Northern states join hands to jointly fight drug abuse, cartels

CHANDIGARH:  The Chief Ministers of the northern states on Monday decided unanimously to set up a Panchkula-based central secretariat for sharing information that would help in checking illegal drugs and powerful cartels.

The nodal officers will be deputed by each state to coordinate the sharing process, the Chief Ministers decided at the Regional Conference on Drugs - Challenges and Strategies. 

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, Uttarakhand CM TS Rawat attended the meeting that was convened to discuss and formulate a joint strategy to fight drug menace.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur participated through video conference. 
Senior officers from Rajasthan, Delhi and Chandigarh were also present at the meeting. “Drugs have no boundaries, hence the need for a joint strategy,” Amarinder said, stressing the need for a national policy to regulate drugs in the country. 

All the CMs were in favour of a common strategy to fight drugs, with Khattar suggesting a ‘Nasha Soochna Sachivalaya’ for information sharing.  Khattar said verification of foreign students sponsored by NGOs should be done through the MHRD.  It was decided that regular meetings will be held at various levels to tackle the problem and monitor the progress of the anti-drug fight. The CMs will be meeting every six months to monitor the progress of the joint strategy against drugs. Uttar Pradesh will be invited to join the efforts, and so will be Jammu and Kashmir. 

A meeting will be held once every quarter at the highest official level, chaired rotationally by the Chief Secretary and the DGP of these states. The SSPs of the adjoining districts of the various states will coordinate on a day-to-day basis.  The states will launch a major awareness campaign in their schools, and engage youth in sports and other activities at village levels. Skill development of youth will be undertaken on a major scale to generate employment. 

Amarinder said information and best practices should be shared along with resources for effective training of STF, medical professionals and volunteers.  Khattar was in favour of fast track courts for drug cases, while Thakur suggested that the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act should be invoked against drug peddlers.