Latest news with #DDACs
Time of India
30-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Battling drug menace, Himachal Pradesh has just 5 de-addiction centres
Shimla: As the drug menace continues to spread its tentacles in Himachal Pradesh over the past few years, the state is equipped with only five de-addiction centres and one addiction treatment facility to handle the mounting load of drug-dependent patients. These de-addiction centres are in Hamirpur, Kangra, Kullu, Shimla, and Una districts. The sole addiction treatment facility is in Kullu district. Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment BL Verma presented this data in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday in response to a query by BJP MP from Himachal Harsh Mahajan. In contrast, Jammu and Kashmir has 12 de-addiction centres, Punjab 10, Haryana nine, and Uttarakhand seven. Haryana boasts 18 addiction treatment facilities, while Uttarakhand has two. Nationwide, de-addiction centres have been established in 416 cities, towns, and rural areas. The Union social justice and empowerment department has also set up 148 addiction treatment facilities across the country through the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, and Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi Regional Institute of Mental Health, Tezpur, Assam. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo In Himachal, 5,004 cases were registered across the state over the past three years under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. These include 2,147 registered in 2023, 1,717 in 2024, and 1,140 in 2025 until June 30. Also, the enforcement agencies seized 919 kg of charas, 89.6 kg of opium, 32.9 kg of heroin, 1,632 kg of poppy husk, and over 1.64 lakh capsules and tablets between January 2023 and June 2025. Additionally, the state police also destroyed over 70 lakh plants of cannabis across the state during this period. The Union minister informed that the department of social justice and empowerment is providing financial assistance to integrated rehabilitation centres for addicts, community-based peer-led intervention for early drug use prevention among adolescents, outreach and drop-in centres, addiction treatment facilities, and district de-addiction centres (DDACs) across the country. BOX Governor vs CM The issue of the lack of rehabilitation centres in the Himalayan state has also triggered a slugfest between governor Shiv Pratap Shukla and chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. Shukla remarked on July 24 that Himachal could become 'Udta Himachal' like 'Udta Punjab' within the next five years if the state govt fails to act swiftly on the drug issue as it had only one rehabilitation centre in Kullu. Objecting to this statement, the chief minister on Monday said that it does not behove a constitutional officeholder to make such remarks as the state govt was making sincere efforts to eradicate the drug menace. Sukhu stated that a state-level drug de-addiction and rehabilitation centre is being opened at Kotla Barog in Pachhad sub-division of Sirmaur district. J&K LEADS States | De-addiction centres Jammu and Kashmir | 12 Punjab | 10 Haryana | 9 Uttarakhand | 7 CASES IN HP 2023 | 2,147 2024 | 1,717 2025* | 1,140 (Until June 30) SEIZURES 919kg | Charas 89.6kg | Opium 32.9kg | Heroin 1,632kg | Poppy husk 1.64 lakh | Capsules and tablets (From Jan 2023 and June 2025) MSID:: 122997909 413 |
The Hindu
23-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Parliamentary proceedings: In five years, 295% rise in the number of people seeking de-addiction treatment, govt. data shows
In the past five years, the number of people seeking de-addiction treatment for substance abuse at government-supported facilities has seen a 295% rise, data tabled in the Parliament on Wednesday showed. The Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment tabled comprehensive data on its National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR) in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, showing that various types of de-addiction centres supported by the Centre had treated 2.08 lakh people in 2020-21. This number had risen to over 8.23 lakh in 2024-25. The number of people seeking treatment for addiction from these centres has been consistently increasing in the last five years, even as government set up about 288 new de-addiction facilities in the same time period. This data on the increasing number of people seeking treatment for de-addiction comes as the Social Justice Ministry is preparing to launch a nationwide survey to study patterns of substance use and abuse in the country. This survey would build upon the one conducted in 2017-18 by the Nation Drug Dependence Treatment Centre at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. Currently, the Union Social Justice Ministry supports a total of 696 de-addiction facilities of different categories. These include Integrated Rehabilitation Centres for Addicts, Outreach and Drop-in Centres, District De-Addiction Centres (DDACs), Community-based Peer Led Interventions, and Addiction Treatment Facilities (ATFs). Of these, 288 new ATFs and DDACs have come up in the last five years, government data showed. The data on people seeking treatment for addiction was put out by the Social Justice Ministry in response to a question in the Rajya Sabha by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Swati Maliwal on Wednesday. Minister of State for Social Justice B.L. Verma, in his response said that, in 2024-25, ₹170.26 crore was released to the NGOs and voluntary organisations running the facilities. The 2017-18 survey on substance abuse had concluded that alcohol was the most used substance, with over 15 crore people estimated to be using it, of which around 30 lakh were estimated to be minors (between 10-17 years of age). This was followed by cannabis, opioids, sedatives, inhalants, cocaine, stimulants such as amphetamine, and hallucinogens, respectively.
