Chief minister Hemant Soren has raised objections to the Centre charging states for deployment of central forces for anti-Naxalite operations, noting that the problem of left wing extremism could not be considered to be only a state problem.

Speaking at a meeting on left wing extremism and issues of security convened by Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Sunday, the Jharkhand chief minister demanded that all such bills be halted with immediate effect.

“I am told that the Union home ministry has so far sent bills to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore to Jharkhand for deploying central security forces to fight extremists. It doesn’t seem pragmatic and logical because the problem of left wing extremism is as much a challenge for the Centre as it is for any state. In such a situation, the need of the hour is to uphold the principle of cooperative federalism. It is my humble request that these bills be written off, and not sent to states in future," he said.

Hemant also expressed concern over reduction in special central assistance (SCA) funds to LWE districts of Jharkhand. “The government of India has recently cut down SCA funds to the state by reclassifying only 8 districts as most LWE affected against the earlier count of 16. Such sudden discontinuation of schemes may be an opportunity for LWE organizations to resurge,” he said.

He called for extension of such assistance for at least another five years.

Outlining the current scenario in Jharkhand, Hemant said that because of the joint effort of the state and central governments, hardcore extremists were only limited to four regions, namely, Parasnath Pahar, Budha Pahar, tri-junction of Seraikela-Khunti-Chaibasa in Kolhan and a few areas along the Bihar border.

He appealed to his counterpart from Chhattisgarh, seeking his cooperation in holding joint operations to flush out Naxalites from border areas. “Large parts of Burha Pahar are in Chhattisgarh. So far, no major operation has been conducted against Naxalites in this region. This can be possible only with the help and support of Chhattisgarh," he said.

Hemant said incidents of Naxalite violence and casualties had come down. “In 2016, 196 naxal incidents were reported. But in 2020, the number was only 126. Similarly, against 61 civilian casualties in 2016, there qwere only 28 in 2020. A total of 85 police weapons, 13,432 rounds of bullets, 515 IEDs and 1,052 kg explosives were recovered from the beginning of 2020 till August 2021. This apart, we arrested 715 militants, including the most wanted ones , and killed 18 extremists,” he said.

“From 2020 till August 2021, 27 dreaded extremists have surrendered,” he noted.

Hemant said the Jharkhand government was planning to start the SAHAY scheme (Sports Action Toward Harnessing Aspiration of Youth) soon for LWE affected districts. “Under this scheme, youth and other people residing in these areas will be connected through various sporting activities to ensure holistic development.”

He also put forth a set of other demands, like a speedy approval for road project proposals for 1843km in LWE areas to improve connectivity under various schemes. “This apart, 782 mobile towers were constructed in the state by the Government of India. The proposal to upgrade these towers from 2G to 4G and to install mobile towers at 1,052 new places is still pending approval,” he said.

He also asked for hikes in MGNREGA wages and various pensions under social security schemes to improve the standard of living iof those living in LWE affected areas.