Bhubaneswar, February 23 Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said on Monday that there has been a gradual improvement in the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) situation in the state, and around 40 Maoists are now active in six districts.
Majhi, who is also in charge of the home department, said this while replying to a written question by BJD MLA Dhruba Charan Sahoo.
Noting that the state government was working towards ending the LWE across Odisha by March 31, 2026, he said, "There has been a gradual improvement in the LWE situation in the state, and around 40 Maoists operate in splinter groups across six districts."
The Maoists are primarily operating in parts of Kalahandi, Rayagada, Kandhamal, Boudh, Bolangir, and Bargarh districts.
The chief minister said that only the Kandhamal district in Odisha features in the "Other LWE Affected District" category under the Centre's Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme. The SRE classifies districts based on the level of LWE impact.
Apart from this, Majhi said that eight other districts previously getting a place under the SRE due to high incidents of Naxal activities have now been downgraded to the less severe "Legacy & Thrust" category. These districts were Malkangiri, Koraput, Nuapada, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Rayagada, Boudh, and Bolangir.
Outside the Assembly, Additional Director General (Anti-Naxal Operation) Sanjeeb Panda said that the Odisha Police presently focuses on Kandhamal district, which comes under "Other LWE Affected District".
He said that two Maoists, including an Area Committee Member (ACM), were gunned down in Kandhamal during an encounter on Sunday.
Panda also said that the state police have prepared a blueprint to completely end the LWE from Odisha in alignment with the Centre's deadline of making the country "Maoist-free" by the end of March 2026.
To achieve the goal of making Odisha "Maoist Free", the state government has engaged nearly 7,000 central forces belonging to CRPF & BSF, 44 teams of Odisha's elite-Special Operation Group (SOG), 839 District Voluntary Force (DVF), 49 platoons (1 platoon comprises 30 personnel) of India Reserve Battalion (IRB), 29 platoons of Special Security Battalion and 92 platoons of Odisha Special Striking Force, Majhi said.
The chief minister said apart from vigorously going for anti-Naxal operations, the state government has also prepared a sub-division level action plan and will take steps to completely deactivate supply chains to Maoists taking shelter in jungles.
While the security personnel were using drones, interceptors and other technologies to eliminate the LWE menace, the police have intensified intelligence gathering and area domination operations in LWE-hit areas, he said.
The chief minister also informed the Assembly that earlier this month, the state government had revised its surrender and rehabilitation scheme for Maoists, restricting benefits exclusively to those active within Odisha or state natives. The scheme offers an attractive reward package, 10 per cent higher than that of neighbouring Chhattisgarh.
Following the revision of the scheme in November last year, 45 Maoists have surrendered in the state. The LWE is now limited to the tri-junction area of Kalahandi, Kandhamal, and Rayagada districts. Some small groups also operate in Gandhamardan Hills area covering Borgarh and Bolangir districts, the ADG said.
Following appeals by the state government, a number of red rebels have surrendered. However, some leaders, including CPI (Maoist) state committee member Sukru, still hide in dense forests of Kandhamal district, an official said.