Narco-terror bigger threat than law and order: Home Minister
New Delhi, Jan 9: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah on Friday said narco-terror was a bigger threat to the country than law and order.
Chairing the 9th Apex-Level Meeting of the Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD) at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, Shah said that in the fight against drugs, all departments of the Government of India should prepare a roadmap up to 2029 and establish a time-bound review mechanism for its implementation.
In his address, he said that this challenge was linked more to the issue of narco-terror than to law and order, and most importantly, it was a conspiracy to ruin the coming generations of the country.
The Home Minister said that the health of the youth, their ability to think and perform, and the growing discontent in society were all linked to this problem.
“From March 31, 2026, we will all together launch a three-year collective campaign against this problem, in which the working methodology of all pillars against drug abuse will be defined, targets will be set, and time-bound reviews will be conducted,” he said.
Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the past 11 years, considerable success had been achieved in the fight against drugs, and after the reorganisation of NCORD in 2019, the government had also ensured the path to complete control over this problem.
“Now we have gained speed and will move forward with a three-pronged plan of action,” he said.
The Home Minister said that only by adopting a collective, ruthless approach towards the drug supply chain, a strategic approach towards demand reduction, and a humane approach towards harm reduction would achieving the goal of a drug-free India be possible.
He said that there had been an increase in the number of NCORD meetings, but there was a need to increase it further.
Shah said that district-level and state-level meetings should be held regularly.
He said that the Centre’s approach was very clear that there should be no compassion towards those who manufacture or sell drugs.
“However, we should move forward with a humanitarian perspective towards the victims of drugs,” the Home Minister said. “We must proceed in this fight only by strengthening command, compliance, and accountability. Now, instead of the number of meetings, we should review their outcomes.”
He said that strict action taken against the kingpins of the drug trade, financiers, and logistics routes should be the subject of review.
“We should include the utilisation of Forensic Science Labs (FSL) and increasing the rate of timely filing of charge sheets and securing convictions in our targets,” Shah said.
He said that a top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top approach was extremely essential for investigating the entire drug network.
The Home Minister said that during 2004 to 2013, drugs worth Rs 40,000 crore, amounting to 26 lakh kg, were seized, whereas from 2014 to 2025, drugs worth Rs 1 lakh 71 thousand crore, amounting to 1 crore 11 lakh kg, had been seized.
He said that the campaign against synthetic drugs had been encouraging.
“We have also achieved an 11-fold increase in the quantity of drugs disposed of,” Shah said.
He said that in 2020, the opium crop on 10,770 acres of land was destroyed, and by November 2025, crops on 40,000 acres of land had been destroyed.
The Home Minister directed all departments to prepare a roadmap by March 31 according to their respective responsibilities in dealing with the drug problem, establish a monitoring mechanism, and focus completely on it, so that a comprehensive solution to this problem can be achieved.
“In the next three years, we have to fight on all fronts against drugs across the country and make India a ‘drug-free India’, and make every effort to protect the country's youth from drugs,” he said.
Shah said that only continuous awareness could keep the country safe.
“We want to create such a permanent system that is capable of fighting this battle,” he said. The Home Minister said that Forensic Science Laboratories (FSL) had a very important role in the fight against drugs.
He said that states where the pace of destroying seized drugs was slow would have to speed it up.
Shah appealed to all state Directors Generals of Police (DGPs) to prepare a roadmap in their states and take concrete steps for the timely destruction of drugs.
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had set the goal of making India number one in the world in every field by 2047, when the centenary of independence is celebrated.
“To create such an India, it is the responsibility of all of us to provide complete protection to the young generation from drugs,” the Home Minister said. “The fight is currently at such a stage that we can win it. We will carry out the task of saving the country’s next generation with priority.”
The meeting, being organised in hybrid mode by NCB, was attended by key stakeholders from Central Government Ministries and Departments and representatives from state governments as well as Drug Law Enforcement Agencies.
The NCORD mechanism has a four-tier structure with the Apex Level NCORD Committee, which is headed by the Union Home Secretary, the Executive Level NCORD Committee, which is headed by the Special Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, State Level NCORD Committees, headed by Chief Secretaries of States and District Level NCORD Committees – headed by District Magistrates.
The NCORD mechanism was established in 2016 to enhance coordination between the States, the Ministry of Home Affairs and concerned stakeholders in addressing the challenge of the drug menace in a holistic manner.
The Home Minister also inaugurated the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Office at Amritsar on the occasion.
He also inaugurated NCB’s Amritsar Office.
