Chidambaram at the secretariat in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 9: Union home minister P. Chidambaram and chief minister Naveen Patnaik today appeared to lock horns over the issue of Maoist violence in the state making mutually contradictory claims.

While Chidambaram asked the state to pull up its socks as rebel violence had reached an unacceptably high level, the chief minister asserted that the number of casualties in such incidents had actually dropped because of his government’s proactive action.

“We are vigilant and alert. The number of causalities is less compared to the last year’s,” said Naveen, adding that the Centre and other states of the country should learn from Orissa.

He was reacting to Chidambaram’s statement that the scale of Maoist violence in the state remained high despite scaled up central assistance.

“There is a deployment of about 10,000 central paramilitary forces in the state. However, the Maoists violence is still high in Orissa,” said Chidambaram following a meeting with Naveen.

“The number of casualties of civilians and security forces stood at 48 by the end of October. By the end of the year, it may go a little beyond 50. This is unacceptably high,” the home minister said looking concerned.

Urging the state to act tough to contain Maoist violence, Chidambaram said: “Effectively we have inducted about 10,000 more central armed constables and officers in the state. I have impressed upon the state administration the need to show results. The level of violence is still high and unacceptable.”

Stating that there had been a periodic review of the areas affected by the left wing extremist, Chidamabaram said nearly 60 police stations in the state were affected by rebel activities. “Four years ago, we had only four battalions of central armed police in the state. Today, their number is 13 battalions apart from one battalion of Cobra (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action),” he said.

In 2010, the state reported 130 incidents of Maoist violence in which, 53 civilians and 22 security personnel were killed. In 2009, 61 people, including 33 security personnel, were killed in such incidents.

Hoping that the edge of the Maoists will be blunted in the state, Chidambaram said: “Orissa should learn from the Centre’s experience in other states. I have dealt with their problems. Now, Orissa should learn a little more from other states and the Centre. The administration and the police should gain mastery over the situation. There is a progress, but there is scope for more progress.”

However, Naveen countered him saying: “We are vigilant and alert. The number of causalities is less compared to the last year’s incident.”

Naveen also said: “The Centre and other states should learn from Orissa. However, we are very open to learn from others, if it is beneficial to the people of the state.”

He also briefed Chidambaram about the utilisation of development funds coming under various sectors for the Maoist-affected areas. The Centre has earmarked Rs 525 crore to take up development works in the Maoist-hit areas.

However, the state has so far been able to spend only 58 per cent of the total amount. The Union minister reportedly asked the state to spend the entire allocated money by the end of March 2012.

The state officials also informed the Union minister that the government was planning to open nearly 150 primary and upper primary schools and appoint nearly 7,000 teachers in the Maoist-hit areas for the improvement of education.

However, the state and the Centre were unable work out a way to begin construction of the Gurupriya bridge in the Maoist-hit Malkangiri district that connects Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Chhattisgarh.

“No contractor has come forward to build the bridge. We are still trying to find out someone who will build it,” said a senior official.

The state government also demanded inclusion of more districts under the security related expenditure scheme and the integrated action plan.