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Give up smuggling or leave Punjab, Harpal Cheema warns drug peddlers
Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema who heads a cabinet sub-committee set up to monitor the government action against drugs, gave this warning in the presence of committee members Aman Arora, Balbir Singh, Tarunpreet Singh Sond, and Laljit Singh Bhullar during a press conference here
Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Friday issued a stern and final warning to drug traffickers in Punjab to either give up smuggling or leave the state.
Cheema, who heads a cabinet sub-committee set up to monitor the government action against drugs, gave this warning in the presence of committee members Aman Arora, Balbir Singh, Tarunpreet Singh Sond, and Laljit Singh Bhullar during a press conference here. Chief secretary KAP Sinha and DGP Gaurav Yadav were also present.
He said that the state government had carried out a major campaign over the past three years to eradicate drugs from the state, which, as per AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal’s vision, is in the final stage, with bulldozers targeting the houses of drug peddlers. “No individual involved in the drug trade, regardless of their position or influence, will be spared,” he added.
He said that around 12,000 FIRs have been registered under the NDPS Act in the recent past, with only 24 individuals granted defaulter bail. AAP state chief and minister Aman Arora said that the AAP government seized property worth ₹612 crore of drug smugglers in just three years compared to ₹142 crore during the five-year rule of the Congress. He said that there is a 600% increase in heroin seizures, with 1,128 kg seized under the current government compared to 197 kg during the Congress rule.
Regarding action against drug smugglers, Arora said the state government has formed an Anti-Narcotic Force and over 30,000 cases under the NDPS Act have been registered in the past three years.
Arora alleged that despite the area up to 50 km along the border being under the jurisdiction of BSF, drug smuggling from across the border has not been stopped till now.
In response to a query regarding the unauthorised sale of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs by chemists, health minister Balbir Singh said that the state government has already written to the central government to include certain OTC drugs, which are legal but not currently listed under Schedule H1, in the scheduled drugs list. “In the meantime, we have imposed restrictions on the quantity of such drugs that retailers and wholesalers can stock. Retailers are not permitted to keep more than 20-30 capsules, while wholesalers cannot hoard more than 500 capsules. Similar limits have been applied to suppliers and manufacturers across the state,” he said while emphasising that the health department has been actively enforcing these regulations to curb the unauthorized sale of OTC drugs.
Addressing another question about the monopoly of a few individuals in operating de-addiction centres, he said that the Punjab government is introducing a new Mental Health Policy. Under this policy, individuals will be restricted to opening only a limited number of drug de-addiction centres, he added.
