The Maoist have said they will step up their guerilla war into a mobile war and guerilla zones into base areas in India.

"It was decided at the high level meet of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist to set up base areas," a top CPI-Maoist leader told rediff.com on Tuesday.

The Maoist leader said that this decision was one of the several resolutions adopted at the historic 9^th Unity Congress of the outfit, held after 36 years in the deep forests of the Bihar-Jharkhand and Chattisgarh border. Over 100 Maoist leaders from 16 states attended the meet.

'The setting up of base areas will be the immediate, basic and central task,' CPI-Maoist general secretary Ganapathi said in a statement.

The outfit also added that the People's Liberation Guerilla Army into the People's Liberation Army. "The Unity Congress has resolved to advance the people's war throughout India by strengthening the people's army and by increasing the party's mass base through launching militant mass movement against neo-liberal policies of globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation" the Maoist release said.

According to the Maoist leader, the outfit also adopted a resolution against SEZs and displacement.

The central government's latest report admits that the Maoist are active in 15 states and control nearly 165 of India's 602 districts in the country.