Odisha CM Writes To PM On Waiver Of Charges For Central Forces

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has requested the Centre for waiving the charges for deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to combat Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in Odisha.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the chief minister said Left Wing Extremism is a national issue and a grave internal security threat to the integrity of the nation. This major challenge has to be addressed by both Central and state governments. Besides, Odisha government has been proactive in spending from its scanty resources in creating and deploying security forces despite its tight fiscal
situation, he added.

“Around 15 battalions of State Police have been raised, specifically to combat LWE. 30,000 posts in the police cadre have also been created including armed formations along with specialised training centres and other logistic facilities for their
deployment,” he said.

Naveen said he had requested the Home Ministry to reconsider the decision of
charging Odisha for deployment of Central forces in 2015. In response, the then Union Home Minister had intimated that there had been no change in the extant policy of the government as approved earlier by the Cabinet Committee on Security. All states except a few Special Category States are required to bear full charges for deployment of CAPFs.

Stating that LWE is an issue of joint responsibility, and the state government is doing its lot to combat the menace, the chief minister requested the Prime Minister to kindly reconsider the matter and direct the Ministry of Home Affairs to waive the amount
that has been charged towards deployment of Central cores in Odisha.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has charged of Rs 4561.23 crore towards deployment of CAPFs upto October 1.