Bhubaneswar, June 18: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today underscored the need for expediting work to introduce the commissionerate police system in Rourkela, Berhampur and Sambalpur. He also called upon police and administrative officials to work towards bringing Maoists into the mainstream.

The chief minister was addressing a joint conference of collectors and district superintendents of police (SPs) at the state secretariat here.

Pointing out that Maoist violence in the state was on the decline, Naveen said it was important to bring the rebels and their supporters into the mainstream. He also called upon collectors and SPs to ensure that Maoists laying down arms get the advantage of the government's compensation package.

The chief minister also focussed on the need to ensure that both civil and police administration catered to the requirements of the common people and gave them a sense of security. He said efforts should be made to ensure complete transparency while resolving the problems of people. Offenders, however powerful, should be brought to book.

Naveen wanted officials to work hard towards curbing crimes against the weaker sections of society and women and called for improvement in the standards of investigation. He advised collectors and SPs to regularly review the performance of public prosecutors.

The chief minister had a word of praise for the police for its role in containing the activities of transport and tender mafia. However, he asked police officers to work harder and ensure that the threat posed by this mafia was completely eliminated.

He advised officials to keep a sharp eye on the activities of sham money deposit companies that are fleecing innocent depositors and also made a reference to the new law enacted by the state government for protecting the interests of depositors.

He said the police should keep a close watch on such companies and act against them whenever and wherever violations were detected.

The conference, which was attended among others by the chief secretary, development commissioner and director general of police, assumes significance in view of the panchayat elections to be held early next year. The rural polls will be a major test of popularity for major political parties ahead of the 2019 elections.

Sources said the chief minister was keen to project a pro-people image of his government ahead of the panchayat polls to counter the threat being posed by the two major Opposition parties - BJP and Congress - which have been campaigning against his government. Both these parties have been holding demonstrations and rallies all over the state accusing the state government of failing in all spheres. These parties, specially the BJP, is preparing in a big way for the panchayat polls, which was the focal point of discussion at the party's two-day state executive meet that began in Sundergarh today.