Bhubaneswar: Maintaining that Odisha has been working in close coordination with the Central Government and the neighbouring States to deal with the left wing extremism (LWE) problem firmly, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday urged the Centre to release pending Rs 227 crore under Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme.
Participating in the review meeting on LWE with Chief Ministers of Maoist-affected States held under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, Patnaik also demanded a dedicated helicopter for the State and induction of two additional Battalions of Central Armed Police Forces to effectively prevent the influx of outside LWE cadres.
The Chief Minister also sought the support of the Centre in early installation of mobile towers at 866 locations in the LWE affected areas and placement of a dedicated helicopter for the State.
He suggested that railway connectivity projects to Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts should be completed within 36 months.
“For these projects, the State Government has committed to provide land free of cost and also bear a substantial portion of project cost. Banking infrastructure needs to be set up in the unbanked areas. The pending Rs 227 crore under the SRE Scheme should be released early,” said Patnaik.
He also urged the Central Government to waive the deployment charge of CAPFs, as ensuring the internal security is a constitutional obligation of the Union Government.
Minister of State (Home) Dibya Shankar Mishra, Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy, and Director General of Police (DGP) BK Sharma also attended the meeting.
He further informed that during the year 2018 and 2019 till August 15, 26 LWE cadres have died in police action, 85 have been arrested and 35 have surrendered.
