What Happened
- With Naxalism assessed to be on its "last legs" in India, the question of what to do with 200-plus police and security camps established across Chhattisgarh's Bastar region has come into focus.
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah had announced a March 2026 deadline to make India Left-Wing Extremism (LWE)-free, and Chhattisgarh now has only seven LWE-affected districts remaining, down from a peak of 35+ districts nationally.
- The government plans to convert approximately 400 security camps in the Bastar interior into schools, hospitals, and forest produce collection centres as normalcy returns.
- Recent operations — including Operation Black Forest — have dealt significant blows to Maoist cadres in the Karreguttalu Hills, killing senior leaders and dismantling the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) command structure.
- The transformation of security infrastructure into civilian services is seen as a test case for the "development as consolidation" strategy after counter-insurgency success.
Static Topic Bridges
SAMADHAN Doctrine: India's Comprehensive LWE Strategy
The SAMADHAN framework was introduced by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2017 as a structured, whole-of-government strategy to eliminate LWE. Each letter represents a component: Smart Leadership, Aggressive Strategy, Motivation and Training, Actionable Intelligence, Dashboard-Based KPIs/KRAs, Harnessing Technology, Action plan for each Theatre, No access to Financing. The doctrine integrates security operations, intelligence, financial disruption, and development in a unified framework rather than treating counter-insurgency as a purely military problem.
- Introduced: 2017 by MHA
- Key components: operations, intelligence (including UAV deployment and biometric tracking), financial disruption, development
- Dashboard-based KPIs used to monitor district-level progress
- Implemented through CAPFs (CRPF, BSF, ITBP) alongside state police forces
- Development component: banking access within 5 km, road connectivity, school enrollment in LWE areas
Connection to this news: The conversion of security camps into schools and hospitals is SAMADHAN's development component coming to fruition — precisely what the doctrine envisaged would follow after the security environment stabilises.
CRPF and LWE Operations: Legal and Operational Framework
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), raised under the CRPF Act 1949, is the primary central force deployed in LWE operations. Over 50 battalions of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) are deployed in Chhattisgarh alone. The CRPF's specialised CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) units, formed in 2009, are jungle-warfare trained and specifically deployed for anti-Maoist operations in dense forest terrain. The Maoist insurgency is classified under Schedule I of UAPA, allowing special investigative and detention powers.
- CRPF statutory basis: CRPF Act, 1949
- CoBRA units: 10 battalions formed in 2009, specifically for LWE operations
- CAPF deployment in Chhattisgarh: 50+ battalions
- Maoist groups designated under UAPA, 1967
- Rehabilitation: RANBANKA scheme offers surrender and rehabilitation benefits to surrendering Maoists
- NIA has jurisdiction over UAPA-designated cases involving Maoist financing and conspiracy
Connection to this news: The 200-plus camps were established by CAPFs and state forces under this operational framework; their future reconfiguration reflects the drawdown of this deployment structure as LWE shrinks to a residual threat.
Left-Wing Extremism in India: Geographical Spread and Trajectory
LWE in India, rooted in the Naxalbari uprising of 1967 in West Bengal, reached its peak in the late 2000s when the "Red Corridor" spanned 35+ districts across 10 states including Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Bihar. The CPI (Maoist), formed in 2004 through a merger of CPI (ML) People's War and Maoist Communist Centre, emerged as the most lethal Maoist formation, running the PLGA as its armed wing. LWE-related violence has fallen dramatically — from over 1,000 incidents in 2010 to under 200 by 2024 — and the number of LWE-affected districts in the government's classification has shrunk from 35 to 38 (at peak) to just 18 in 2024 and still declining.
- Naxalbari uprising: 1967 (West Bengal) — ideological origin
- CPI (Maoist) formed: 2004 (merger of CPI(ML) People's War + MCC)
- PLGA: armed wing of CPI (Maoist)
- LWE incidents peak: ~1,000+ in 2010
- LWE-affected districts in 2024: approximately 18 (down from 35+ at peak)
- Remaining LWE-affected districts in Chhattisgarh (2026): 7 — Bastar, Kondagaon, Rajnandgaon, Kabirdham, Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai, Mungeli, Dhamtari/Mahasamund
Connection to this news: The 200-plus police camps in Chhattisgarh were built during the peak LWE era as tactical forward bases; their planned conversion into civilian infrastructure is directly calibrated to this dramatic shrinkage of the Maoist footprint.
Tribal Rights, Governance, and the Development-Security Nexus in LWE Areas
A persistent critique of India's LWE policy is that security operations must be accompanied by governance reforms addressing the root causes: land alienation, displacement, failure to implement Fifth Schedule protections and PESA (Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996), and exploitation of tribal forest resources. The Supreme Court's Forest Rights Act (2006) judgments and the PESA framework give tribal communities rights over minor forest produce and local governance — rights that were historically denied, fuelling support for Maoists. The conversion of security camps into forest produce centres directly addresses this dimension.
- Fifth Schedule: constitutional provision for governance of tribal areas
- PESA Act, 1996: extends Panchayati Raj to Scheduled Areas with tribal self-governance provisions
- Forest Rights Act, 2006: recognises forest dwelling tribal communities' rights over land and minor forest produce
- Van Dhan Vikas Kendras: tribal enterprise hubs under TRIFED for value-addition of minor forest produce
- Aspirational Districts Programme: 35 of 112 aspirational districts are LWE-affected
Connection to this news: Converting security camps into forest produce centres aligns with PESA and FRA mandates by creating state infrastructure that supports — rather than displaces — tribal economic rights in the same zones where camps once represented coercive security presence.
Key Facts & Data
- Security/police camps in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region: 200-plus (to be repurposed)
- Total CAPF battalions in Chhattisgarh: 50+
- CoBRA battalions (CRPF anti-Naxal unit): 10
- LWE-affected districts remaining in Chhattisgarh (2026): 7
- National LWE-affected districts (2024): approximately 18 (down from 35+ at peak)
- Government's LWE-free target: March 2026 (declared by Home Minister Amit Shah)
- SAMADHAN framework introduced: 2017 (MHA)
- CPI (Maoist) formation year: 2004
- Naxalbari uprising origin: 1967 (West Bengal)
- LWE violence incidents: ~1,000+ (2010 peak) → under 200 (2024)
- Planned conversion: 400 camps → schools, hospitals, forest produce centres in Bastar