Chandigarh
Punjab Chief Secretary Anurag Verma has called for an all-out war on drugs in the state with the coordination of administrative and police officers.
Chairing a state level meeting of the Narco Coordination Centre (NCORD), the Chief Secretary asked the Special Task Force (STF) of Police to focus on big drug traffickers who deal with commercial quantities and ensure strict punishment to them for their crimes. Underlining the need for publicity of Sec 31 of the NDPS act, he said that it is the need of the hour to publicise the stringent provisions of this act regarding punishment to habitual offenders. He suggested effective training of Investigating Officers/ District Attorneys to ensure that the violators of the law get rigorous punishment.
He said that no stone should be left unturned for this noble cause as it is a crusade against drugs and the state government has adopted a zero tolerance policy against this curse. The war against drugs should be transformed into a mass movement with the support of the general public and effective coordination between concerned departments along with central and state agencies adding that a detailed SOP regarding it has already been issued.
Emphasised on State Government’s commitment to the war against drugs on the eve of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, the Chief Secretary also said that a checklist of SOP shall be carried out by the IO during the investigation and all the steps taken should be duly tick marked by him on the finalization of the report. He also underscored the need for improving the monitoring of chemists across the state adding that the violating chemists who are repeatedly flouting the law should be severely punished by dismissing their licenses. He further said that out of around 30,000 Retail sale and wholesale chemists, only 134 wholesale chemists and 463 retail sale chemists have been allowed to stock and sell restricted drugs formulations.
Verma directed that massive awareness activities should be started in the schools and colleges along with the promotion of sporting activities so that the unbounded energy of youth is channelized in a positive direction. He also directed the Taxation department to explore GSTIN and E way bills to monitor the movement of trucks carrying narcotic and psychotropic items. He also said that district level NCORD meetings should be held regularly to ensure better coordination between all the agencies at the state level.