New Delhi: As part of its pro-active approach to check the spurt in Naxal activities in different parts of the country, the Union Home Ministry has taken special initiative to blunt the firepower of terrorists.
Setting up of a special Naxal Desk in the MHA ahead of Friday's meeting of the Task Force on Naxalites and a proposal to constitute an e-GoM are among the steps to check the violence unleashed by the Naxals, according to highly placed sources in the security establishment.
The concept of setting up of a Naxal Desk was mooted by the Home Ministry in August this year reflecting the Centre's concern over the rise in incidents of Naxal attacks.
Till August this year, 115 security personnel and 401 civilians were killed by Naxalites compared to the figures of 94 and 364 during the corresponding period last year.
Chhattisgarh remained the most affected state where Naxal violence registered a sharp rise in the first eight months of 2006 - from 265 incidents last year to 469 till August this year.
The Naxal Desk headed by an Additional Secretary rank officer is likely to be operational soon once senior officers in the rank of Inspector General of Police and Deputy Inspector General of Police are deputed, the sources said.
The new trend of inter-state arms procurement by Naxalites as evident from the recovery of huge consignment of rockets, launchers and explosives in Andhra Pradesh has sent the security establishment into a tizzy and the MHA has convened a meeting of the Task Force on Naxalites on Ocobter
The Task Force on Naxalism was consituted in October 2004 under the Chairmanship of Special Secretary (Internal Security) to deliberate upon the steps needed to deal with the menace of naxalism more effectively and in a coordinated way.
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The members of the Task Force comprise the nodal officers of the nine naxal-affected States - Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal -- and representatives of Intelligence Bureau, CRPF and Sashtra Seema Bal (SSB).
Sources said that besides the Naxal Desk, there will be mechanism for an inter-ministerial committee for carrying out a detailed review of the implementation of development schemes in the affected areas. The committee will meet ahead of the quarterly meetings of the Coordination Centre on Naxalism.
They also said that since infrastructure development was considered to be a panacea for dealing with Naxalism, an Empowered Group of Minister (e-GoM) is in the pipeline. Since massive investments are needed for infrastructure development, it is likely to be headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram with Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia as a member.
The idea of having such an e-GoM has been mooted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and sources said that the main objective was to closely monitor the spread of Naxalite movement. The body will be in addition to the Standing Committee of Chief Ministers on the issue.
Sources said that many Naxal-hit states have decided to set up special forces for countering naxal violence in the long term on the lines of "Grey Hounds" in Andhra Pradesh.
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