Punjab seeks financial assistance for setting up special NDPS courts

Chandigarh, Jan 11 Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday sought the intervention of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to provide financial assistance to the state for setting up special NDPS courts to check the drug menace.

Participating through video conferencing in the regional conference on “Drug Trafficking and National Security”, the Chief Minister urged the government of India to give one-time financial assistance for 10 years to the state to create special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) courts and recruitment of public prosecutors along with supporting staff.

He said there are 35,000 NDPS cases pending for session trial as on January 1, adding that at the present rate of disposal, on an average, a sessions court takes seven years to complete the trial of pending case leaving aside all new added cases.

Mann said in coming five years this average disposal time will increase from seven years (35,000 pending cases) to 11 years (55,000 pending cases). The Chief Minister said in order to clear the pendency in the next five years, state needs to create 79 new exclusive NDPS special courts and to appoint 79 Public Prosecutors along with supporting staff for these NDPS Special Courts.

He also requested the Union Home Minister to ensure funding from National Fund for Control of Drug Abuse (Chapter 7-A of NDPS Act) for Anti-Narcotics Task Force, live monitoring systems for six bordering districts, purchase of equipment for technical surveillance, infrastructure and logistic requirement for 5G jamming solution for prisons, etc.

Mann said the state had sought Rs 2,829 crore through 16th Finance Commission which should be approved at the earliest for effective law enforcement and upgrading infrastructure and logistic support.

Flagging another issue, the Chief Minister said with the aim to control, reclaim and rejuvenate drug hotspots in Punjab, hiring of counsellors and coordinators for conducting survey and studies was submitted to government in 2022 but nothing has been allotted till date.

Source: IANS