The Centre and the naxal-affected states on Monday decided to set up inter-state Joint Task Forces to launch co-ordinated and synergised anti-naxalite operations.

A meeting of the chief ministers of naxalite-hit states also agreed to adopt a collective approach and pursue a coordinated response to effectively combat the menace, Home Minister Shivraj Patil told reporters after a day-long meeting.

He said the states will also take concrete steps to raise India Reserve Battalions and prepare action plans to combat naxalism on both security and developmental aspects in a time-bound manner.

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Giving details of the deliberations, Patil said the states will appoint nodal officers to deal with naxalite-related issues and to have better co-ordination among themselves and with the Centre.

A Special Group will be constituted in every state to set up effective administrative structure at the state and district levels for better governance and the states also agreed that funds being released by the Centre under police modernisation and other developmantal schemes would be made avilable in full to the state home department.

The Centre has revised police modernisation scheme with an annual outlay of Rs 1645 crore from the current year onwards, he said. With state's matching contribution, it will be Rs 2000 crore every year and under the revised scheme, all states would receive 75 per cent central funding, except Jammu and Kashmir [Images] and Northeastern states, where it was hundred percent, Patil said.

Patil said a special component of Rs 2 crore per naxal-affected district under revised scheme would, however, be funded by the central government on 100 percent basis. Besides Patil, the Centre was represented by Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal, Union Home Secretary V K Duggal, Central Reserve Police Force Deputy General J K Sinha and senior officials of the Home Ministry.