I regret to point out that the response from the states is far from satisfactory, and I am sure chief ministers would have reached more or less the same conclusion,' he said.

Echoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's warning that cross-border terrorism was still a major threat, Chidambaram said the threat of terror had not vanished or receded.

'It is better intelligence and better preparedness that have helped us thwart potential terror attacks. We have cracked several terror modules and made several significant arrests, but the gravity of the threat is undiminished. We cannot afford to lower our guard, and we shall not.'

On insurgency in the northeast, the home minister lamented there had not been much progress.

'I regret to say that I cannot report much progress in the northeastern states. At times, we find that some state governments have allowed themselves to bend before insurgent groups, making the fight against insurgency that much more difficult.'

He pointed out that state-specific strategies would be drawn up to deal with the insurgent groups in the three most affected states of Assam, Nagaland and Manipur.

Chidambaram pointed out that an elaborate counter-offensive operation would be launched in Maoist strongholds especially when the country had witnessed 1,128 incidents of Maoist-related violence till June 30 leaving 455 civilians and security forces dead.

'We believe in the two-pronged approach of development and police action. However, the naxalites are anti-development and have targeted the very instruments of development -- school buildings, roads, telephone towers,' he said.

'Our response therefore will be police action to wrest control of territory that is now dominated by the Naxalities, restoration of civil administration and undertaking developmental activities -- in that order.'

A separate session has been earmarked for discussion on issues related to Left wing extremism where chief ministers from the seven affected states will interact with Chidambaram. The states are Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Bihar and West Bengal.