New Delhi: Union Minister for Home and Cooperation Amit Shah Monday thanked the states and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for destroying over 1.44 lakh kg of drugs worth Rs 2378 crore and urged the chief ministers and Governors to take similar steps to end the menace of drug addiction.
During the regional conference on ‘Drug Trafficking and National Security’ organised in New Delhi, more than 1.40 lakh kg of narcotics were destroyed in presence of the Union Home Minister in different parts of the country, a record for a single day.
Addressing the conference, he said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 10-lakh kg of narcotics worth around Rs 12,000 crore had been destroyed in the last one year
Shah said that in a country like India, drug trafficking and their usage not only ruins the future generations, but also affects national security.
He said that the Ministry of Home Affairs, was continuously running a campaign against drugs through the meetings of regional conferences and these meetings were being held to review them and make timely changes in policies based on the feedback.
The Union Home Minister said that PM Modi had set a target of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ that India and its youth should become drug-free by the time the centenary of the country’s independence is celebrated.
He said that it was the aim of the Modi government to create such an India where not even a single youth was addicted to drugs and to achieve this it was necessary for the states and the Centre both to work together.
“Today is the birth anniversary of Param Vir Chakra awardee Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon. On this occasion, I pay tribute to Paramveer Chakra awardee Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon on behalf of the entire country and the Government of India,” Shah said.
He said that the construction of a new building for Amritsar Zonal Office of NCB at a cost of Rs 12 crore, inauguration of Bhubaneswar office and Bhoomi Pujan of a new office in Delhi had also been done today.
The Union Home Minister thanked the Government of Odisha and Government of Punjab for cooperating with NCB and Government of India by providing land for NCB offices.
He said that through these offices, NCB would further strengthen the fight against drugs in these two states.
Shah said that a compendium on drug-free India had also been released today.
“If we disseminate more information related to drug awareness to district administration, schools, and NGOs, the fight against drugs will be strengthened even more,” he said.
The Union Home Minister said that it was not just a fight to crack down on drugs or to achieve complete victory, but the biggest victory in this fight was to create awareness.
“We cannot win this fight until we create awareness against drugs in the minds of the youth and parents of the country,” he said. “For the complete prevention of drug abuse, we have to move ahead with equal attention on drug detection, destruction of the network, detention of culprits and rehabilitation of addicts.”
Shah said that a great job had been done in the areas of detection, destruction and detention, but the fight would not be successful unless there was a focus on rehabilitation.
He said that with the ‘Whole of Government’ approach, Health, Social Welfare Department, Chemical and Drug Department, Education Department, Panchayati Raj Department and State Home Departments would have to come together and work on a single platform, only then the dream of a drug-free India could be realised.
The Union Home Minister said that for this, along with cooperation, coordination, and collaboration, all the departments would have to move forward with the ‘Whole of Government’ approach.
He said that a total of 1250 cases were registered between 2006 and 2013 while 3700 cases had been registered in the nine years from 2014 to 2023, which shows an increase of 200 percent.
Shah said that 1360 arrests were made in the earlier period, which had now gone up to 5650, which shows an increase of 300 percent.
The Union Home Minister said that the quantity of drugs seized was earlier 1.52-lakh kg, which had now increased by 160 percent to 3.94-lakh kg.
He said that drugs worth Rs 5900 crore were destroyed between 2006 and 2013, while drugs worth Rs 18,100 crore had been seized and destroyed between 2014 and 2023, which shows the success of the campaign.
Shah said that now, not only in India but also at the international level, the term ‘Golden Triangle’ and ‘Golden Crescent’ had been replaced with the ‘Death Triangle’ and ‘Death Crescent’.
He said that the name ‘Golden Triangle’ may be applicable to the drug traffickers, but for those who were in favour of controlling the drug usage, the appropriate terms were ‘Death Triangle’ and ‘Death Crescent’.
The Union Home Minister said that this approach was not just symbolic, it represents the intensity and direction of the fight against drugs.
He said that there was a need for constant vigilance for elimination of drugs and appealed to all to lay emphasis on continuity of NCORD meetings to be held in the states and UTs for better coordination.
Shah said that the government, under the guidance of PM Modi, had established the NCORD in 2019, which holds meetings at four different levels.
He said that district-level NCORD meetings had proven to be the most effective.
The Union Home Minister said that states should collaborate with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on financial investigations and refer the cases to ED.
He said that until financial investigations of drug traffickers were conducted and their interest chain was broken, the campaign would not be successful.
Shah said that the approach should be such that those who consume drugs should be considered as victims, while those who engage in the trade should be marked as culprits.
He said that those who use drugs were victims, and the systems should make efforts to bring them back to the right path rather than leaving them to become permanently addicts.
The Union Home Minister said that there was a need to create a Seizure Information Management System (SIMS) e-portal, and utilise it.
“Information about the centralised NCORD portal should be percolated to police stations,” he said. “There is a unified database called National Integrated Database on Arrested Narco Offenders (NIDAAN) and another database for fingerprints known as the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) which should be used extensively.”
Shah said that 35 states and UTs had established dedicated Anti-Narcotics Task Forces (ANTF), and they should be commended.
He said that the National Narcotics K9 Pool had also been established and if states take this initiative forward, the NCB could help provide training to them.
The Union Home Minister said that the states should establish specialised courts against drugs and conduct their prosecution in a fast-track mode.
He said that harsher punishment would act as a stronger deterrent as it would send a stronger message.
Shah said that the confiscation of assets of those involved in the illicit drug trade should be increased.
He emphasised that public shaming and boycott of these individuals would discourage others from joining this trade.
The Union Home Minister said that there was a need to move ruthlessly towards the confiscation of assets.
He said that till Forensic Science Labs (FSL) would not be strengthened, the prosecution would not progress.
Shah emphasised that this was a question of initiative, not resources.
“Similarly, for the eradication of illegal cultivation, especially in the northern regions, the CMs of those states need to pay special attention,” he said.
The Union Home Minister said that the campaign against drug abuse was a sacred mission to save the future generations of the country, to keep the nation safe, and it should be the top priority.
Chief Ministers of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Uttarakhand, Governor of Punjab and administrator of Chandigarh, Lieutenant Governors of J&K, Ladakh, and Delhi; The Minister of State for Home, Odisha; Union Home Secretary, Director General of NCB, and senior officials from various security agencies and related ministries and departments of Government of India also attended the conference.