The Centre has firmed up its plans in coordination with the states affected by Left-wing extremism to launch anti-Naxal operations immediately after the Maharashtra Assembly elections are over on October 13. The aim is to reclaim at least 4,000 sq km of territory in the Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa tri-junction.

Sources said all forces had been put on standby with instructions to reclaim the so-called liberated zones in Naxalite areas and hold on to them for rapid development. According to plans, development material like prefabricated school huts, police stations are ready and required personnel have been alerted. It is estimated that Maoists control at least 50,000 sq km of territory.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has reiterated that Naxalism is the top internal security threat to India. In Mumbai on Wednesday, he said the states and the Centre were taking all possible measures to deal with the menace and they were willing to talk to Naxals and militant groups in J&K if they shunned the path of violence. “I have always said that Naxalism is the greatest internal security threat to our country,” he said, ruling out the possibility of using armed forces against Naxals.

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) last Thursday overcame the political costs of the anti-Naxal operations in the mineral-rich heart of the country. The basic purpose of the CCS was to deliberate and weigh the political cost vis-à-vis the internal security threat posed by the Maoists. The message that Home Minister P Chidambaram passed was that paramilitary forces would not be pulled back even if there was a political price to pay in the forthcoming Jharkhand elections.