In redrawing Red Corridor, Centre faces a few red flags

The new additions would be Malappuram, Wayanad and Kannur in Kerala, Mysore, Kodagu, Udupi, Chikmagalur and Shimoga in Karnataka, Erode in Tamil Nadu, Saran in Bihar, and Boudh and Sonepur districts in Orissa.

Presently, there are 106 LWE affected districts, which get financial and security-related assistance from the Centre. For example, each district gets minimum Rs 30 crore under the Security Related Expenditure scheme of the Home Ministry. Other schemes such as the Special Infrastructure Scheme, Integrated Action Plan and civic action programme also add to the state’s coffers.

Officials said the Centre wants to keep the numbers of districts intact at 106. Thus, to include new districts to the list, they will have to strike out some existing ones. This is where the Centre is facing resistance — none of the 10 states affected by the problem wants to give up the LWE tag from even one district, given the financial implications.

For instance, in the past three years, none of the three LWE affected districts in Uttar Pradesh have reported any major Maoist activity. “But when we go to the state with a proposal that these districts will no longer be eligible to be called LWE affected, we get a lot of resistance,” said a senior ministry official.

According to sources, West Bengal has also been putting up tough resistance when it comes to declaring districts “Naxal-free”.
From 2012-14, only seven minor incidents were reported, while 697 incidents were reported from the state between 2009-11. “Now it is a tricky situation as the state government tells us that any lull cannot be used to imply that violence will not erupt again,” said the official.