By IANS,
New Delhi : The central government should meet the massive expenditure incurred on para-military troopers deployed in Chhattisgarh, which is reeling under Maoist militancy for about three decades, its Chief Minister Raman Singh said Tuesday.
“The centre should bear the expenditure on central para-military forces (CPMF) deployed in the state to fight Maoist militancy,” Singh said while addressing the chief ministers’ conference on internal security here.
Chattisgarh home department officials said the central government has asked the state government recently to meet about Rs.800 crore expenditure incurred by it on para-military troopers deployed in the state.
Singh who is heading the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state since December 2003, said that his government has decided to raise a State Industrial Security Force and he appealed to the central government to back his decision financially.
He highlighted in details how the state was grappling with rising Maoist militancy and informed the participants that about 50,000 Maoists of all ranks have been involved in the state in a war against democracy.
He added that 10 of state’s total 18 districts were hit by Maoist militancy and the state viewed the leftist insurgency as a form of terrorism.