THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, August 6: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that the geographical extent of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) violence has significantly decreased, shrinking from 126 districts across 10 states in 2013 to just 38 districts in nine states by April 2024.
In a written response to Bharatiya Janata Party MP Satish Kumar Gautam’s query, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai informed that Naxalism is now limited to nine states, including Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, and West Bengal.
15 Chhattisgarh districts affected by Naxalism
Rai provided data showing that the highest number of districts affected by Naxalism are in Chhattisgarh, with 15 districts: Bijapur, Bastar, Dantewada, Dhamtari, Gariyaband, Kanker, Kondagaon, Mahasamund, Narayanpur, Rajnandgaon, Mohalla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki, Khairgarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai, Sukma, Kabirdham, and Mungeli.
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Odisha follows with seven affected districts: Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Bolangir, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, and Rayagada.
Five Jharkhand districts are Naxalism affected
According to the data, Naxalism is now confined to only five districts in Jharkhand—Giridih, Gumla, Latehar, Lohardaga, and West Singhbhum—as well as three districts in Madhya Pradesh: Balaghat, Mandla, and Dindori.
Left Wing Extremism is now restricted to only two districts in Kerala (Wayanad and Kannur), two districts in Maharashtra (Gadchiroli and Gondia), and two districts in Telangana (Bhadradri-Kothagudem and Mulugu).
Moreover, Naxal activity is restricted to only one district in Andhra Pradesh (Alluri Sitaramraju) and one district in West Bengal (Jhargram).
The Minister of State credited this significant achievement to the Central government’s national policy and action plan, which was approved in 2015 to tackle the LWE menace.
