The Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, on March 28, said that the number of Districts most affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE) reduced from 30 in April-2018 to 25 in July 2021, reports news.abplive.com. "The number of most LWE Affected Districts was reduced from 35 to 30 in April-2018 and then to 25 in July 2021. Also, 8 Districts categorized as Districts of Concern have been covered under the scheme since July 2021 to consolidate gains in areas where LWE influence is waning," said Rai in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Indian Parliament). Speaking further he said that a National Policy and Action Plan (NPAP) to address LWE was approved in 2015 to envisage a multi-pronged strategy involving security related measures. According to the statement released by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA), projects worth approximately INR 20.5313 billion has been released to the LWE affected states from 2019-20 to 2022-23. "To give further impetus for development, funds are provided to states under 'Special Central Assistance (SCA)' to fill the critical gaps in public infrastructure and services. Rs 2053.13 crore [INR 20.5313 billion] has been released to the states from 2019-20 to 2022-23," read the statement released by the UMHA.
Rai said that LWE related violence incidents reported from the southern region declined significantly by 87 per cent from high of 104 Incidents in 2010 to just 13 incidents reported from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana only in 2022, added latestly.com. Improved situation in the southern states has seen surrender by 435 LWE cadres from 2019 to 2022 including one ‘central committee (CC) member’, Rai added.