Northern States to set up common secretariat to tackle drug menace

The Chief Ministers of the Northern States on Monday unanimously decided to set up a common secretariat in Punchkula to tackle the issue of drug menace in their respective states.

The announcement was made by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar after a meeting along with the Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur also attended the meeting through video conferencing.

The Chief Ministers also decided to be more proactive and spend more resources to fight the problem, spread awareness, and prevent people from falling prey to drugs.

"We have decided to come up with strategies to deal with the raging problem. We will set up a common secretariat in Panchkula, every state will appoint one nodal office for this. There will be a meeting of all Chief Ministers every six months, and an officer level meeting every three months," said Khattar while addressing the media after the meeting.

"The Chief Secretary / Director Generals of Police of the concerned States, Senior Superintendents of Police of the adjoining districts of the various states would also coordinate on a day to day level," added the Haryana Chief Minister.

He also said that Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and senior officials or authorities from Jammu and Kashmir would also be asked to join in the next meeting to find a solution to the common problem.

The meeting was also attended by senior civil and police officers from Rajasthan, Delhi, and Chandigarh.