Harpal Singh Cheema Issues Final Warning to Drug Traffickers: Give Up Drug Trafficking or Leave Punjab, War against Drugs; Cabinet Sub-Committee to Work Round the clock to ensure strict action against drug peddlers. Mann Government seizes property worth Rs 612 crore of drug smugglers in mere 3 years compared to Rs 142 crore during the 5-year Congress Regime: Aman Arora. BJP led Central Government should own responsibility for drugs problem as 50 km area along international border under BSF jurisdiction: Aman Arora, Cabinet Ministers slam Akali-BJP alliance and Congress party of pushing Punjab's youth towards drugs
Face2News/Chandigarh
Punjab Finance Minister Advoacte Harpal Singh Cheema on Friday issued a stern and final warning to drug traffickers in Punjab to either give up drug trafficking or leave the state. He gave this warning in the presence of his co-member in the cabinet sub-committee Aman Arora, Dr. Balbir Singh, Tarunpreet Singh Saund, and Laljit Singh Bhullar, and Chief Secretary K.A.P. Sinha and DGP Gaurav Yadav during a press conference held at Punjab Bhawan.
Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema emphasized that the Punjab government, under Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, launched a major campaign over the past three years to eradicate drugs from the state. The newly formed Cabinet Sub-Committee aims to intensify efforts, working round the clock with civil and police administration to ensure strict action against drug peddlers across Punjab.
Accusing the Akali-BJP alliance and the Congress party of pushing Punjab's youth towards drugs during their respective tenures from 2002 to 2022, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema cited the unholy alliance between political leaders, drug smugglers, and police officers that patronize the drug trafficking in the state. He said that during the 2017 assembly elections, Captain Amarinder Singh had taken an oath with Gutka Sahib in his hand at Talwandi Sabo that his government, if formed, would completely eradicate drugs from the state, but after coming to power, nothing was done.
He said that in the War against Drugs as per the vision of AAP Superemo Arvind Kejriwal, the campaign is in final stage, with bulldozers targeting the houses of drug peddlers, ensuring that no individual involved in the drug trade, regardless of their position or influence, will be spared.
Accusing the Akali-BJP alliance and the Congress party of pushing Punjab's youth towards drugs during their respective tenures from 2002 to 2022, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema cited the unholy alliance between political leaders, drug smugglers, and police officers that patronize the drug trafficking in the state. He said that during the 2017 assembly elections, Captain Amarinder Singh had taken an oath with Gutka Sahib in his hand at Talwandi Sabo that his government, if formed, would completely eradicate drugs from the state, but after coming to power, nothing was done.
Highlighting the achievements of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Government, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that around 12,000 FIRs have been registered under the NDPS Act in the recent past, with only 24 individuals granted defaulter bail—a significant improvement from previous governments where political influence often led to defaulter bail for drug smugglers.
Meanwhile, Cabinet Minister Aman Arora said that AAP Government seized property worth Rs 612 crore of drug smugglers in just 3 years compared to Rs 142 crore during the 5 years regime of Congress. He said that there is a 600 percent increase in heroin seizures, with 1128 kg seized under the current government compared to 197 kg during the Congress rule. “The conviction rate in NDPS cases has risen to 85 percent, the highest in the country, from 58 percent before 2022”, said Arora.
Cabinet Minister Aman Arora said that before the Akali-BJP coalition government in 2007, synthetic drugs were virtually unheard of in Punjab. He said that who does not know about Jagdish Bhola and the person he named in this case. Mentioning media reports and former Enforcement Directorate officer’s statement implicating individuals close to Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh including a minister and 10 MLAs in a case involving 130 deaths due to hooch tregedy in Tarn Taran, Cabinet Minister Arora said that these political parties contributed drastically to Punjab's drug problem.
Regarding actions against drug smugglers, Cabinet Minister Arora said that the state government has formed Anti-Narcotic Force and over 30,000 cases under the NDPS Act have been registered in the past three years. He further mentioned the arrest of over 6,500 major and 4,500 minor drug smugglers, the detention of over 100 police personnel involved in drug smuggling, and the transfer of more than 10,000 police personnel. He also mentioned the capture of 294 drones bringing drugs from across the border and that over three lakh drug victims are undergoing treatment in OOAT centers, with committees formed in about 12,500 villages to combat drug smuggling.
In response to a query regarding the unauthorised sale of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs by chemists, Health Minister Dr 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 emphasizing 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 centers, the Health Minister revealed 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 centers. Additionally, the policy will ensure that each center has an adequate number of psychiatrists and staff members. Dr Balbir Singh warned that strict action would be taken against anyone found operating more de-addiction centers than the permitted limit.
Talking about approaching the Central Government demanding a complete check on drug smuggling from across the border, the Cabinet Minister Aman Arora said 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. He said that the BJP led Central Government owed to hold responsibility of cross border drug smuggling rather than illogically holding state responsible for the same. The Cabinet Sub-Committee reiterated that in order to make state ‘Rangla Punjab’ again, strict action will be taken against drug smugglers, and OOAT centers will be further strengthened in the state for the treatment of drug victims.