Although foreign policy successes have cornered the limelight in the Modi government’s successes so far, the largely improved internal security situation has gone mostly unnoticed. Except for the episodic ups and downs in J&K, the rest of India has remained free of big terrorist attacks and large-scale riots that have periodically rocked the country. Similarly, in the fight against Maoists, security forces have had singular success.

The latest success was seen when 16 hardcore Maoists were eliminated in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli, a known Maoist stronghold. This district, close to areas of Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, was proving to be a hard nut to crack for the security forces in the past but clearly, improved intelligence and the ability to take more risks are paying off for the government.

In the Maoist-affected areas (mostly spread over 10 states of central India), episodic setbacks apart, the government’s long-term, two-pronged strategy appears to be succeeding with lower violence levels, higher arrests and elimination of Maoist cadres in the past four years. The tide had started turning in favour of the government forces in 2014 but picked up pace in 2015 and 2016, according to figures available on the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) website.

Last week, the MHA removed 44 more districts from the list of ‘Maoist violence-hit’ areas. Among the 44 districts that are no longer categorised as Naxalism-affected, 19 are in Telangana, six each are in Bihar and Odisha, three each in Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, one in Maharashtra and four in West Bengal. “The geographical area of Naxal influence has significantly reduced after the review brought down the number of affected districts from 126 to 90 by exclusion of 44 districts, despite the addition of eight new entries,” a senior home ministry official was quoted as saying.

The Maoists have been steadily pushed into a corner as government forces make incremental gains in different states. The campaign against LWE or Left-Wing Extremism (officialese for Maoist insurgency) has been successful in regaining control of areas earlier under the total sway of the Maoists. With over 1,00,000 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) — CRPF, SSB, CISF, BSF and ITBP— deployed in 10 states affected by LWE, the Centre is lending a hand to state governments in combating the Maoist insurgency. However, the fight has to be led by state governments not just on the security front, but also in implementing socio-economic policies meant for people’s welfare.

The Ministry of Home Affairs under Rajnath Singh has combined the hard power of the security forces with the soft tools of development, fine-tuning an approach that had begun in 2012-13. The Home Minister had told the assembled Chief Ministers and officials of Maoist-affected areas last year that he wanted the anti-Maoist strategies to revolve around short, medium and long-term policies at different levels. “There is need to find a solution for this problem and the strategy is available,” he said.

He encapsulated the strategy in the word ‘SAMADHAN’, which means: S: Smart Leadership; A: Aggressive Strategy; M: Motivation and Training; A: Actionable Intelligence; D: Dashboard-based KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and KRAs (Key Result Areas); H: Harnessing Technology; A: Action Plan for each Theatre; N: No access to Financing

The results are gradually apparent.

For years, successive governments have identified lack of roads in remote and distant underdeveloped areas of LWE-affected states as one of the reasons for lack of any government presence. So, by July 31, 2017, under Road Requirement Plan-I (RRP-I), construction of 4,447 km roads has been completed out of 5,422 km road envisaged under the plan. Building on the success of these plans, a new plan, ie, Road Connectivity Project for LWE affected areas (RRP-II), has been approved which envisages construction of 5,412 km roads and 126 bridges in 44 districts of LWE-affected states at an estimated cost of Rs 11,725 crore, the MHA informed a Parliamentary Committee.

Roads apart, the government has been pressing state governments to open up job avenues to the local tribal population. One of the ways to create jobs in backward areas is to raise special police battalions exclusively manned by locals.

According to the Home Minister, 743 Scheduled Tribes candidates from four most affected LWE districts of Chhattisgarh — Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur and Sukma — have been recruited in ‘Bastariya Battalion’ in order to enhance local representation in Security Forces. More Kendriya Vidyalayas and Skill Development Centres have also been opened in LWE affected districts in the past three years. Over 1,800 new branch post offices, 405 bank branches and 818 ATMs have also been opened in 35 most LWE affected districts during the last two years, the Home Minister told Parliamentarians.

As the security forces establish dominance over increasing areas of erstwhile LWE dominance, efforts at civil consolidation have also increased. MHA officials say the implementation of the scheme for Fortified Police Stations for construction/strengthening of 400 Police Stations in 10 LWE affected states is now near completion with over 350 police stations modernised and fortified.

The Maoists are certainly on the run in their erstwhile strongholds but the Centre and state governments will have to continue with their efforts to achieve lasting peace and security and gain full control over Maoist insurgency, once described as the country’s ‘greatest security threat’ by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The writer is a strategic affairs analyst, author and founder of BhartShakti.in, a specialised defence website. Views are personal.