No Maoist-Hit District In Telangana, 1 In Legacy Category

Only Bhadradri-Kothagudem has been retained in the less-serious “legacy and thrust” category along with 34 others in the country. In Andhra Pradesh, the Centre took out five districts from the LWE category and included Alluri Sitarama Raju district in the “legacy and thrust” category. The neighbouring state may press for inclusion of Polavaram district in the thrust category as the newly-carved out district had areas which were earlier in the Maoist-hit ASR district.

Though the re-categorisation was done to project the wiping out of Maoist extremism and lesser threat it posed now, the agencies involved in anti-Maoist operations cautioned against lowering guard, for it could lead to a resurgence. “There should not be any change in the status on the ground in terms of policing as well as development drive,” a senior police official in Telangana, who played active role in ensuring the surrender of several top-ranking Maoists, told Deccan Chronicle.
Sources said the surrender of leaders who formed the intellectual layer in the movement was by and large secured but the militia was still present in the field. Thousands of people identified as militants by the security agencies have not yet surrendered, which the officials felt was an area of concern. “They are trigger-happy and could re-organise, may be in smaller groups or may act as mercenary groups,” another official said adding that a constant thrust on development was very essential to avoid resurgence.
The erstwhile Manmohan Singh-led Central government had launched the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) and identified districts in all the Maoist-affected states to take up a massive infrastructure drive to increase mobility to inaccessible areas. The Centre extended funds to build roads and communication network besides supporting welfare schemes.
“Post bifurcation and re-organisation of districts in Telangana, seven districts were initially included in the LWE category which were later reduced to three,” the official explained, adding that the state governments, irrespective of the party in power, continued to support the specialised anti-extremist wing Greyhounds which in turn trained the local and special branch police. Maintaining the balancing act, the successive governments since 2004 put focus on implementing welfare programmes on saturation mode.