By IANS,
New Delhi : There have been nearly 1,850 incidents of violence in the country’s Maoist-hit areas this year, the parliament was told Wednesday.
Answering questions on the violence in mineral-rich central India affected by Leftwing extremism and its plans in the region, the government said it was implementing 69 schemes for the comprehensive development of Maoist-hit areas.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Maken told the Rajya Sabha that “strengthening of governance structures and more effective implementation of major schemes are some of the initiatives to counter naxalism”.
He said the Planning Commission was monitoring the progress of the development initiatives in 35 Leftwing extremism affected districts initiated by the central government.
“Total number of naxal incidents in 2009 were 2,258 and in the current year (up to October 31, 2010) these are 1,842,” Maken said.
In 2009, the number of incidents in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa were 742, 529 and 266 respectively. In the current year, Jharkhand has seen 424 such incidents, while in Chhattisgarh the number is 522 and Orissa reported 178 incidents of violence.