25 new CRPF 'Forward Operating Bases' in Naxal-hit states by 2022

By Rajnish Singh
New Delhi [India], November 10 : To scale up the anti-Naxal operations, the Centre has expedited a plan to set up 25 new 'Forward Operating Bases' under the command of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in naxal-affected states by 2022.
These new establishments will help the CRPF to penetrate better in the deeply forested areas affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE) or Naxals to improve road connectivity and facilitate other Centre's schemes in nearly four dozen districts in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana states which have been facing the menace for decades.
The move to set up maximum 'Forward Operating Bases' is part of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) target to root out the decade-old Maoist issue.
Of the 25 'Forward Operating Bases', 10 will be established in Chhattisgarh, seven in Maharashtra, six in Jharkhand, and one each in Odisha and Telangana, an officer in the force told ANI.
With the establishment of these 'Forward Operating Bases', the number of such structures will increase to 56 from 2020 to 2022.
"We have established 31 Forward Operating Bases in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) or Naxal-hit areas since 2020 and a total of 25 new similar structures will be established in coming years by the end of 2022," said the officer, requesting anonymity.
"It's almost a five-year-old scheme on which we are working," the officer added.
The 'Forward Operating Bases' are the places from where troops move around in the field as per the operational schedule and return back there to take rest. These 'Forward Operating Bases' are mostly built in pucca structures with the capacity to occupy more than two companies.
On many occasions, another officer said, other security forces like state police forces are provided logistic support in these 'Forward Operating Bases'.
Another officer in the CRPF said 13 'Forward Operating Bases' have been established this year so far since February. Six of them were established in Chhatisgarh, three in Jharkhand, two in Odisha, and one each in Maharashtra and Telangana.
The places where these 'Forward Operating Bases' were established include Tarem, Elarmadgu, Badekarka and Galgam areas in Chhattisgarh and other regions among all like Dharmavaram, Mokur and Chindnar in other states.
In 2020, a total of 18 'Forward Operating Bases' were set up. Of them, 10 were established in Jharkhand and, four each in Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
Meanwhile, the officer said, these 'Forward Operating Bases' helped the security forces to conduct various operations and a total of 13 Maoists were killed, 603 were apprehended and 486 surrendered so far since January 1 this year.