Government okays 25 new security camps in 30 LWE districts

The Centre has given the nod for setting up 25 new security camps in the 30 worst Maoist-affected districts across the country, including Gadchiroli in Maharashtra where 26 Maoists including their top leader Milind Teltumbe were killed in an encounter. These camps will be completed by 2022, and they will help the security forces in area domination and provide safety and security to the tribals inside dense forests, said officials.

According to the home ministry, incidents of left-wing extremism (LWE) fell 70% to 665 in 2020 from an all-time high of 2,258 in 2009. Similarly, deaths of civilians and security forces fell 82% to 183 in 2020 from an all-time high of 1,005 in 2010. LWE-related incidents of violence declined 47% in the six years to 2020 compared to the preceding six-year period, as per the ministry's data.

Ninety districts in 11 states across the country are provided security-related expenditure by the ministry for counter-LWE operations. However, the geographical spread of LWE violence has been constricted and the districts reporting violence came down to 53 in 2020 from 76 in 2013, said home ministry officials.


The new camps will help the Central Reserve Police Force to penetrate 380 villages in 30 worst affected districts of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, MP, Maharashtra, Odisha, UP and Telangana, they said. "10 will be established in Chhattisgarh, seven in Maharashtra, six in Jharkhand and one each in Odisha and Telangana. Earlier, the CRPF established 31 bases in LWE areas since 2020 and plans to operationalise the remaining 25 by the end of 2022," said a senior official.