Bhubaneswar: The State government has decided to constitute Odisha State Task Force Against Drug Trafficking & Drug Abuse.
A Resolution issued by the Home Department on Saturday last in this regard has been marked for publication in the Odisha Gazette.
According to the resolution, the State Task Force will be chaired by former DGP Abhay.
There will be a multi-departmental coordination committee which will be headed by Chief Secretary and co-chaired by Chairman State Task Force.
The State Task Force will formulate a State policy within the context of National Policy on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances 2012.
The Multi-Departmental Committee chaired by the Chief Secretary will comprise of DGP Odisha, Secretaries of departments of Home, Health & Family Welfare, SSEPD, Excise, School & Mass Education, Higher Education, I & PR and IT and will be members of Odisha State Task Force against Drug Trafficking and Drug Abuse.
The Chairman can constitute smaller sub-committees of the task force to study any aspect in detail and make recommendations. The Chairman can nominate/invite any other State/Central government official, or any expert to any of the sub-committees. The Chairman can also seek cooperation from agencies of the United Nations system.
The Resolution says that in Odisha, it is imperative to give a serious push to efforts to contain drug abuse and drug trafficking so that the emerging problem is nipped in the bud.
This can be done by a combination of demand reduction, supply reduction, and harm reduction measures, the resolution adds.
