New Delhi, Aug. 6: As the People’s War Group ceasefire in Andhra Pradesh gets a semblance of durability, the Centre has advised the state to move into Naxalite-infested areas to rebuild structures of civil governance.

The idea is to let people living in the interiors experience the benefits of peace. If the plan works as well on the ground as it looks on paper, the Centre expects the goodwill of the people living in backward districts to prevent Naxalites from leaving the negotiating table.

As a matter of strategy, one of the first things that the PWG does in a new area is to force the structures of governance into retreat to paralyse the government machinery. This way, they attain and retain unquestioned sway over such regions.

Once this is done, they feed on the grievances of the people who hold the government responsible for their continued deprivation.

Union home ministry officials suggested this would be a good time to break the vicious cycle as the government machinery would finally be able to re-enter PWG-controlled areas and deliver basic facilities to the people.

The Naxalite outfit has a presence — either negligible or formidable — in all of Andhra’s 23 districts. Home ministry estimates put the total number of “hardcore fighters” in the PWG around 2,500.

The ministry believes if negotiations between the state government and the PWG prove to be as “pathbreaking” as expected, “other states were expected to emulate Andhra”.

At a meeting here yesterday of the coordination committee of police officers and administrators of nine Naxalite-hit states, Andhra police chief S.R. Sukumar gave a detailed presentation on the state’s experience with the PWG peace initiative.