Narcotics control and women's safety have got a special focus in the budget allocation of the Union home ministry, spelling the need for urgent measures on both counts.
The problem of drug abuse isn’t limited to big cities but has percolated down to smaller towns with youth becoming the target, as the country is used as a supply, demand and transit destination for drug smugglers and peddlers. With India emerging as a massive market and the Narcotics Control Bureau pegging the number of addicts at nearly 10 crore, more focus is being given to drug control measures.
The budgetary allocation for narcotics control has risen from Rs 5 crore to Rs 13 crore with the MHA laying focus on states building their own capacity as well to boost the efforts. However, given the growing threat and the extent of the problem, both the Centre and the states need to step up their efforts to yield results on the ground.
Government officials said newer methods of drug manufacturing, besides several cities being used as transit routes, are a concern leading to an increase in consumption patterns. For example, precursors made in India are used in Mexico to treat the cocaine which comes out of Colombia and Mexico. At the same time, a large part of the smuggled opium from the growing fields in states like Rajasthan was getting processed into brown sugar, heroin and cocaine and smuggled into neighbouring Punjab, travelling up to Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat and Maharashtra where consumption is high.
At the same time, cross-border threats from drug routes opening into Punjab from Pakistan and from China, Myanmar into northeastern states have been a pressing concern.
Meanwhile, the Union budget has also focussed on safety measures for women, increasing the budget allocation from Rs 374.75 crore to Rs 960.12 crore. The outlay for Nirbhaya fund has increased from Rs 180 crore to Rs 200 crore. The focus is also on women's helplines, setting up of special help desks in police stations and the Safe Cities Project which is part of MHA’s efforts to improve safety measures for women after the 2012 Nirbhaya case.
