BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Government has approved State Police’s proposal to take Angul, Boudh, Sambalpur, Deogarh and Nayagarh districts out of the purview of Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme meant for capacity building in Maoist affected regions.
There has been no Naxal-related violence in the five districts for last two years due to which State Government has approved the proposal to remove these districts from SRE scheme.
The districts covered under SRE scheme were last reviewed in 2018.
The Government had then approved to remove Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Gajapati and Ganjam districts from SRE scheme the same year.
Once Centre approves removal of five districts from SRE as proposed by Odisha, only 10 districts will officially be designated LWE-hit.
The 10 districts are Bargarh, Balangir, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Rayagada and Sundargarh.
The DGP said, development activities have picked up pace in Naxal affected districts of Odisha and overall security situation has improved in the State.
Another positive development is that left wing extremists in the State are surrendering in increasing numbers. So far this year, 17 Naxals have surrendered while 13 ultras surrendered in 2019.
“Naxals want to join mainstream and I want to appeal them again to surrender their arms. The Government has announced a very robust surrender and rehabilitation policy and the Naxals can take advantage of it,” said Abhay.
Enhanced security response and focused developmental activities, he said, have significantly curbed Naxal activities.
“In last few months, security camps have been set up in cutoff areas of Malkangiri and a police station in Jodamba also started functioning from June this year. We also had a huge success in March as biggest haul of arms was seized in Malkangiri’s Swabhiman Anchal,” said the DGP.
In Kandhamal, there were successful operations recently and five Naxals, including a State committee member, were neutralized, he added.
TERROR WORRY
10 districts continue to be affected by left wing extremism
These are Bargarh, Balangir, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Rayagada and Sundargarh