HM Amit Shah highlights efforts to make India drug-free in three years

Panaji: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday reiterated the commitment to make the country drug-free over the next three years and highlighted efforts made to tackle trafficking and strengthen the country's anti-narcotics framework.

Speaking at a press conference to highlight the fight against narcotics, Home Minister Shah said, "We are committed to build a drug-free India."

"A timeline has been set, different Ministries have been made responsible, measurable outcome targets have been fixed, and quarterly reviews and outcome-based accountability and responsibility are also going to be fixed by us," he added.

He shared the roadmap for the next three years and the data reflecting the progress made in the fight against narcotics, saying that the country stands at a critical juncture where it must collectively ensure that addiction is defeated for the sake of future generations.

"During the Congress rule from 2004 to 2014, 26 lakh kg of drugs were seized. Today, that figure has increased from 26 lakh kg to more than 1.19 crore kg seized during the period from 2014 to 2026," he said.

The Home Minister added that the value of the drugs seized during the Congress rule was around Rs 40,000 crore, while under the campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the value has reached Rs 1.89 lakh crore.

Sharing details of destruction of seized drugs, Amit Shah said that from 2004 to 2014 the quantity of drugs destroyed stood at 3.36 lakh kg while the quantity destroyed during 2014 to 2026 stood at 48.66 lakh kg.

The Union Minister also highlighted efforts to strengthen inter-ministerial and inter-agency coordination through Narco-Coordination (NCORD) mechanism.

The mechanism provides a structured, institutionalised platform for coordination among Central Ministries, state governments and enforcement agencies for monitoring drug trafficking, precursor diversion, demand reduction and rehabilitation, resulting in improved enforcement outcomes and intelligence-sharing.

NCORD has been consistently active and functional at the apex, Executive, state and district levels.

So far, 10 apex NCORD meetings have been held to guide policy formulation, enhance inter-ministerial coordination and review the overall narcotics control framework.

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