News Analysis India

Tag: Punjab government

  • In a first, Punjab govt to bring in ‘Comprehensive Action Against Drug Abuse Act’

    Express News Service
    CHANDIGARH: In an effort to tackle the drug menace in the state, the Punjab government is mulling bringing in the Comprehensive Action Against Drug Abuse Act (CADA). Once passed, the Act will provide a legal framework for enforcement, treatment and prevention programs for drug abuse. It will also cover treatment and prevention aspects for alcohol and tobacco abuse disorders.

    The principal innovation in the proposed Act is to give a statutory basis to prevention and treatment programs such as the DAPO (Drug Abuse Prevention Officers) and buddy program. These initatives are aimed at having a legal foundation and supervision for community mobilisation efforts and prevention amongst students.

    Drug treatment programs were earlier run through general nature rules made under the NDPS Act but this act provides a specific structure and a monitoring system. The Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment (OOAT), Drug Abuse Prevention Officers (DAPO) and buddy programs have already been touted as major achievements by the state government in a publicity campaign.

    Sources clarified that there is no conflict with the main NDPS Act which prescribes punishments for various offences and that CADA only supplements the provisions of the NDPS to increase its effectiveness and improve the gains to the system. It makes officials and departments more accountable for implementation of the comprehensive action against drug abuse to the law and to the cabinet through a ministerial committee.

    As per the proposed Act, a copy of which is available with the New Indian Express, it aims to provide a legal foundation for enforcement, treatment and prevention programs against abuse of narcotics, psychotropic substances, alcohol, tobacco and other intoxicants in Punjab. This act aims to effectively and efficiently control drug abuse and substance abuse disorders and to secure the health and safety of citizens by adopting appropriate measures matching best international practises. 

    Since it cannot be left to individual departments, a coordinated effort by 17 teams is needed. These teams will be brought under one ambit for implementing the strategy og CADA in an effective and time bound manner. The home department will be the nodal department to implement this act.

    The proposed act further states that it will be mandatory for each of the 17 departments to make an overall action plan for its area of responsibility and get it approved. There will be annual assessment of the work done by each department and unit. The action plan shall take into account the types of drugs that are particularly abused in specific areas, measures to curtail them, ensure de-addiction treatment, recovery of drug users and prevention aspects. The responsibilities of each official will be fixed in theaction plan.

    It will be the individual and collective responsibility of the officials for the implementation of the CADA strategy. Each department will give training to its officials to upgrade their knowledge and each official shall be individually responsible for the effective and efficient discharge of duties. If the officials are ineffective in controlling the drugs it will reflect in their Annual Appraisal Report (ACR), also legal action will be taken against officials if they fail to control drugs.  

    A policy of rotation shall be implemented for officers to prevent development of vested interests. Besides the government departments NGOs will also be involved.

    The state government will constitute a fund for the control of drug abuse and to implement the strategy of CADA. There will be total transparency as the concerned head of department will upload expenditure, details of receipts every day on their portal

    Under this act besides enforcement, prevention and treatment will also be done in a coordinated manner to streamline the system and fix accountability which will be placed before legislature. This act will supplement the NDPS Act which does not have provisions for prevention.

    The act clearly states that there will be coordination between the Special Task Force (STF), district police and other units of the police department for enforcement of laws related to drug trafficking. Also anti-drug units will be established in each district which will be supervised by STF and intelligence sharing will be done. If one dies due to suspected drug overdose or injury, it will be mandatory to register a case. The police station shall be made responsible for implementation of anti-drug laws. The act also provides for the prevention of any illegal telephonic, electronic, or other means of communication that may directly or indirectly promote or sustain trafficking and organised crime by inmates in jails.

    Under the act, Nasha Roko Nigran Committees (NRNC) will be formed for every village or mohalla or ward or locality to oversee the implementation of Drug AbusePrevention Officers (DAPO) program. 

    Hotspots shall be identified for reclamation and rejuvenation to be converted into citizen-friendly, crime-free areas by using a locally suitable and adaptable mix of development, crime prevention and community mobilisation interventions.

    The state government shall establish an anti-drug abuse division in the health department for supervision, coordination, and effective enforcement of the NDPS Act and other laws. The government may establish treatment clinics to provide wider coverage and easier access. The government shall also establish tobacco abuse treatment clinics, centres and rehabilitation centres for the de-addiction treatment and alcohol abuse treatment clinics will be established. OOAT clinics have already been established.

    “This draft legislation has been sent to the state government by the Special Task Force (STF) and the government is actively considering it,” a senior official said requesting anonymity.

