Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo chaired a high-level review meeting on Monday to assess cross-departmental progress under the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan (NMBA) and issued key directives to intensify anti-drug efforts across Jammu and Kashmir.

He ordered the creation of a dedicated Task Force headed by the Principal Secretary, Home, with senior officials from the Information, Social Welfare and Skill Development departments as members. The Task Force will draft age-specific rehabilitation strategies for individuals treated for substance abuse.
Emphasizing the need for trained manpower, the Chief Secretary directed that counsellors be trained for every Panchayat, Health Centre, High/Higher Secondary School and College across the UT. Master Trainers will be prepared at IMHANS Srinagar and Jammu, who will then conduct decentralized trainings in all districts. Videography of these sessions was recommended to ensure clarity and wider dissemination.
The Information Department was designated as the nodal agency for NMBA coordination and asked to explore financial support from the Government of India’s National Fund for Control of Drug Abuse. All departments were instructed to synchronize their NMBA activities and upload them on the single reporting portal managed by DIPR.
Commissioner Secretary Social Welfare, Sarmad Hafeez, gave an extensive overview of achievements under NMBA, noting that the campaign has reached 1.09 crore people across J&K through 12,565 activities, covering 24,166 educational institutions and 8,203 villages. The outreach included more than 11 lakh youth and 98.63 lakh women.
He added that during a recent three-month national campaign by the Ministry of Social Justice, the UT held 1,020 events, engaging 2.22 lakh people, including over 1.20 lakh youth.
Departments contributing significantly included the Information Department with 5,361 events (3.83 lakh people reached) and the Rural Development Department with 4,881 events (3.08 lakh participants). The Health & Medical Education Department has registered 33,205 patients for treatment, while Drug Deaddiction Centres have conducted 1,12,884 counselling sessions.
Going forward, the meeting stressed the need for robust awareness, rehabilitation, vocational training, education and sustainable livelihood options for affected individuals. The Health Department informed that Master Trainer programmes will begin immediately at GMC Srinagar and Jammu, with 30 trainees from each district in the first batch. The six-month exercise aims to prepare around 4,000 counsellors to cover every Panchayat, school and health centre.
The Chief Secretary concluded the meeting by administering a pledge to all participants, reaffirming commitment to building a drug-free society.