Nearly two years after J&K notified a detailed SOP to declare Panchayats and ULB wards as Nasha Mukt, the situation on the ground remains alarming and deeply unsettling. Out of over 4,000 Panchayats, barely 1,000 have been able to achieve drug-free status, while not a single ULB ward anywhere in the UT has met the criteria. These figures speak more loudly than any government statement-they confirm that drug abuse has penetrated villages, towns and urban clusters at a depth that the administration has grossly underestimated.The 2023 SOP was envisioned as an all-encompassing framework, designed to regulate drug control measures, coordinate multiple departments and ultimately eliminate the supply and demand of narcotics at the grassroots. But two years later, the ground reality exposes a worrying truth: the SOP exists largely on paper. The absence of even one drug-free ULB ward reflects a glaring gap between planning and execution, seriousness and symbolism, and intentions and actual outcomes.
At the heart of the crisis lies a fundamental failure on three critical fronts-supply reduction, demand reduction and prevention/awareness-each of which should work in tandem to create a sustainable drug-free ecosystem. Supply must shrink to zero for the menace to be effectively tackled. That requires strong, sustained, and targeted policing. The Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Anti-Narcotics Task Force are central to this mission. Yet, the fact that thousands of Panchayats and ULBs continue to report drug availability indicates that drug networks remain active, resilient and deeply entrenched. Disturbingly, no major drug traffickers-the real kingpins-have been arrested. Chasing small-time peddlers achieves little when the primary sources continue to operate untouched. The supply chain needs to be dismantled from top to bottom. Without that, the system continues to leak, and drugs continue to flow.
Additionally, demand reduction has been inadequate and inconsistent. A drug-free Panchayat or Ward requires that no case of drug addiction be reported for six continuous months. But rehabilitation centres across UT are already overflowing, with no space left to accommodate new patients. This alone illustrates the explosion in addiction levels. Unless every existing addict undergoes proper treatment, counselling, and monitoring, the vicious cycle will not break. Half-hearted rehabilitation cannot produce Nasha Mukt communities. Prevention and awareness efforts-monthly Gram Sabha discussions, Nukkad Nataks, school sensitisation, visible display of helplines, sports promotion-have remained largely symbolic. Many of these initiatives happen only occasionally, often around special events or official visits. The SOPs’ enforcement mechanisms have been weak, and the district-level committees formed in 2022 have not been meeting regularly or coordinating effectively. If thousands of Panchayats still fail to qualify as drug-free, it means the preventive systems have not taken root at all.
The gravity of the crisis is such that two-thirds of Panchayats remain affected by drug abuse, and every single ULB ward continues to grapple with the menace. It is time to acknowledge that piecemeal, half-hearted or event-based efforts will never produce results. Only a sustained, coordinated, multi-pronged campaign-backed by accountability-can succeed. The SOP clearly defines what needs to be done. The challenge is not a lack of guidelines; it is a lack of seriousness in implementation. Fighting the drug menace requires extraordinary action and consistent vigilance.
The Government must intervene immediately and decisively. Drug supply hotspots are well known to agencies at every level. If action is not being taken despite such knowledge, the matter becomes all the more serious. Accountability must be fixed, loopholes plugged, and regular monitoring enforced with transparency. Every department-police, education, social welfare, rural development, health, excise, and local bodies-must work on a war footing. Jammu & Kashmir stands at a turning point. If present and future generations are to be protected from this silent devastation, the fight against drugs must assume the urgency of a firefighting operation. Unless all-out efforts are put in, Nasha Mukt J&K is a distant dream only. There is no room for complacency. With addiction rising, rehabilitation centres overflowing, and drug networks remaining active, the onus lies squarely on the Government to stem the rot-before it becomes irreversible.
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