Raipur, CGnews: C Shivraj Patil will himself undertake a day-long visit to Raipur on Feb 14, 2008 to review the situation on the spot. Before that Union Govt thought that naxal problem is the headaque of the States only. But now Union Govt have taken this problem seriously and established a special cell also for tackling the Maoist problem. The worst affected districts of Dantewada and Bijapur of Chhattisgarh are being adopted by the government to act as model and the Centre and the state government is planning to launch various development schemes in these two districts as part their holistic approach to deal with the menace.

The Union Home Minister, Shri Shivraj Patil reviewed in Delhi the Naxal Situation in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Senior officers of the two States briefed him about the situation and the steps taken by the State Governments to deal with it. They also apprised him of the utilization of the funds, provided by the Central Government.

Shri Patil, asked the two State Governments to make use of the Para Military Forces for operational purposes and not for normal law and order or static guard duties. The Centre has already provided 13 battalions of Para Military Forces to Chhattisgarh and 5 to Jharkhand. Expressing concern over the slow pace of filling up of vacancies in the two states, the Home Minister said that the process required to be speeded up. This will not only help strengthen security, but also provide employment to local people. He asked the two State Governments of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand to strengthen their intelligence wings and also ensure optimal and timely utilization of the funds granted under various central schemes. The Home Minister expressed satisfaction at some successful anti-Naxalite operations carried out recently, and emphasized the need to follow a pro-active strategy in both the States.

On Feb 14 Union Home Minister will hold a review meeting with Chief Minister Raman Singh and senior officers of the State Government.

Shri Patil with his official team will also hold a meeting with the Governor of Chhattisgarh, E.S.L. Narsimhan, a Home Ministry official said.

Besides targeting the people, the Naxalites have set their eyes on economic installations, with the Railways bearing the worst brunt in the badly affected states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh, making senior officials in the security establishment sit up.
The official admitted that reports continued to come in regarding attacks on police and police establishments and on certain types of infrastructure like rail and road transport and power transmission towers, as was witnessed in Chhattisgarh last year, creating maximum impact among the people.