Govt committed to eradicate drug abuse from J&K: Chief Secy

Jammu, Feb 13: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo Friday reviewed the progress and impact of the outreach-based Nasha Mukt J&K Abhiyan spearheaded by the Information Department in close collaboration with key departments across the Union Territory.
The meeting was attended by the Principal Secretary, Home; Commissioner Secretary, Information & GAD; Commissioner Secretary, Youth Services & Sports; Commissioner Secretary, Social Welfare; Secretary, Rural Development Department (RDD); IGP Crime; Commissioner, Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC); Director, Information & Public Relations; DG, YS&S and senior officers from the School Education, Health and Youth Services & Sports Departments.
Deputy Commissioners from all districts participated through video conferencing.
While reviewing the initiative, the Chief Secretary emphasized the need to link the Nasha Mukt J&K portal with the National Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan (NMBA) portal to enhance visibility, ensure seamless data sharing and enable effective monitoring of activities across platforms.
He underscored the importance of mapping trained counsellors to their respective educational institutions, Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), Panchayats and health institutions on the portal. He directed that their qualifications, training capacities and upcoming training schedules should also be prominently reflected to facilitate easy public access and efficient coordination.
The Chief Secretary stressed upon the Health Department to identify and design certified courses on ‘De-addiction and Counselling’ for professional manpower across departments so that trained human resources are effectively utilized in combating substance abuse.
He directed the Head of Department, IMHANS Srinagar, to introduce diversified and certified courses in de-addiction and counselling and to take concrete steps for expanding training facilities in Jammu Division as well. He called for the formulation of a comprehensive roadmap to strengthen the counsellor base by introducing structured and certified training programmes to build robust human resources capable of addressing drug addiction as a public health challenge.
He further urged the concerned departments to develop high-quality, age-specific and profession-specific content tailored for ASHA workers, Self-Help Group (SHG) members, youth, elderly citizens, government employees, police personnel and those associated with prosecution.
During the meeting, the Chief Secretary took a live demonstration of the Nasha Mukt J&K portal and appreciated its rich and diverse content. Describing it as an immensely significant public platform, he directed that the portal be hosted on the State Data Centre to ensure reliability, security and enhanced accessibility.
Commissioner Secretary, Information, M. Raju took this occasion to informthe meeting that eight key departments including Health, Education, Rural Development, Social Welfare, Urban Development, Youth Services, Police and Excise are actively contributing to the campaign. He highlighted their role in mobilising grassroots-level workers to disseminate the message of making Jammu & Kashmir drug-free.
He disclosed that over 9,000 awareness and outreach events have been conducted across Panchayats, ULBs and educational institutions, witnessing participation of 4,51,520 individuals. As part of rehabilitation efforts, 218 individuals were successfully rehabilitated. Additionally, 1.83 lakh bulk SMS messages were sent to participants acknowledging their involvement in the campaign.
Commissioner Secretary, Social Welfare Department, Sarmad Hafeez, highlighted the department’s coordinated efforts with other agencies, including hundreds of joint inspections of chemist and drug shops with Police, special drives against illicit cultivation, and large-scale awareness programmes such as rallies, nukkad nataks and community outreach campaigns across districts of the Union Territory in collaboration with concerned departments.
Director, Information & Public Relations, Nitish Rajora, apprised the meeting of extensive activities undertaken by the department’s cultural units in both Jammu and Kashmir Divisions. He also presented a detailed demonstration of the portal, showcasing department-wise and district-wise activities conducted under the theme of ‘Nasha Mukt J&K’ in Panchayats, ULBs and educational institutions.
He further informed that the details of trained and mapped counsellors have been uploaded on the portal and assured that comprehensive mapping with full credentials will be completed to ensure ease of public access and effective service delivery.
Reiterating the government’s firm commitment to eradicating drug abuse from the Union Territory, the Chief Secretary called for sustained inter-departmental coordination, professional capacity building and technology-driven monitoring to make the Nasha Mukt J&K Abhiyan a transformative public movement across the length and breadth of J&K.