Mumbai: The Maharashtra cabinet on Tuesday approved a policy aimed at eradicating drugs from the state by 2029 through extensive public awareness and strict action against narcotics with the participation of all departments.
Maharashtra is the first state in the country to undertake such a comprehensive campaign, involving coordination among various departments, to create a drug-free state, a statement issued by the government said.
Under the policy, strict action will be taken against the cultivation of crops that contribute to the production of illegal drugs, as well as the production, transportation, sale and consumption of natural and synthetic drugs.
“The policy will focus on extensive public awareness and strict action against drugs, with the participation of all departments of the state government. To ensure the successful implementation of this comprehensive policy, responsibilities have been assigned from the village level to the district, divisional and ministerial levels,” the statement said.
The central government has set a target of completely eradicating drugs from the country by 2029 through coordination among various central and state government departments. Accordingly, the ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan‘ is being implemented effectively at the national level.
To accelerate the implementation of the central government’s policy and make Maharashtra completely drug-free by 2029, a policy based on a ‘Whole-of-Government Approach’ has been formulated.
A large-scale public awareness campaign will also be undertaken in this regard.
For the successful implementation of this campaign, all departments will be required to coordinate with the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF), it said.
For coordination at the Mantralaya level, each department will appoint a nodal officer of the rank of deputy secretary.
An action plan specifying the measures to be undertaken by various departments has been finalised for the implementation of the policy.
Under this plan, beginning with the next academic year (2027), at least one lesson on drug awareness will be included in the school curriculum from Class V onwards. Additional points will be awarded for drug-awareness initiatives under Chief Minister’s My School, Beautiful School — Phase 3.
The Higher and Technical Education Department will undertake measures to ensure that the premises of all educational institutions are maintained as drug-free campuses. Additional points will also be awarded under the Chief Minister’s Prosperous Panchayati Raj Campaign and the My Village, Healthy Village Campaign.
In addition, every year on June 26, an award will be announced for the Best Drug-Free District. The performance of each district will be assessed for the period from October 2 to April 30, it said.
The policy identifies four key pillars — effective enforcement for drug control, significant reduction in the supply of drugs, effective reduction in demand for drugs, and de-addiction, treatment and rehabilitation.
The responsibility for effective enforcement of drug-control measures has been assigned to the Home, Transport, Ports, and Law and Judiciary departments.
The responsibility for curbing the supply of drugs has been entrusted to the Revenue, Agriculture and Forest departments. With regard to illegally manufactured synthetic drugs, the Food and Drug Administration and Industries Departments will be required to take action.
To effectively reduce the demand for drugs, responsibilities have been assigned to the School Education; Higher and Technical Education; Sports; Rural Development; Public Health; Women and Child Development; Skill Development and Entrepreneurship; and Information and Public Relations Departments.
For de-addiction, treatment and rehabilitation, responsibility will rest with the Social Justice and Special Assistance; Public Health; Medical Education; Urban Development; and Skill, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Departments.
