Chandigarh July 25: Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Lal today announced that Haryana Control of Organized Crime Act (HRCOCA) will soon be enacted by the State on the pattern of Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) 1999 to tighten noose around those involved in the organized crime, gangsterism and drugs smuggling.

Mr Manohar Lal was speaking at the 2nd Regional Conference on DrugMenace Challenges and Strategies hosted by Punjab here today.

Punjab Chief Minister, Capt. Amarinder Singh, Rajasthan Chief Minister, Mr Ashok Gehlot, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Jai Ram Thakur,Uttarakhand Chief Minister, Mr Trivendra Singh Rawat, Advisor to Governor Jammu and Kashmir, Mr K.K Sharma and senior most officers representing Delhi and Union Territory of Chandigarh were also present in the meeting.

It may be recalled that on the initiative of Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Lal the first Regional Conference of Chief Ministers on the issue of Drug Menace, Challenges and Strategies was organized here on August 20, 2018. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Jai Ram Thakur offered to host the next Regional Conference in Shimla.

While thanking his Punjab Counterpart Capt. Amarinder Singh for organizing the 2nd Regional Conference, Mr Manohar Lal said that the drug is a social problem and not confined to a particular state. He urged all the Northern States to work together by rising above the consideration of border and boundaries for the eradication of this menace from the society.

The Chief Minister said that multi-level arrangement should be made to resolve the problem of youth whether it is personal problem, family or any other problem that plunge them into habit of drugs. Besides keeping a check on the supply of intoxicants, efforts should be made to crackdown the supply chain. For this, there should be a common database of smugglers or traders as lot of money is involved in this business which works as a regulator for the terrorists group of countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan. In some cases, the State Police has also arrested few Nigerians in Gurugram who were found involved in drug smuggling, he added.

While emphasizing the need of data sharing between the northern states, Mr Manohar Lal said that live data of criminals should be prepared and made available to the States so as to take effective action against them. He also expressed concern that the arrested accused are usually released from Courts due to lack of proper investigation. To ensure that they do not let off easily, special training should be provided to the investigating officers, said the Chief Minister adding that Haryana has already started training programme for these officers in the State.

He suggested the mantra of Treatment, Enforcement and Awareness (TEA) for the effective control of drug menace. He said that Rahigiri Programme is organized regularly in the State with the active involvement of civil society. Apart from this, Marathons are organized to generate awareness among the youth. Recently, a Marathon was organized in Sirsa on the issue of drugs in which about 50,000 people participated.

Meanwhile the second Joint Conference of Chief Ministers of Northern States, on tackling the drug problem in the region, has agreed to launch joint operations at the inter-state borders to tackle the scourge of drugs in the region. The conference recognizes that drugs is a national problem, requiring collective efforts of the states for its successful eradication. It was proposed therefore, to jointly request the Government of India to come out with a National Drug Policy in order to effectively tackle the menace.

It was also agreed to consider opening a Regional Training Centre for training of investigators for proper investigation of NDPS cases at Chandigarh. The State have also agreed to take up with the Government of India a proposal to establish a Regional Drug Dependence Treatment Centre in Chandigarh Tricity area, on the lines of National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) AIIMS, New Delhi. Apart from this, it was also agreed that all States would launch major awareness programmes and strive to make eradication of drugs as a people’s movement.

Earlier, Advisor to Governor, Jammu and Kashmir Mr K.K Sharma, Special SSP Delhi Mr Satish Golcha and Director General of Police, Chandigarh Mr Sanjay Beniwal also presented their view regarding tackling the problem of drugs.

Among those present in the meeting included Haryana Chief Secretary Mrs Keshni Anand Arora, Additional Chief Secretary Home Mr S.S Prasad, Director General of Police (DGP) Mr Manoj Yadava and senior officers of Punjab , Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh , Uttrakhand , Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Union Territory of Chandigarh.