Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah has stressed that drug smuggling need to be dealt with robustly and stringently while highlighting that the drug business has now become a multi-layered crime linked to narco terror and illegal hawala dealings that pose a serious threat to the security and economy of the country.
Chairing the 7th Apex Level Meeting of Narco-Coordination Center (NCORD) in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, Shah emphasised that the fight against drugs must to be fought with seriousness and priority. “Unless every citizen of the country below the age of 35 does not pledge to fight this battle and every citizen above the age of 35 does not pledge to guide them, we cannot win this battle,” he said.
The Union Minister said that all agencies, especially the state police, should not only aim to catch those who use drugs but also to catch those involved in its trade and dismantle the entire network, emphasising on ‘Top to Bottom’ and ‘Bottom to Top’ probe. He said that if a stock of drugs is caught on the country’s border, there is a need to investigate it and dismantle the entire network behind it. “Our goal should be that neither will we allow even a single gram of drugs to enter India from anywhere nor will we allow India’s borders to be used in any way for drug trade,” Shah stated.
He also called on the district level NCORDs to not only be a forum for discussion but also decision and review. The Union Home Minister encouraged each district to set its own goals and review them. He said that NCORD meetings should be outcome-based and result-oriented, pointing out that setting a fixed target, reviewing it, and strategizing according to the local situation should be an important part of it. He also asked all agencies to increase the use of Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988 (PIT-NDPS Act).
“Earlier the motto of our agencies was ‘Need to Know’, but now we should move towards ‘Duty to Share’ and this major change will have to be adopted by all agencies,” Amit Shah added.
He also called for a “ruthless approach towards supply of drugs, a strategic approach towards demand reduction and a humane approach towards harm reduction”. He said that all three are different but unless they do this, they will not be successful.
On the occasion, the Union Minister launched National Narcotics Helpline ‘MANAS’ (Madak Padarth Nishedh Asuchna Kendra) and virtually inaugurated Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Zonal Office at Srinagar. Amit Shah also released NCB ‘Annual Report 2023’ and Compendium on ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat’.
At the 7th Apex Level Meeting of NCORD today, launched MANAS, a national helpline of the NCB that will help citizens share information about drugs and narcotics with the agencies.
Also inaugurated the Zonal Office of the Narcotics Control Bureau at Srinagar in J&K. The… pic.twitter.com/x79VR4cdUI
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) July 18, 2024
All Stakeholders – all ministries, departments, State government and heads of all agencies, working towards Nasha Mukt Bharat attended the meeting. Senior Central Government functionaries including the Union Home Secretary, Revenue Secretary, Secretary Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (MoSJ&E), Director of the Intelligence Bureau and Director General of NCB, participated in the meeting. Chief Secretaries, DGsP, and Anti-Narcotics Task Force Heads of all states and union territories participated in the meeting virtually. Senior representatives of NCB, DRI, ED, BSF, SSB, CRPF, CISF, RPF, Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, MoSJ&E, etc. also attended the meeting.
