IPS Aaditya Mishra’s Policing Model in Naxal-Affected Balaghat(MP): “If people cannot reach administration, the administration will reach them.”

IPS Aaditya Mishra is a 2018 Batch officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre and is currently posted as Superintendent of Police in Balaghat, one of India’s most Naxal-affected districts. His mission is to empower tribal and marginalised communities by bringing welfare rights and development to their doorstep.His approach is simple yet transformative replacing fear with access, ensuring every villager receives their rights with dignity.

At the heart of this effort is Ekal Suvidha Kendra (Single Facility Centre) initiative,a one stop solution for all basic government services. Whether they need certificates or help with welfare schemes, everything is available in one place.Under this initiative 46 police stations, outposts and security camps in the Naxal-affected areas of Baihar, Lanji and Paraswada have been turned into community service centres that provide support and essential facilities.

Ekal Suvidha Kendra work conceptualised by understanding and realising the problem that people in the tribal areas often are unable to access their legal rights because of the documentation process.  Understanding one of the most important issues that the tribals face is non-recognition of their property and land rites especially under the Forest Rights Act.  He explained “This is primarily because the procedure for granting the property rights certificate known as pattas and the legal process is difficult and challenging.  The local tribal population is neither able to fill the forms without errors nor able to pursue it in an online ecosystem.” Here comes the role of the Ekal Suvidha Mitra’s primary responsibility lies in filling these online application forms in an error free manner then pursuing it with the village forest committees and then at the sub divisional level committees. This has increased the percentage of acceptance of these applications from meager 10% to approximately 45%.

Till date more than 4152 applications have been made online and the procedure for granting of these property rights is underway. This strikes at the very ideological framework of naxalites who claim that often property rights are not granted to tribal populations because the government wants to uproot them and hence Ekal Suvidha Kendra are striking at the very root of this narrative and giving an effective counter narrative to the same.

Based on the philosophy “If people cannot reach the administration,the administration will reach them.”

The impact has been significant.

 3,222 Forest Rights claims have been filed.

 1,340 caste certificates and 364 residence certificates have been issued.

Over 700 Aadhaar and 50 Samagra ID updates have been completed.

The Kendras go beyond paperwork.Realising that healthcare is another major gap in remote areas,Balaghat Police has organised medical camps offering free check-ups, medicines, and even transportation for further treatment.These camps have provided 600 malaria tests, 125 eye examinations leading to 43 cataract surgeries and 1,500 general healthcheck-ups delivering relief to communities that rarely receive medical support.

Apart from this, Ekal Suvidha Rozgaar Melas are an added asset, a first-of-its-kind employment fair for unskilled youth in Naxal-affected villages. Under this more than 300 young people from these areas have already received job offers. The focus has been on school dropouts, many of whom had to discontinue education due to difficult family circumstances and were unable to access suitable employment opportunities.

“With special skill programmes with the help of private players including companies like Larsen and Toubro, Reliance, Adani Foundation Voltas, CII  Configuration of Indian Industries and FIMI federation of Indian Mining Industries we have been able to link these youth to private sector employment opportunities. The biggest satisfactory parties that female candidates have also been part of these Rozgar Melas and have successfully been linked to such opportunities” he shared 

The Ekal Suvidha model is setting a new benchmark for community policing by directly tackling the roots of Naxalism. Mishra’s initiative demonstrates a new era of policing that goes beyond enforcement to become tool for inclusion ,peace, development and lasting positive change.