Nityanand Rai, the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, stated to the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that the number of Naxal-affected areas has decreased from 70 in 2014 to 46 in 2021.
The Minister also mentioned in a written response that there has been a considerable decrease in incidences of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) or Naxal violence, which went from 1,091 incidents in 2014 to 509 incidents in 2021.
According to Minister Nityanand Rai, the amount of aid given by the Indian government to LWE-affected states. Under the different schemes of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the specific LWE-related schemes of the other line ministries has significantly increased since 2014.
The Minister further informed that various programmes from the Indian government. Including the Security Related Expenditure Scheme, Special Infrastructure Scheme, Special Central Assistance Scheme. For the districts most impacted by LWE, Road Requirement Plan-l, Road Connectivity Project for LWE Affected Areas. Skill Development Scheme in 47 LWE Affected Areas, Kendriya Vidyalaya and Jawahar Nava Vidyalaya. As well as Eklavaya Model Residential School, and others, help these states build their capacity.
Meanwhile, in most LWE-affected districts, 1,258 bank branches and 1,348 ATMs have been installed. In addition, 4,903 new Post Offices were established in LWE-affected districts. Aurangabad received 26 new post offices, while Gaya received 31. Aurangabad received 38 bank branches and eight ATMs, while Gaya received 66 bank branches and 32 ATMs.