The Hindu
02-06-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Centre calls for proposals to set up de-addiction centres in 291 ‘gap' districts
The Union government has invited proposals to set up District De-Addiction Centres (DDACs) in 291 'gap' districts identified by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment across 30 States and Union Territories in the country as part of its National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction. 'Gap' districts have been identified as those that currently have no Centrally supported infrastructure to treat or rehabilitate people who are dealing with substance abuse or dependence, officials told The Hindu. The Social Justice Ministry is also preparing to launch a fresh round of a nationwide survey to establish the extent and pattern of substance use across India, which is expected to gather data at the district level. The government's national action plan provides for the Social Justice Ministry to support Integrated Rehabilitation Centres for Addicts (IRCAs), Community-based Peer Led Initiatives (CPLIs), Outreach and Drop-in Centres (ODICs), and DDACs. The Social Justice Ministry told Parliament this April that it is supporting 350 IRCAs, 74 ODICs, 46 CPLIs, and 124 DDACs. Apart from this, the Ministry is also supporting 142 addiction treatment facilities running from government hospitals. 'These [291] districts are ones where currently no IRCA, CPLI, or ODIC supported by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment are running. So, as a start, the government is calling for DDAC proposals for these gap districts, which will also serve the functions of these interventions,' a government official said. In addition to administrative and office space for the staff, each DDAC is supposed to house a treatment cum rehabilitation centre, an area for drop-in centre facilities, and an area for CPLI facilities. The DDACs can have the capacity to house 15 or 30 patients at a time, with specific norms of minimum requirements prescribed for them. According to the invitation issued by the government for the latest batch of 291 DDACs, the highest number of 'gap' districts have been identified in Chhattisgarh, where 31 of the State's 33 districts have figured in this list. Other states where a high number of 'gap' districts have been identified include Madhya Pradesh (23), Gujarat (22), Arunachal Pradesh (21), Bihar (25), Jharkhand (16), Uttar Pradesh (18), Punjab (16), and Assam (10). The invitation for expression of interest-cum-proposal floated by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for the latest batch of 291 DDACs issued last week asked eligible NGOs and start-ups with at least two years of experience in drug de-addiction treatment to apply by June 30. The government said these DDACs would 'conduct primary prevention activities through awareness programmes among the vulnerable and affected community', and 'engage in risk mitigation of substance use among children/adolescents/youth'. This will include preventing substance use, identifying peer educators in the communities, implementing early prevention education, identifying adolescents or children using substances and referring them to rehabilitation centres or treatment facilities, among other activities. The National Survey of Extent and Pattern of Substance Use conducted in 2017-18 estimated, through extrapolated data, that there were about 1.18 crore children and adolescents using various psychoactive substances, including alcohol, cannabis, opioids, sedatives, inhalants, cocaine, amphetamine-type substances, and hallucinogens. The same survey had estimated about seven crore adults in the country using these psychoactive substances.
