Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah replied to the Short Discussion in the Lok Sabha today under Rule 193 on the problem of drugs in the country and the steps taken by the Government to deal with it

The Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah replied to the short discussion in the Lok Sabha today under Rule 193 on the problem of drugs in the country and the steps taken by the Government against it.

Thanking the members of the House, Shri Amit Shah said that instead of giving political hue to this issue, the House has taken the issue very seriously as a problem and all the members have accepted that it is a very serious problem. He said that the problem of drugs is destroying our future generations and the profits from this business are also used to finance terrorism.

The Union Home Minister said that in the year of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has urged the whole country to resolve for a drug-free India and since 2014 many efforts have been made in this direction. He assured the House that the Narendra Modi government at the Center has a zero tolerance policy against drugs trade & terror financing from the profits of drugs trade and the government is strictly making all out efforts to bring it down to zero. Shri Shah said that the spread of drugs not only hollows out our future generations but also destroys lakhs of families and also creates many types of social evils related to law and order. He said that countries which want to spread terrorism in India use it and the presence of this dirty money in the country also adversely affects the country’s economy. He said that Prime Minister Modi has set a goal of a drugs-free India for the Union Home Ministry and we will leave no stone unturned to fulfill this goal.

Shri Amit Shah said that this fight against drugs will have to be fought jointly by the Centre, all State Governments and Union Territories as it is necessary to adopt a multi-pronged strategy to achieve the goal. Shri Shah said that the entry of drugs through airports and seaports will also have to be stopped from the borders. He said that the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and anti-narcotics agencies of the States will also have to work in coordination against the menace of drugs. Shri. Shah said that apart from this, the Social Welfare Departments and Health Departments will also have to work together for rehabilitation and de-addiction. He said that our dream of a drugs-free India can come true only if we address all the dimensions of this fight. He said that as far as the fight against drugs is concerned, all State governments have fought this battle shoulder to shoulder with the Central Government with seriousness. And rising above party politics and party in power, the States have also

 implemented whatever plans were made and information exchanged with them very well. Shri Shah said that drugs enter our country from across the border through drones, smuggling, tunnels, ports and airports and closing of trade is not the solution to this problem. He said that we have to put an end to the new methods being used.

The Union Home Minister said that there should be an attitude of sympathy towards those who consume drugs and there should be preparation and legal provisions for rehabilitation of such affected persons. But those who trade and smuggle drugs should be brought to book. He said that it is the responsibility of all our members to create such a social environment so that the youth who is trapped in this menace is rehabilitated and the society accepts him again.

Shri Amit Shah said that we cannot look at any drugs investigation and its seizure in isolation. He said that we have to destroy the entire network of where drugs came from and where they go. If we check the entire network, then only this problem can be resolved. He said that NCB can investigate across the country and NIA can also investigate abroad. The Home Minister told the House that he had briefed the Chief Ministers that if there is any case in their State in which top to bottom and bottom to top investigation necessitates crossing State boundaries, then the States can take help of NCB without any hesitation, as NCB is ready and committed to help in such cases. Shri Shah said that in case any investigation goes outside the country’s borders, the help of NIA can also be taken for investigation. He informed the House that the States have referred about 42 cases to NCB or NIA and today the State agencies, NCB and NIA are moving forward to successfully dismantle the entire network. He said that we are seeing very good results and

with the cooperation of the States, the pace of fighting against narcotics has also increased and the enthusiasm has also doubled.

The Union Home Minister said that the Golden Triangle consists of South-East Asian countries and the Golden Crescent consists of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. He said that for drug dealers there may be a Golden Triangle and Golden Crescent but for us and our youth they are Death Triangle and Death Crescent. The world has to change its approach to win this battle against the menace of drugs. He said that the Government of India’s fight against narcotics has three parts – strengthening of institutional structure, empowerment and coordination of all narco agencies, and wide-ranging awareness campaigns. He said that this is a borderless crime and unless there is cooperation, coordination and collaboration, we cannot win this battle

Informing the house about the major initiatives taken by the government, Shri Amit Shah said that the 4-tier NCORD was set up in 2019 and many of its initiatives have been taken to the States and percolated down to the districts. He said that the district-level meeting of NCORD holds prime importance and only when DCPs, Collectors, Social Welfare Officers and Health Department Officers etc. all sit together and discuss the issues at the district level, our fight will attain success. He said that till date in only 32% districts of the country NCORD Committees have been formed. Shri Shah reached out to the Chief Ministers through the House and requested that they should personally take interest and help constitute district level NCORD Committee in their respective States, as the formation of NCORD committees across districts will strengthen the fight against drug menace. He informed that NCB has been kept as the nodal agency in this committee and under it Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, Drug Controller, Revenue Department, National Maritime Security, NTRO, Port Trust, Airport Authority of India, Coastal Police and the narco agencies of States etc. work together to ensure proper coordination. Shri Shah said that for proper data integration, an NCORD portal has also been created which is operated by NCB. On the portal, complete information on the issue is available at one place.

