National Policy and Action Plan to address LWE

Why is in news? Government of India (GoI) approved ‘National Policy and Action Plan to address LWE’

As per Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India, subjects of Police and Public Order are with the State Governments.

However, to address Left Wing Extremism (LWE) menace holistically, Government of India (GoI) approved ‘National Policy and Action Plan to address LWE’ in 2015 envisaging a multi-pronged strategy involving security related measures, development interventions, ensuring rights and entitlements of local communities etc.

Steadfast implementation of this policy has resulted in consistent decline in LWE related violence and it’s geographical spread.

Measures taken by the government:

GoI has enacted the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act) for children in distress situation including children in conflict with law (CCL) and children in need of care and protection (CNCP).

As per provisions of JJ Act, a child who is victim of or affected by any armed conflict, civil unrest or natural calamity, is included as a “child in need of care and protection”, among others.

The act mandated a safety net of service delivery structures including institutional and non-institutional care mechanisms, to ensure the best interest of children.

As per the JJ Act, any non-state, self-styled militant group or outfit declared as such by the GoI, if recruits or uses any child for any purpose, shall be liable for criminal prosecution.

Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing a centrally sponsored Child Protection Services (CPS) scheme, for supporting the States/Union Territories (UTs) in providing a framework for care and protection of children in distress conditions.

Under the scheme, institutional care is available for CNCP and CCL, including provisions for boarding, lodging and holistic development of children.

The scheme also provides for non-institutional care wherein support is extended for adoption, foster care and sponsorship. The primary responsibility of implementation of the scheme rests with the States/UTs.

During the period from 2004 to 2014 there were 17,679 LWE related incidents and 6,984 deaths.

During the period from 2014 to 2023 (till 15 June 23) there have been 7,649 LWE related incidents and 2,020 deaths.

A comparison of various statistics of LWE violence over last nine years (May 2014 to April 2023) with preceding nine years (May 2005 to April 2014) indicates a significant improvement in the LWE scenario in the country.

The incidents of LWE related violence reduced by 52% from 14,862 to 7130 and the total number of deaths reduced by 69% from 6035 to 1868 in the said period.

The figures are a reflection of the efficacy of operations being conducted by the Security Forces and the capacity building measures undertaken by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

At the same time, the developmental outreach by Government of India has seen an increasingly large number of LWE cadres shunning the path of violence and returning to the mainstream.

National Policy and Action Plan in 2015:

It consists of a multi-pronged approach comprising security measures, development initiatives and ensuring rights & entitlements of local communities.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is supporting the State Governments extensively by way of deployment of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) Battalions, provision of helicopters and UAVs and sanction of India Reserve Battalions (IRBs)/ Special India Reserve Battalions (SIRBs) etc.

Funds are provided under Modernization of Police Force (MPF), Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme and Special Infrastructure Scheme (SIS) for modernization and training of State Police.

Several development initiatives have been implemented for construction of roads, installation of mobile towers, skill development, improving network of banks and post offices, health and education facilities.

Funds for development are also provided to most LWE affected districts under the Special Central Assistance (SCA) scheme.

Left-wing Extremism:

LWE organizations are the groups that try to bring change through violent revolution. They are against democratic institutions and use violence to subvert the democratic processes at the ground level.

These groups prevent the developmental processes in the least developed regions of the country & try to misguide the people by keeping them ignorant of current happenings.