Sans space, staff, narcotics task force hits a dead end

Bhubaneswar: The government’s attempt to curb narcotics menace has come a cropper as a task force constituted for the purpose last year has hit a wall.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik had appointed retired DGP Abhay as chairman of the new unit on the retirement day of the top cop on March 31, 2021.
Though the government had only drawn the nature of work of the state task force, it has not yet provided any office space nor sanctioned staff for the unit.
The unit turned into a headless body after Abhay was appointed as the chairman of Odisha Staff Selection Commission in April this year. The government has not filled the vacancy yet, pushing the fate of the task force into certainty.
“We are alert to the vacancy. A decision would soon be taken about the appointment of the chairman. Police, special task force of the Crime Branch and excise personnel have been working on anti-drug enforcement drives regularly,” a senior home department official said.
The government had chosen Abhay for the post as he had served as the director general of the narcotics control bureau (NCB) in 2018.
“In Odisha, it is imperative to give a serious push to efforts to contain drug abuse and trafficking so that the emerging problem is nipped in the bud. The state task force will formulate a state policy and coordinate with relevant agencies and central ministries, including the narcotics control bureau, ministry of home affairs, ministry of social justice and empowerment, ministry of health, drugs controller general of India and Central bureau of narcotics,” read a notification issued by the home department on January 15.