The fifth state-level committee meeting of the Narco Co-ordination Centre (NCORD) was held on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Alka Tiwari. Principal Secretary of Home Department Vandana Dadel, DGP Anurag Gupta, Social Welfare Secretary Manoj Kumar, Excise Secretary Amitabh Kaushal, School Education Secretary Umakant Singh and senior officials of other departments were present in the meeting. At the same time, the DCs and SPs of the concerned district were connected through virtual medium.
In the meeting, the CS instructed the DCs and SPs to keep a close watch on the production, distribution and consumption of drugs. She also asked to take quick and strict action against the elements involved in the illegal drug trade. All the concerned departments related to this issue were also stressed on giving more impetus to the public awareness campaign along with legal action against drugs. Expressing concern over the issue of sale of narcotic drugs and syrups from drug stores, she directed to identify its network and take strict action. At the same time, she ordered to provide the list of licensed drug stores to the Home Secretary, so that action can be ensured against unlicensed drug stores.
It was told in the meeting that action has been taken against poppy cultivation by running continuous campaigns in 2024-25. Its result is that while in 2023-24, poppy crop grown in 4860 acres was destroyed, in 2024-25, crop grown in 27015 acres has been destroyed. This is six times more than last year. Similarly, 529 cases were registered against narcotics in 2023 and 773 arrests were made. While the number of cases registered in 2024 was 803, arrests were also made at 1062.
To crack down on the illegal drug trade, people from all enforcement agencies are being continuously trained. With the help of the Narcotics Control Bureau, police officers of the state have been trained on important topics of the NDPS Act and this process is continuing. Along with this, training is also going on continuously at Research Training School, Hotwar, Ranchi. Instructions have been given to include forest department personnel in this. At the same time, a standard operating procedure (SOP) has also been prescribed for the NCB and the state police to work in mutual coordination.
In the meeting, emphasis was laid on ensuring the disposal of seized drugs. Taking seriously the fact that some districts are lagging behind in this work, instructions were given to dispose of it within the stipulated time frame. At the same time, emphasis was also laid on the construction of Malkhana in the districts as soon as possible to keep the seized drugs safe. On the information that land or built-up space has not been found in some districts till now, the DCs of the concerned districts were instructed to take interest and find a solution to this.
While the focus is being laid on public awareness to control the production, distribution and consumption of illegal drugs, emphasis has also been laid on involving the common people to give information related to it. For this, MANAS portal has been launched in July 2024. Through this portal, any person can give information about the production, distribution and consumption of illegal drugs. The identity of the informant remains completely confidential. At the same time, if the information is true after verification, then the informant also gets a reward amount. NCB informed that so far 60 thousand information have been received through this portal across the country. A total of 70 information have been received in Ranchi through this portal.
During the meeting itself, the DCs and SPs of the concerned district were instructed to purchase the kit used in the investigation of drugs within 15 days. It was told that DD Kit, Precursor Kit, Ketamine Kit received by the Narcotics Control Bureau were made available to the districts as per the requirement. It takes some time to get the FSL report related to the investigation of drugs, but judicial proceedings are not hampered by conducting the primary investigation through the kit and submitting the report to the court. Apart from this, during the meeting, the formation of special courts in the districts for hearing the cases related to illegal drugs, financial investigation etc. were also discussed.
