&K, North East and LWE affected areas have witnessed significant improvement with nearly 75 per cent reduction in violence and geographical constriction by nearly 80 per cent," the release said.

He also mentioned the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) has now been withdrawn from almost 80 per cent areas in the North East.

Mr Shah emphasized the need for a detailed roadmap to be drawn up by all the concerned stakeholders, particularly relating to the targeting of the entire ecosystem sustaining LWE.

"Further, the Union minister directed the state police to fill up the remnant security gaps, ensure comprehensive investigations, closely monitor prosecution, choke finance streams and continue intelligence-led operations. He also stressed the need to review all inputs shared through the Multi-Agency Centre and operationalise verified inputs," the PIB release said.

Mr Shah said there was need for saturation coverage of Central and state government schemes in LWE-affected districts and utilization of security force camps to ensure the benefits of these schemes in villages in proximate areas, it said.

The MHA should be flexible both in the allotment of funds as also its usage in the highly LWE-affected districts in Chhattisgarh, the statement quoted Mr Shah as saying.

"On the direction of the Union minister, a detailed interaction was held by the Union Home Secretary with Collectors and Superintendents of Police of the highly LWE- affected districts," the PIB statement said. 

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