NEW DELHI: In a significant milestone, a year shy of the March 31, 2026 deadline set by Union home minister Amit Shah to eliminate Left-wing extremism (LWE), the total number of Naxal-hit districts across country has dipped to 18 spread over seven states from 38 districts spanning nine states.
In a fresh review of geographical spread of LWE, the last one done in April 2024, the districts most affected by LWE – together accounting for 90% of LWE violence – have halved from 12 to 6 districts spread across four states, while the ‘districts of concern’ – where incidents are negligible but security forces continue to monitor the situation – are down from nine to six districts spanning four states. ‘Most-affected districts’ and ‘districts of concern’ receive special central aid of Rs 30 crore and Rs 10 crore, respectively, to fill gaps in public infrastructure, apart from special projects.
‘Other LWE-affected districts’, with near nil Maoist activity but still eligible for central assistance, have seen the steepest decline, from 17 in April to just 6 spread across 4 states.
Welcoming the development, Shah said on X, “Taking a giant stride towards building a Naxal-free Bharat, today our nation achieved a new milestone by significantly reducing number of districts ‘most affected’ by LWE to just six from 12. Modi govt is building a ‘sashakt, surakshit and samriddh (strong, secure and prosperous)’ Bharat with a ruthless approach to Naxalism and relentless efforts for all-pervasive development. Bharat is determined to uproot Naxalism for good by 31st March, 2026.”
A home ministry spokesperson attributed the rapid improvement in LWE scenario in past one year primarily “to establishment of new security camps in insurgency-affected core areas and development-oriented works such as expansion of roads, transport facilities, water, electricity and other welfare schemes of the govt reaching villagers”.
As per the latest review, affected states are down from nine to seven – Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Telangana, Maharashtra, Andhra and MP. Kerala, where Wayanad and Kannur districts were classified as Naxal-hit in April 2024, and West Bengal, with a single affected districts of Jhargram, are out of the LWE-affected list.
‘Most-affected districts’ are Bijapur, Kanker, Narayanpur, and Sukma in Chhattisgarh, West Singhbhum in Jharkhand, and Gadchiroli in Maharashtra. ‘Districts of concern’ are Alluri Sitarama Raju in Andhra, Balaghat in MP, Kandhamal, Kalahandi and Malkangiri in Odisha, and Bhadradri-Kothagudem in Telangana.
LWE incidents have declined by 81% from 1,936 in 2010 to 374 in 2024 and deaths from 1,005 to 150 in the same period. The list of LWE-hit districts has also shrunk from 126 to just 18.
