Maharashtra government now focused on wiping out Maoism

Villagers in Gadchiroli say the situation on the ground is far from what is projected by the government. Pic/Suresh Karkera

Taking serious cognisance of the recent Maoist attack in Gadchiroli where 16 people died, 15 of whom were QRT commandos, the state government is in the process of planning measures to wipe out the Maoist movement from Maharashtra.

According to highly-placed sources within the state government, a detailed discussion on the issue took place between Chief Minister Devendra Fadanavis, State MOS (Home) Deepak Kesarkar and State Director General of Police Subodh Jaiswal in the chopper en route to Mumbai after paying their last respects to the brave jawans. Confirming the development, Kesarkar said, "We discussed all aspects pertaining to the district. We will wait for the election code of conduct to end before taking the required steps, as discussed and agreed upon by the chief minister."

All help will be given

He added, "Our forces [police] have been doing a fabulous job in Gadchiroli and have been successful in keeping the Maoists on their toes. We will be taking the required steps to ensure that the morale of our police force always remains high and provide them with all the required support and assistance to uproot Maoists from the state," said the minister.

Tribal welfare, too, was discussed at the meeting, wherein the modalities will be decided to ensure that benefits and various tribal welfare schemes announced by the state government reach the end users, a large number who continue to stay in the deep forest areas. "The police force is already assisting the state administration to penetrate deep into the forests, which other departments are not able to do even today. We will be using police networking to ensure the benefits reach them," the minister said.

"The success of the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act has been very popular and successful, where the tribals are made owners of the bamboo and tendu leaves cultivated in the forest. They can decide and sell their products directly in the market. The Maoists did not have any problem when PESA was used as it was for the larger benefit of the tribals," the minister added.

However, locals in Gadchiroli say the reality is very different. "The state government is making announcements to divert public attention from the core issues that tribal people face today," said Dr Rameshkumar Gajabe of Bahujan Janta Party, Gadchiroli. Dr Gajabe has been very vocal and outspoken on his views.

Gajabe said, "While PESA has been introduced in the larger interest of tribal welfare, especially those staying in the forest areas of Gadchiroli, which is a good move, the government has not thought about the non-tribal communities living on the forest periphery. By not considering these people's requirements, the government has created a rift and unrest, thereby causing inequality between tribes and non-tribes living inside the forest."

Gajabe cited an example, "We have around 25,000 Oraon tribes, originally from Orissa, who migrated to the borders of south east Chhattisgarh and Gadchiroli. This community comes under the Schedule Tribe category, but the state government had intimated the court that they do not have any such tribe in Maharashtra. So, these tribes are deprived of their identity, and hence there is a lot of anguish among these tribes."

More needed to tackle Maoism

When asked how the state government can tackle Maoism in Maharashtra, Gajabe said, "Maoism will not be eliminated with welfare schemes being announced on one side. The need of the hour is to bring in universal policies, which will bring in equality and uniformity in the forest areas and the red corridor. Till such discrepancies continue, Maoism will continue."

Another way to tackle Maoism is to stop the large-scale quarrying work happening even today in deep forests areas, which is against Supreme Court's directives. Also, there is large-scale deforestation happening in Gadchiroli.

About the May 1 attack, Gajabe feels that this is more of a revenge and expression of their displeasure about the happenings in and around Maoist dominated areas of Ettapalli, Bamrahagad, Ahire, etc, where tribals continue to suffer, with no or very little administrative support.

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