In a bid to crack down on terror networks and curb increasing Naxal violence through a co-ordinated nationwide onslaught, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has decided to aggressively push for the concept of a federal investigative agency with chief ministers of all states at a day long meeting this week.

The meeting gains significance in the backdrop of the major jailbreak in Dantewada in Chhattisgarh, where over a hundred Naxals along with two hundred other prisoners escaped on Sunday. The meeting on December 20, which will be attended by home minister Shivraj Patil, national security advisor MK Narayanan, heads of paramilitary forces and other security and intelligence agencies, will strive to find ways to strengthen intelligence gathering mechanism at all levels including international, national and at grass roots levels.

The Centre has been crying itself hoarse over the need for evolving a better mechanism for sharing intelligence inputs between states and central agencies. However, states are wary as they fear that it would encroach on their powers on tackling law and order, which is a state subject.

The government is also concerned that incidents of terrorist attacks, especially serial blasts, trigger blame game between the political leadership of the states and the Centre, which also lead to confusion among investigating authorities. For instance, after the multiple blasts in three different cities of Uttar Pradesh, chief minister Mayawati blamed the Centre for not alerting her government with intelligence inputs, which the Union home ministry later rejected.

Keeping all these in mind, the Centre through the PM is expected to vigorously argue and try to convince the CMs to agree for setting up a special central investigative agency to probe terror-related incidents, sources said.

Among other things, the meeting will also look into aspects like filling vacancies in police forces, particularly in special branches, by state governments, as it was essential for strengthening the intelligence network at the grass root level.

The Centre may also ask state governments to consider providing special incentives to policemen working with the special branches. States would also be encouraged to raise special forces with separate cadre for the purpose, sources said.

The meeting would review the current strategy to deal with Maoists movements in states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal and is expected to re-emphasise better utilization of resources meant for socio-economic development in the affected areas.