Bhubaneswar, May 8: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today urged the Centre to provide Odisha two more battalions of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) for deployment in the state's Maoist-affected areas.

Naveen raised the demand at a meeting of the chief ministers of Maoist-affected states held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Union home minister Rajnath Singh. The meeting was called to evolve an effective strategy to combat the growing menace of Maoist violence in the wake of the April 25 rebel attack in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district that killed 24 CRPF jawans.

Talking to reporters following the Delhi meeting, Naveen said: "I sought two more battalions of the CAPF to be able to launch effective counter-measures against the extremists."

Odisha also demanded inclusion of Angul, Boudh and Sonepur in the list of Maoist violence-hit districts and Kalahandi in the category of "affected" districts.

Underscoring the need for better connectivity in the areas of Maoist activities, the chief minister called upon the Centre to replace the existing mobile phone towers in these areas with trans-receiver units that have higher bandwidth. He also demanded more mobile towers to be located in the areas where they do not exist.

While Naveen pleaded for the releases of adequate funds for completion of the Malkangiri-Jeypore and Jeypore-Nabarangpur railway tracks passing through the Maoist belt, he also demanded that the Jeypore airstrip be developed into a full-fledged airport both for passengers and anti-Maoist logistic operations.

The chief minister also took up with the central leaders the issue of early completion of the Gurupriya bridge coming up in the Maoist-dominated Malkangiri district. Naveen sought the release of the balance Rs 142.25 crore for the project by the Centre.

Naveen also reiterated Odisha's demand for the Centre to pick up the bill for maintenance of the central forces deployed in the state's Maoist-affected areas. He said the Union government should not claim reimbursement of expenditure on the CAPF as Maoist violence was a national security threat and the states were already investing heavily from their meagre resources to contain the menace.

The reimbursement of expenditure on the maintenance of central forces in the state has been a subject of much debate with the Centre and the state taking diametrically opposite stands.

While the Centre continues to insist on the state picking up the tab in this regard, Odisha maintains that it is the Union government's responsibility. The Odisha government has been raising the issue with the Centre on all possible forums.