New Delhi, Feb. 9: Amid reports of the establishment gaining an edge over Maoists in central India, Chhattisgarh's Bastar area will be the axis for a two-pronged strategy over the next four months to counter the rebels, namely, security operations and development.

Today, Union home minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting of four Naxalite-infested states of Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, Telangana, and Odisha, all three of which share borders with the Bastar region.

Directors-general of police of all four states and senior state government officials hammered out a plan of action that would focus on development of the region - Bastar and its neighbouring areas in the adjoining states - by speeding up work on new roads, bridges and railway lines, and setting up mobile towers, post offices and banking infrastructure.

Rajnath's review was based on recommendations made by a panel headed by senior security adviser to the home ministry K.Vijay Kumar that suggested such an approach in Bastar's Sukma, Dantewada and Bijapur districts.

Alongside the development initiatives, security operations would be conducted along interstate borders with Bastar, especially near Sukma, bordering Malkangiri district of Odisha, where Congress leaders were ambushed last year.

"After Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda's arrest last year, a second-in-command has been arrested and cadres have been virtually decimated. What is needed is more coordination along the border," a senior Odisha police officer said, adding that CRPF would play a pivotal role in the anti-Naxalite operations along the inter-state borders.

A push for operations along with critical development work before the monsoon would mean a lot of boots on the ground for the CRPF over the next few weeks. Former SPG chief Durga Prasad Kode has taken over as special DG, while DG Prakash Mishra will continue to strategise efforts for the CRPF.

At North Block, while chief ministers and DGPs interacted with each other on security issues, they were also able to discuss the development agenda with several Union ministers, namely, Nitin Gadkari, (road transport & highways), Ravi Shankar Prasad (communications & information technology), Smriti Irani (HRD), Suresh Prabhu (railways) and junior ministers Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary (home affairs) and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (I&B).

Today's was the first such meeting for Union home secretary L.C. Goyal who took charge last week.

After the meeting, Chhattsigarh chief minister Raman Singh asked for 10 extra battalions for Bastar, of which four had already been stationed.

"Six will be given and we have asked the government that Doordarshan and radio coverage should be beyond Jagdalpur, the last major town north of Dantewada," he said.

He also spoke of the need to have more schools with residential facilities.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis highlighted several requirements of Gadchiroli that borders Bijapur district in Dandakaranya, specifically mentioning pending roads of about 150km and the Indrawati bridge sanctioned in January last year.