The Saranda Development Plan (SDP) was mounted after security successes against the Maoists in the monsoon of 2011. The state wanted to quickly consolidate its hold in the area and 13 new paramilitary camps of the central reserve police force (CRPF), the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) apart from the state police and Jharkhand Jaguars (trained in jungle patrolling) were proposed.

But one year on, only six such camps have come up at different locations in Saranda division of the forest.

So, after the launch of a new combing mission, Operation Anaconda 2, Governance Now caught up with inspector-general (operations) of the state police, SN Pradhan, to get a security perspective on the Saranda Development Plan.

One of the first things that Pradhan mentioned was the state police’s unease with the claim that ultra-Left rebels had been cleared out of the region. “Of course, there is no lingering presence of the Maoists in Saranda division. Their hold has dealt a debilitating blow since last year’s operations,” he said. “But we need more forces in Saranda to entirely secure the region. We haven’t been able to do so because a chunk of the state police is now engaged at the border with Bihar because of an ongoing operation.

“In a few days, we will be able to deploy some of them in Saranda. Besides, the set-up in Saranda needs more central police personnel. We have asked the Centre for that.”

On the incident in Ushariya, where Maoists torched machinery involved in road construction work under SDP on November 26, and the timing of the launch of Operation Anaconda-2 (on December 7-8), the senior officer said the launch had been planned for earlier. “We were to start on November 16. It might seem like this is on the heels of the Ushariya incident but we couldn’t launch it then because we didn’t have adequate forces, considering the major force commitments we had,” he said.

“But, yes, after the Ushariya incident we knew there was no holding back the launch.”

After Operation Anaconda last monsoon, two of the six camps were built in Digha, one of the most affected panchayats in the region experiencing Maoist insurgency. However, according to the police, “technical” issues have held up setting up rest of the camps.

“Initially, the Police Housing Corporation was to undertake the work. But given the terrain of Saranda, sanctioning powers for the use of funds may be given to the SP (superintendent of police), West Singhbhum (the Jharkhand district where most of Saranda is),” Pradhan said. “But by March, at least six new camps should have come up.”

One of the first things one notices about the region is that while Saranda division is the concentration of security forces, the northern swathe, Porahat, located within a few kilometers, is very similar in terrain and cover. Thus, the Maoists have used Porahat as an easy getaway and hideout.

To this, Pradhan said, “We have intelligence that the Maoists are doing their groundwork for regrouping. We have forces combing Porahat but need to beef it up with more (personnel).”

He said the state police have requested for deployment of some companies of central forces to tackle the situation.

Asked if there were specific areas of concern from the security point of view as far as implementation of the Saranda Development Plan was concerned, he said, “The Tirilposi-Bitkilsoya axes are a bit of a concern as these are accessible corridors for getting into Saranda. We need to cut off these areas to the Maoists,” the I-G said. “Apart from that, we have asked all civilians involved in infrastructure projects in the region to be heedful of the security instructions. But there have been violations. These need to be checked.”