  • Ensure safety of BJP leaders: Punjab government to district authorities

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government has asked deputy commissioners and district police chiefs to ensure safety and security of BJP leaders during their scheduled programmes, a day after a party MLA was assaulted by a group of farmers protesting against the Centre’s agri laws.

    According to an order issued by the state home affairs department, additional personnel of the India Reserve Battalion, the Punjab Armed Police and commandos may be sought wherever required.

    BJP MLA from Abohar in Fazilka district Arun Narang was allegedly thrashed and his clothes ripped off by a group of protesting farmers in Muktsar’s Malout on Saturday.

    The BJP leader had gone to Malout to address a press conference.

    “All DCs (Deputy Commissioners) and SSPs (Senior Superintendents of Police) are directed to personally ensure that such an incident does not happen anywhere in the state in future,” according to the order issued by the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) on Sunday.

    “In view of the extremely surcharged atmosphere when such BJP programmes are scheduled in your districts, DCs, CPs (Commissioners of Police), and SSPs must ensure the maintenance of public order and communal harmony and ensure the safety and security of visiting BJP leaders,” it said.

    After the Muktsar incident, the BJP had held protests at many places in the state against the attack on Narang.

    Several Punjab BJP leaders had even staged a sit-in outside the official residence of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh here on Sunday.

    Punjab Governor V P Singh Badnore too had condemned the attack on Narang and had sought a report from the Congress-led government in the state.

    The governor had called up the Punjab Chief Minister, who holds the home portfolio, and conveyed his serious concern over the incident.

    Several political parties had already condemned the incident.

    BJP leaders in Punjab are facing the ire of farmers demanding the withdrawal of the Centre’s three new agricultural laws for the last four months.

    The agitating farmers have even disrupted programmes of BJP leaders on a few occasions.

  • SC directs Punjab govt to hand over custody of Mukhtar Ansari to Uttar Pradesh police

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Friday directed the Punjab government to hand over the custody of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who is lodged in Rupnagar jail there, to Uttar Pradesh Police.

    A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and R S Reddy said that the custody of Ansari, an MLA from Mau constituency, be handed over to the state of Uttar Pradesh within two weeks.

    The top court also dismissed a plea by Ansari seeking transfer of cases lodged against him in Uttar Pradesh to some other place outside the state.

    The top court delivered the verdict on the plea of Uttar Pradesh government seeking a direction to the Punjab government and Rupnagar jail authority to immediately hand over the custody of Ansari, to the district jail Banda.

    On March 4, the top court was informed by Punjab government that Yogi Adityanath-led government has got no fundamental right to seek Ansari’s transfer from Rupnagar jail to a district jail in Banda in Uttar Pradesh.

    Ansari is lodged in district jail Rupnagar in Punjab in connection with an alleged extortion case since January 2019.

    He is also accused in several cases of heinous crimes lodged in Uttar Pradesh.

    The UP government has earlier contended that Ansari has been “dodging” the judicial system and is running his alleged illegal activities from Rupnagar district jail in Punjab.

    While Uttar Pradesh had alleged in the apex court that there is “collusion” between Ansari and Punjab Police, the Amarinder Singh government has refuted these claims and raised questions over the maintainability of plea filed by the Yogi Adityanath government.

    The UP government has referred to the prison rules and said that though the state itself does not have fundamental rights, it can espouse the cause and the fundamental rights of the victims and it may assume the position of the victim.

    It said Ansari had flouted the jail manual rules and rights of the victim and the State at large cannot be overlooked and the accused cannot be allowed to jettison the fair trial.

    It had said that the top court under Article 142 can order transfer of Ansari from Punjab jail to a jail in Uttar Pradesh as around 14 and 15 cases are at final stages.

    Ansari who has also filed petition seeking transfer of his cases in UP to outside the state, had submitted that because of his political affiliation to a party in opposition, he is being targeted.

    Punjab government had said that Ansari has been unwell and central government owned PGI Chandigarh has been given him the medical certificates from time to time.

    It had that UP government has made repeated efforts to seek Ansari’s custody and it has been told by the Punjab jail authorities that Ansari has been unwell and their response has been based on medical records.

  • ‘Captain Saab did not fulfill even a single promise’: Kejriwal roars at farmers’ meet in Punjab

    By Express News Service
    CHANDIGARH: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday hit out at the Amarinder Singh-led Punjab government and accused it of not keeping its poll promises and deceiving people. Targeting Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Kejriwal said that four years ago he had made “big promises” of smartphones, waiving off farmer loans, old-age pension to be increased to Rs 2500, employment to every household,

    “Captain Saab did not fulfill even a single promise that he made after he won the elections.

    We also fought in Delhi, and we also made promises but we have fulfilled every single promise that we made. The people of Delhi receive 24 hours free electricity, they receive zero bills. 73 per cent of the people receive zero electricity bills.

