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By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 11:29:11 am

Gadchiroli SP declares Maoist menace ‘almost over’

Mumbai: In a resounding statement signalling a historic shift, Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police (SP) Neelotpal has declared the district, once the dark heart of the ‘Red Corridor,’ is on the verge of becoming completely free of the Naxal menace. The SP expressed absolute confidence in the complete eradication of the banned CPI (Maoist) presence, noting that the remaining cadres have dwindled to a mere handful. “There has been a sea change in the situation,” SP Neelotpal stated,...

Gadchiroli SP declares Maoist menace ‘almost over’

Mumbai: In a resounding statement signalling a historic shift, Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police (SP) Neelotpal has declared the district, once the dark heart of the ‘Red Corridor,’ is on the verge of becoming completely free of the Naxal menace. The SP expressed absolute confidence in the complete eradication of the banned CPI (Maoist) presence, noting that the remaining cadres have dwindled to a mere handful. “There has been a sea change in the situation,” SP Neelotpal stated, highlighting the dramatic turnaround. He revealed that from approximately 100 Maoist cadres on record in January 2024, the number has plummeted to barely 10 individuals whose movements are now confined to a very small pocket of the Bhamragad sub-division in South Gadchiroli, near the Chhattisgarh border. “North Gadchiroli is now free of Maoism. The Maoists have to surrender and join the mainstream or face police action... there is no other option.” The SP attributes this success to a meticulously executed multi-pronged strategy encompassing intensified anti-Maoist operations, a robust Civic Action Programme, and the effective utilisation of Maharashtra’s attractive surrender-cum-rehabilitation policy. The Gadchiroli Police, especially the elite C-60 commandos, have achieved significant operational milestones. In the last three years alone, they have neutralised 43 hardcore Maoists and achieved a 100 per cent success rate in operations without police casualties for nearly five years. SP Neelotpal highlighted that the security forces have aggressively moved to close the “security vacuum,” which was once an estimated 3,000 square kilometres of unpoliced territory used by Maoists for training and transit. The establishment of eight new police camps/Forward Operating Bases (FoBs) since January 2023, including in the remote Abujhmad foothills, has been crucial in securing these areas permanently. Winning Hearts, Minds The Civic Action Programme has been deemed a “game changer” by the SP. Through schemes like ‘Police Dadalora Khidaki’ and ‘Project Udaan’, the police have transformed remote outposts into service delivery centres, providing essential government services and employment opportunities. This sustained outreach has successfully countered Maoist propaganda and, most critically, resulted in zero Maoist recruitment from Gadchiroli for the last few years. Surrender Wave The state’s progressive rehabilitation policy has seen a massive influx of surrenders. “One sentiment is common among all the surrendered cadres: that the movement has ended, it has lost public support, and without public support, no movement can sustain,” the SP noted. The surrender of key figures, notably that of Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias ‘Bhupathi,’ a CPI (Maoist) Politburo member, and his wife Sangeeta, was a “landmark development” that triggered a surrender wave. Since June 2024, over 126 Maoists have surrendered. The rehabilitation program offers land, housing under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, and employment. Surrendered cadres are receiving skill training and are successfully transitioning into normal life, with around 70 already employed in the local Lloyds plant. A District Reborn The transformation of Gadchiroli is now moving beyond security concerns. With the decline of extremism, the district is rapidly moving towards development and normalcy. The implementation of development schemes, round-the-clock electricity, water supply, mobile towers, and new infrastructure like roads and bridges is being given top priority. He concludes that the police’s focus is now shifting from an anti-Maoist offensive to routine law-and-order policing, addressing new challenges like industrialisation, theft, and traffic management. With the Maoist movement in “complete disarray” and major strongholds like the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh (MMC) Special Zone collapsing, the SP is highly optimistic. Gadchiroli is not just getting rid of the Naxal menace; it is embracing its future as a developing, peaceful district, well on track to meet the central government’s goal of eradicating Naxalism by March 31, 2026.

The PDS Puzzle

Updated: Nov 7, 2024

PDS Puzzle

The Public Distribution System (PDS) in Maharashtra provides food security needs to the citizens of the state by making sure the essential commodities are available at a subsidized price. The PDS has been criticised for its failure to serve the poorer sections of the population effectively. The targeted PDS is meant for extricating the poor from the clutches of hunger however, looking at the present status the system is giving rise to the corruption depriving the needy.


The Public Distribution system (PDS) includes procurement, storage, transportation and distribution of food grains at subsidised prices to implement National Food security Act. The department of food, civil supplies and consumer protection of the government of Maharashtra are responsible for the implementation of the Public Distribution System in the state. But truly speaking due to rampant corruption the entire system itself landed in doldrums. The PDS is in danger of being totally derailed not only in Maharashtra but several States across the country. Recent disruptions of the PDS have taken different forms, from compulsory biometric authentication to so-called direct benefit transfer (DBT). The consequences are alarming, marching towards starvation but tend to go unreported.


Major obstacles in this system are the leakages, in other words theft of the food grains. This particular aspect remained unacceptably high starting from 30 percent to around 50 percent leakage. Significantly, the government has claimed that there is strong evidence of declining leakages in recent times due to the state having undertaken serious PDS reforms. There might be some decline in the leakages as the government says, but the fact remains that supply of food grains is still interrupted in most of the parts especially in rural areas. The officials have pointed finger towards the APL quota as the biggest source of continuing leakages.


The PDS has been one of the main policy instruments of the government of India to provide food security to the people of this country, especially the vulnerable ones. The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, also relies heavily on it to deliver even more grain at highly subsidized prices to 67 percent of the population. But the existing PDS system has been highly “leaky”, with large amounts of grains (40 to 50 percent) being pilfered and diverted to the open market. Also, the existing PDS delivers better in a very small vicinity of the state. At the same time those where there is concentration of poor, raising issues of equity PDS delivery is worst. The percent share of total leakage increased with states where greater percent of India’s poor resided.


The implementation of the National Food Security Act is an important opportunity to phase out this leaky quota and complete the process of PDS reform across the country. It plays an important role in ensuring food security, alleviation of poverty and fulfilling the nourishment needs of the population. Over the years, the Public Distribution System has become an important part of the government in outlining the state policies for the management and food security of the country.

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