Immediate but gradual reduction of central forces in Chhattisgarh: Minister

New Delhi: Chhattisgarh will see an immediate but gradual scaling down of central security forces over the next 18 months though police camps in Bastar will not be shut down, state home minister Vijay Sharma told ET.

On the eve of the March 31 deadline set by the Union home ministry to eliminate Left-Wing Extremism from India, Sharma said 96% of LWE-affected areas in Chhattisgarh have been freed from Maoist influence. According to state government data, Dantewada district has one active Maoist, Kanker has 19, Bijapur 11, Sukma five and Narayanpur two. Chhattisgarh has five LWE-affected districts - the highest in the country.

Speaking to ET, Sharma said, "With the surrender of dreaded Maoist Papa Rao last week, there is no top functionary active in Chhattisgarh. One has fled to Nepal and another to the neighbouring state of Andhra. We do not have any top commanders currently active."


Sharma added the next 18 months are crucial for Chhattisgarh, with the government keeping a close watch on surrendered Maoists and monitoring ground developments to ensure LWE movement does not resurface. When asked about scaling down central forces, he said, "There will be an immediate but gradual reduction. At present, operations are still underway to flush out all ground-level cadres, especially from the Abujhmad area."

Abujhmad, roughly translated as "unknown hill" ('Abujh' meaning unknown and 'mad' meaning hill), remains the last citadel of Maoists. He said that over the next 18 months, the government will help surrendered Maoists settle back in their villages.

"The situation is normalising," Sharma said, adding, "I invite everyone to come and sit by the picturesque Indravati river and witness first-hand how much the security situation has improved."