    If Delhi people can receive zero electricity bills, so can the people of Punjab. Why can’t it be possible in Punjab? Only the Aam Aadmi Party can do it. Captain Sahib had said smartphones will be given. Who got smartphones just to raise your hands? He had said farmers’ loan will be waived. Whose loan has been waived just raise your hands,” said Kejriwal.

    While addressing a Kisan Maha Sammelan organised by the AAP at Punjab’s Moga, he said that his party will always stand shoulder to shoulder with farmers protesting against the Centre’s three farm laws.“The way that the Modi-led Central government passed the three black laws in Parliament, Punjab was the first state to raise its voice against the injustice being meted out.

    OurPunjab farmers were the first to raise a protest against the laws. They were the first to start a movement against the laws and they took this movement to Delhi. Now, farmers from the whole country are standing with you,” he stated. He also accused the Narendra Modi led-Centre for “snatching power” from the chief minister of Delhi through National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

  • Punjab health minister warns of stopping financial help to healthcare workers unwilling to get vaccinated

    By ANI
    CHANDIGARH: Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Monday said that healthcare workers and other medical professionals who do not get vaccinated against COVID-19 will bear their cost of treatment and will not be allowed to avail quarantine or isolation leaves.

    “Healthcare workers who do not get vaccinated, despite being given repeated opportunities and in case they get the infection later, they will have to bear the cost of their treatment and they will not be allowed to avail quarantine or isolation leave,” Balbir said.

    The Punjab government has taken serious note of reports that some healthcare professionals choosing not to get vaccinated, amid rising cases of COVID-19 in some states and a low rate of inoculation in Punjab.

    The Punjab Health Minister further pointed out that recent days have seen a hike of COVID-19 cases in Punjab.

    “The matter of concern is that cases are rising for 3-4 days. We have asked healthcare workers to get vaccinated as they are on the frontline. We do not want to lose any other health worker to COVID-19. Anything is possible if cases continue to rise. We have to take precautions from our end,” he added.

    India’s total active COVID-19 caseload comes from the states — Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in a statement on Saturday.

    According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab has 3,019 active cases with 1,69,686 recoveries. As many as 5,754 people have lost their battle to COVID-19 in the state so far. 

  • Punjab govt okays jobs for kin of minors killed in Maur Mandi blast

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government on Friday approved special provisions in its rules to provide government jobs to the kin of the four minors killed in the Maur Mandi bomb blast in 2017.

    The decision was taken by the state cabinet in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, according to a government statement.

    Seven people were killed and 13 injured in the bomb blast at Maur Mandi in Bathinda district on January 31, 2017.

    The explosion had taken place close to an election campign site of Congress candidate Harminder Singh Jassi, just days before the assembly polls in the state.

    The Punjab government on Friday approved special provisions in its rules to provide government jobs to one of the family members or kin of the each of the four minors killed in the bomb blast, the statement said.

    It was decided at the cabinet meet to grant special provision to provide jobs on compassionate grounds as per the educational qualifications to a member of the families of Japsimaran Singh (15), Sourav Singla (14), Ankush (11) and Ripandeep Singh (9).

    The existing rules did not provide for employment in the state service on compassionate grounds for minor victims.

    With the cabinet decision, the relevant rules or policy have been relaxed to provide jobs to a member of the each family as per their educational qualification, the statement said.

    The jobs to be provided by the state government are in addition to a financial grant of Rs 5 lakh given to the each family.

    Each injured was given Rs 50,000 from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

    The state government had earlier provided government jobs to the next of kin of two victims–Harpal Singh (40) and Ashok Kumar (35)– as per the existing policy since both were the breadwinners for their families.

    In Ashok Kumar’s case, his minor daughter Bago (11) was also killed but since one member of the family has already been given a job, Bago was not been included in the special provision.

  • Punjab to reopen schools for students of classes 5 to 12 from January 7

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government on Wednesday decided to reopen all schools from January 7 for students of classes 5 to 12.

    State Education minister Vijay Inder Singla said following the persistent demand of parents, the state government has decided to reopen all government, semi-government and private schools from January 7 onwards.

    In a statement here, Singla said the timings of the schools will be from 10 am to 3 pm.

    The students only of classes 5 to 12 will be allowed to physically attend their classes, said the minister.

    Singla said while giving his nod, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh directed the department to ensure the safety of the children, amid COVID-19 pandemic.

    The minister said following the CM’s directions, all school managements have been asked to strictly comply with all anti-Covid precautions in schools.

    The Cabinet minister also said that the Education Department had taken feedback from school heads.

    Besides ensuring safety of the children, they also suggested the reopening of schools before the annual exams for final revision of the course, he said.