Government de-addiction plan: 15 districts to be adopted on pilot basis

 NEW DELHI: The government plans to adopt 15 districts in the country on a pilot basis to implement an intensive action plan for de-addiction and make the districts drug-free, according to the redrafted National Drug Demand Reduction Policy.

The draft policy, which has been sent to the Cabinet by the ministry of social justice and empowerment, also proposed regulation of over the counter sale of sedatives and pain killers with the involvement of departments concerned both at the central as well as the state level.

The 15 districts which have been identified include Vishakhapatnam, Pune, Aizawl, Dibrugarh and Ludhiana."Integrated and comprehensive action plan would be carried out in the pilot districts initially for a period of one year for reduction in number of drug addicts and make these districts drug free," said a government official.

The draft policy proposes upgrading existing de-addiction centres in these pilot districts to treatment clinics to provide for both inpatient and outpatient treatment facilities.

Also, as part of the draft policy, de-addiction centres would be set up in 25 factories and major industrial establishments, 25 prisons, 25 juvenile homes and 25 separate de-addiction centres for women in prisons.

The ministry of social justice and empowerment has forwarded the draft National Drug Demand Reduction Policy to the Union Cabinet last month after modifying the document as suggested by the group of ministers (GoM).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had directed the GoM, headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, to examine the draft national policy which seeks to address the problem of drug and substance abuse in the country.

The GoM comprised ministers of health, social justice and empowerment, women and child development, transport, and home affairs.