CHANDIGARH: The Union Government has classified six districts in Punjab as “ultrasensitive” drug zones out of the 73 such districts mapped in this category and 274 as “sensitive” in its nationwide crackdown on narcotics as part of its newly unveiled campaign for a drug-free India (Nasha Mukt Bharat).
The five such districts in the state that have been red-flagged are Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Fazilka, on the Indo-Pak International Border, and the sixth one is Ludhiana, the industrial hub of the state, also known as the Manchester of India.
Amanjit Singh, Zonal Director, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Chandigarh, and Raj Kumar, Additional Director General (Media), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), detailed the vision document released by the MHA in June 2026.
“Out of 272 vulnerable districts identified nationwide where sports-based interventions will be promoted, 73 are classified as ‘ultra-sensitive’, as special de-addiction strategies have been formed by the Centre to eradicate drugs from these districts,” said Amanjit.
On a question about drugs coming from across the border, he said anti-drone technology will be installed all along the International Border to check the supply of drugs via drones.
“To counter cross-border trafficking, all border-guarding agencies will be equipped with advanced surveillance and anti-drone systems by March 2027,” said Amanjit.
He added that around 100 fugitives involved in narco-terrorism have been identified by the Centre and the process is on to bring them back, as the MHA has set a target to dismantle 100 major national and international drug networks.
Not only that, it has also been decided to increase de-addiction centres from 334 to 1,751 by March 2029. The Union government has decided to give 100 per cent grants for the anti-narcotics task forces working in the states under the new arrangement, he said.
Giving details of enforcement efforts, he said narcotic and psychotropic substances weighing more than 93.33 lakh kg and valued at an estimated Rs 1.53 lakh crore were seized between 2019 and July 2026.
“During the same period, more than 44.88 lakh kg of seized narcotic substances, valued at around Rs 88,010 crore, were destroyed. While illegal properties and assets worth Rs 3,992 crore were frozen or seized since 2019, 128 clandestine laboratories had been dismantled till July 2026,” he said.
Meanwhile, schools and colleges have been identified as the first line of defence against drug abuse under the plan. A drug-free campus framework, including 500-metre safe zones around educational institutions, is proposed to be implemented by March 2027. Preventive screening of more than 10 lakh students is also planned.
The roadmap also proposes strengthening the NCB by increasing its manpower from 1,107 to 1,630 personnel, zonal units from 13 to 36 and regional offices from three to seven.
The MHA spokesperson said the Union Government has prepared a roadmap based on four pillars – intelligence- and operation-based enforcement, precursor and synthetic drugs control, demand and harm reduction, and capacity building and coordination, following consultations with more than 35 ministries, departments and agencies.
“The operational mantra for these four pillars is detect, disrupt and destroy.
Detect: Identify the source, route, peddler, technology, payment channels and kingpins.
Disrupt: Target transit, logistics, precursor supply, darknet networks, hawala and narco-financing.
Destroy: Eliminate drug laboratories, illicit cultivation, cartel assets, leadership and the entire distribution network,” he added.
He said that this has been prepared under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has made the fight against drugs a national security priority.
Destruction of clandestine drug labs, bringing back drug offenders and fugitives, system integration and achieving measurable national outcomes have been given special focus in the vision document.
Interestingly, from September 18, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is starting its anti-drug yatras across the state, which will be flagged off from Pathankot by party’s national president Nitin Nabin, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to address its culmination in Jalandhar on September 30.
The BJP has made drug trade its main plank for the upcoming 2027 Punjab Assembly elections.
The Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government countered the move, saying that coordinated vigilance by local agencies has already caused a substantial drop in cross-border heroin inflows.