Mumbai: The Maharashtra cabinet approved a policy on Tuesday aimed at eradicating drugs from the state by 2029 through extensive public awareness and strict action against narcotics, with participation from all government departments.

Maharashtra becomes the first state in the country to undertake such a comprehensive, coordinated campaign across departments to create a drug-free state, according to a statement issued by the government.

Under the policy, strict action will be taken against the cultivation of crops that contribute to illegal drug production, as well as the production, transportation, sale and consumption of both natural and synthetic drugs.

Responsibility Assigned From Village to Ministerial Level

“The policy will focus on extensive public awareness and strict action against drugs, with the participation of all departments of the state government. To ensure the successful implementation of this comprehensive policy, responsibilities have been assigned from the village level to the district, divisional and ministerial levels,” the statement said.

Aligned With the Centre’s Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan

The central government has set a target of completely eradicating drugs from the country by 2029 through coordination among various central and state government departments. Accordingly, the ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan‘ is being implemented effectively at the national level.

To accelerate the implementation of the central government’s policy and make Maharashtra completely drug-free by 2029, a policy based on a ‘Whole-of-Government Approach’ has been formulated. A large-scale public awareness campaign will also be undertaken as part of this effort.

Coordination Through the Anti-Narcotics Task Force

For the successful implementation of this campaign, all departments will be required to coordinate with the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF), the statement said.

For coordination at the Mantralaya level, each department will appoint a nodal officer of the rank of deputy secretary to ensure smooth execution of the policy across administrative levels.