New Delhi, Nov 30 (IANS) The internal security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the northeast, and in the Maoist-affected areas has "improved", Home Minister Shivraj Patil told parliament Thursday, even as he maintained it would "become better".

At the same time, Patil said in the Rajya Sabha that the government was alive to new threats posed by biological, chemical and radiological terrorism and that it was taking steps to nip these in the bud.

Replying to a short duration discussion on the internal security situation, he maintained that existing laws to contain terrorism were adequate, the government was open to modifying statues like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act to make them more "humane".

Noting that 99 percent of Indians favoured peace, he also cautioned against labelling a particular community due to the "misguided actions of a few".

Holding that both communities were committing terrorist acts, Patil complemented the people and the media for behaving "responsibly" to ensure the situation did not spin out of control and to maintain communal harmony.

The minister also pointed to the government's efforts to speed up economic development in Kashmir, the northeast and in the Maoist affected belt to improve the lot of the people.

Patil's statement came on a day when Maharashtra erupted in flames as thousands of Dalits went on the rampage, burning two trains and attacking public and private transport to protest the desecration of a statue of Dalit icon B.R. Ambedkar. Police firing claimed two lives in Nashik.

Dealing with specific states, he maintained that the situation in Kashmir had "improved in some areas to the extent of 40 percent, while some parts like Ladakh are completely peaceful.

In the northeast, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim were "peaceful" while the situation in Meghalaya was "very good" but had "deteriorated a little".

In Nagaland, there was tension because of the "quarrel" between two factions of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) and in Manipur, "the situation is bad but improving like anything", Patil maintained.

As for Assam, the minister refrained from using any sobriquets but said the government was open to talks with the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), if it laid down its arms.

"The sum total is that we can safely conclude the situation in the northeast has improved, not deteriorated," Patil asserted.

Turning to the Maoist-affected states, the minister described the situation in Andhra Pradesh had initially "worsened but was now very good and totally under control".

Bihar was "better", while Chhattisgarh had "worsened like anything" but the state government could not be "blamed" as Maoists from other states had "migrated" there due to the pressure of security forces elsewhere.

As for Jharkhand, the situation was "bad but had improved" of late, Patil maintained.

On the question of laws against terrorism, he said: "I can't say if some laws will be amended or repealed. But I assure you that your suggestions that the laws should be made more humane will be kept in mind.

"Our policy is to use existing laws in a manner that they are effective," Patil added.

On the dangers posed by new forms of terrorism, the minister asserted that the government "is not creating panic but only visualising what can happen. We are not in the business of creating fear psychosis."

Turning to communal harmony, he noted there had been no "major" conflict in the recent past, "something we can feel happy about.

"We can be legitimately proud about the manner in which the people conducted themselves" when others attempted to fish in troubled waters, Patil stated, referring to the aftermath of blasts in Ayodhya, Varanasi, Malegaon, the Jama Masjid here and Mumbai's commuter trains.

"If people behave responsibly, communal harmony can be maintained. Thus, the praise goes to the people and the media and not to the security forces alone."

Noting that "people belonging to different religions" were involved in the blasts he said: "We have to be careful in pointing fingers. It is not right to hold any section of society as terrorists because they belong to a particular religion."

Speaking about economic development, Patil said the government had committed Rs.240 billion to Kashmir and Rs.200 billion to the northeast to improve infrastructure and to enable the people better their lives and incomes.

Additional allocations were being made in the Maoist affected districts over and above what the concerned states received through their annual plans, he added.

"All this money is non-lapsable," the minister pointed out.