Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], August 12 : Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday said that the state government has been running a determined and non-stop campaign against drugs since March 1 this year, delivering some of the biggest results in the state's anti-narcotics efforts.
He accused the previous regimes, 10 years of Shiromani Akali Dal rule followed by 15 years of Congress, of pushing Punjab into a deep crisis by allowing drugs to spread to almost every household.
"The situation had become so bad that the only question in those days was how to deliver chitta (heroin) to the homes," he alleged.
Cheema said that in just over five months, between March 1 and August 12, the Punjab Police registered 16,322 cases related to drug trafficking and peddling, arrested 25,542 accused, and caught 145 offenders during police chases and encounters. He further informed that 182 illegal properties connected to the drug trade were demolished using legal provisions.
Public cooperation, he stressed, has been a major factor in the campaign's success. Citizens have actively reported drug-related activities through the government's helpline and online portal, leading to around 5,000 FIRs being registered based on credible information.
"Those who are drug consumers and are caught with only small quantities are being released for de-addiction treatment. Our main target is the big suppliers, and most of them are now behind bars. As a result, the number of cases will start to drop in the coming months," Cheema said.
Turning to the issue of the land pooling policy, Cheema explained that the government decided to roll it back after detailed discussions with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and farmer representatives. He said that during the Akali Dal's ten-year rule and the Congress's fifteen-year rule, 30,000 acres of land were taken under CLU (Change of Land Use) approvals, often through questionable means. Many of these plots, he alleged, were turned into illegal colonies.
Cheema claimed that farmers were cheated during this period as land was bought from them at cheap rates and later sold at much higher prices, with buyers often left facing legal troubles. "The farmer was looted, the buyer was harassed, and only middlemen and developers made money. That is why our government has cancelled this policy in the interest of farmers," he said.
He added that the Aam Aadmi Party government has taken steps to improve the condition of farmers, ensuring that water reaches the last field and providing nearly continuous electricity supply to the farming sector, except for short breaks in power. "We have taken a stand with the farmers, and opposition parties should not be upset with this," Cheema said, asserting that the government's priority remains the welfare of both the farming community and the youth of Punjab.