Punjab, Haryana agree to hold inter-state meeting on drugs

Chandigarh, July 12 (IANS) The Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana met here on Friday to discuss greater coordination in the battle against drugs, and agreed to hold an inter-state meeting of all the northern states on July 25.

The meeting will be hosted by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. He said this after meeting his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar at the latter's office.

Besides Haryana and Punjab, the Chief Ministers of Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Delhi, as well as the Governor Jammu and Kashmir, the Delhi Lieutenant Governor and the Chandigarh Administrator are expected to join the second inter-state meeting on drugs, an official spokesperson told IANS.

The first meeting was held last April and the northern states had then decided to set up a centralised secretariat at Panchkula in Haryana with nodal officers from each stated to be deputed there for intelligence and information sharing.

The states had also agreed on a more proactive campaign to fight drugs on a joint platform, with faster sharing of information on drug trends, cases registered and persons identified or arrested.

Amarinder Singh said after the meeting with Khattar, his government was committed to the total elimination of drugs, which were being smuggled into Punjab from across the borders, not just from Pakistan but also from within the country.

He reiterated his government's zero tolerance policy against drugs.

Earlier, the Haryana Chief Minister welcomed Amarinder Singh and presented to him a copy of the Bhagvad Gita and a memento.