The Armed Forces Special Powers Act has been completely revoked from Meghalaya and has been diluted in some regions of Arunachal Pradesh – from 16 police stations, AFSPA will now be applicable to only 8 police stations in the state, the Indian Express reported.
About 40 percent of Meghalaya was under AFSPA till September 2017 but after reviews in consultations with the state government, AFSPA has been completely removed in Meghalaya, a Ministry of Home Affairs statement said.
The Home Ministry also increased the surrender-cum-rehabilitation policy for militants in the Northeast to Rs 4 lakh from the previous 1 lakh.
The restricted area permit and the protected area permit for foreigners in Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland have also been relaxed.
In the last four years, there has been a 63 percent drop in insurgency-related events and an 83 percent drop in civilian deaths in the region in 2017, the Indian Express quoted the Home Ministry statement as saying.
The Home Ministry has also said in March 2018 that deployment of 10 reserve battalion has been sanctioned for the Northeast to replace the central forces in the region.
(With inputs from The Indian Express.)
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