New Delhi

Close coordination between Central and state forces fighting Naxals, construction of rural infrastructure in Maoist-hit areas are among the host of issues discussed threadbare at a high-level meeting held here today.

The meeting, chaired by Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary and attended by newly-appointed Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi besides others, discussed how to enhance cooperation among police forces of naxal affected states and central paramilitary forces tackling the Maoists.

A number of suggestions were given for implementation on the ground for better results, a senior official said.

The meeting was also attended by top civil and police officials of five Naxal-hit states — Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar and Maharashtra.

Apart from operational issues, the Minister took stock of certain developmental issues such as roads, mobile towers and infrastructure in central paramilitary centres were reviewed, an official release said.

Chaudhary asked the Directors General of central forces to adhere to the time-lines for appropriate utilisation of budget available with them.

PTI