The Union Home Minister said that the General Assembly of Interpol was held in India recently, where he raised the issue of Narcotics and Terror links and there was a request from the India that terrorism should be linked to narcotics, terrorism and narco trade. It was also suggested that Interpol should create a platform for all countries for real-time information sharing on these three topics, which can also lead to the exchange of best practices. He said that recently the ‘No Money For Terror’ Conference was also organized where a lot of thrust was given on international cooperation for the fight against narcotics. Shri Shah said, the government has also constituted a Joint Coordination Committee and several meetings have been held at the Central level. Apart from this, 619 posts have been created by reorganizing the cadre of NCB. He told the House that the National Integrated Database on Narco Offenders, NIDAN, has also been prepared and the challans and judgments of each case are uploaded on it. Along with this, the government is also sharing the seizure information management system and jail data for the Inter-Operational Criminal Justice System (ICJS). Mr. Shah said that the drug network and the routes through which drugs enter into the States have been mapped in 472 districts and shared with the States. He said that this mapping has been done after compilation of surveys, information, cases made after seizure and inquiry reports.

Shri Amit Shah said that the three forces including Border Security Force, SSB and Assam Rifles have been empowered to register cases under NDPS. He said that similarly the Indian Coast Guard and Coastal Police Stations of the States have also been empowered. Apart from this, powers have also been given to the Railway Protection Force. When these powers were given to the security forces, some States argued that their powers have been taken away, but if we do not empower our agencies, how can they function? We must have faith in our security forces, and those politicizing the issue are supporting drug trafficking. He said that if a huge cache of drugs is caught in a State, the State is doing a good job against the drug menace. The problem does not get solved by looking at the other side, one has to face the storm. We cannot save the country by acting like an ostrich and running away from problems. He said that the NIA has been given powers to investigate any case across the world. Many experts have also been hired for financial investigation; many experts have also been hired by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India for the analysis of financial documents. Shri Shah said that by conducting hackathons on the issues of money laundering channels, hawala transactions and dark net, talented youth have been engaged to formulate a precise strategy, due to which many offenders have also been caught. He told that many dog squads with indigenous dog breeds have been formed and provided to the States. He said that a dedicated Anti-Narcotics Task Force has also been created and a dedicated Anti-Narcotics Task Force for the States and Union Territories is also available to assist the States.

The Union Home Minister said that the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India, has formed a committee of officers to oversee the number of drugs that can be banned for which alternatives are available. He expressed hope that many medicines would be brought under restricted category and their use would be banned. Shri Shah informed that a high level task force has been constituted to check smuggling through  the sea route and a joint meeting of Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, Airport Authority of India and NCB is held every week to exchange information. He said about 1,000 hectares of illegal drug cultivation in Manipur have been destroyed and rehabilitation efforts have been made through horticulture plantation. Simultaneously under MAC, which is the center of coordination of all agencies, a separate MAC, in form of a subMAC, has been set up for Narco to monitor Narco trafficking platform, intercept drug networks, continuously analyze trends, database to analyze the updates, and creation of a new strategy. He informed that five different training modules have been created for narcotics and in these five modules the training program up to the district-level has been designed. He informed that all the State level training programs have been completed in all the States and Union Territories on 3rd December. Shri Shah said that the work has been completed in 40% districts as well.

Shri Amit Shah said that an agreement has also been reached between NCB and National Forensic Science University for forensic investigation of narcotics and Government of India is setting up six regional narcotics labs all over the country, due to which there will be no delay in sample testing. He said that such efforts are being made to ensure priority will be given not according to the date but according to the quantity so that the culprits of the cases which are of large quantity should not get bail. He said that the Drug Free India campaign was launched by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on August 15, 2020 and has been initiated to reach down to the tehsils in the mapped 372 districts. Under this, more than 14 crore children in more than 2.7 lakh educational institutions have taken the oath of being drug-free. Apart from this, more than 8,000 master volunteers have been identified, who pursue this task by taking minimum honorarium and also make it reach maximum people through social media accounts. We are also trying to connect about one lakh more educational institutions and youth through the national online system of drug de-addiction. He said that about 341 Integrated Rehabilitation Centers have been set up by the Government of India and work on 300 more centres is underway. Apart from this, 41 addiction treatment facilities have also been set-up in government hospitals, with plans to create 75 more such facilities. Additionally, 72 outreach centers have been set up and about two lakh counselors have been engaged to counsel in such cases.

The Union Home Minister said, the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had set a target to destroy 75,000 kg of drugs within 60 days on the occasion of 75 years of Indian Independence, but we have burned 1,60,000 kg of drugs in 60 days. He said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we are succeeding in our resolve of not allowing the youth of the country to be ruined by drugs. He gave some statistics from 2006 to 2013 and from 2014 to 2022-

Shri Amit Shah said that the case of drug smuggling is now marked under a serious type of case and 13,000 cases have been registered against drug smuggling dealers and it shows that results prove that we are moving in right direction. In the last five years, 61 new cytotropic substances have been notified by the government. Indian agencies have also seized around 14,000 kg of Tramadol.

Shri Amit Shah said that this campaign against drugs should not be perceived as only of one government, of any one party and any one agency. He said that all the agencies of the Center and the States will have to come on the same platform and run this campaign with equal intensity and seriousness only then we will be able to save our future generations. He said that today this fight is at such a critical juncture that if we win, we will be able to save our future generations. Shri Shah requested the House that there should be no politics on this issue. He said that all the State governments should come together, create a district-level NCORD and strengthen the campaign launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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