5,000 home guards, anti-drone tech to keep cross-border smuggling in check

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Bhagwant Mann government’s flagship mission against drugs, ‘Yudh Nasheyan Virudh’, found a major mention in the budget, with the government announcing key steps and allocating ₹260 crore to curb the menace.

Acknowledging that the problem of drugs was the biggest threat to the progress and prosperity of Punjab, state finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema also noted that the bulk of the drugs are coming from across the border.

“It is the primary responsibility of the Union government to halt cross-border smuggling of drugs and arms as the 50 km area along the International Border falls under the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force. Yet, nobody can deny that the (drug) issue is still prevalent. We have now decided to complement the efforts of the BSF by undertaking two initiatives to completely block cross-border smuggling of drugs,” said Cheema in his budget speech.

Cheema announced the state government will establish a second line of defence at the border by deploying 5,000 home guards alongside the BSF. These home guards will be selected from the most determined Punjabi youth, who will act as eagle eyes to protect the future of Punjab, he said.

“Another major decision for eradicating drugs is to deploy the most advanced and effective anti-drone systems to track and neutralise the sophisticated cross-border drones being used to drop drugs and arms inside Punjab,” he added.

“We have already started a pilot project with a cutting-edge technology and will deploy anti-drone systems along the border in the coming year,” said the finance minister. “I am allocating a budget of ₹110 crore towards these initiatives next year,” he said.

“We are taking yet another landmark initiative to effectively fight the war against drugs. We have to fight this war not just with force and weapons, but also scientifically through data and analysis. We have decided to carry out the first-ever ‘drug census’ in Punjab next year (fiscal),” Cheema said. .

“This census will cover every household of Punjab and will collect data to understand the prevalence of drugs, usage of de-addiction centres, etc, besides collecting data on socio-economic status of the people of Punjab,” he added.

This data will be used to craft an effective and scientific strategy to eradicate the drug menace.

In another major announcement, it has been decided to procure 758 four-wheelers and 916 two wheelers and deploy them as Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs).

“Along with the issue of drugs, our government has been very strict in dealing with gangsters and other criminals to maintaining the overall law and order situation in Punjab. To ensure that our police are well-equipped to respond immediately to any tip-offs and nab the culprits immediately, we will launch a major initiative to strengthen the fleet of ERVs that respond to emergency calls made on ‘112’. Currently, Punjab Police operates a fleet of 258 dedicated ERVs due to which the average response time to distress calls goes up to 30 minutes,” said the FM.

The budget proposals claim that with the procurement of new vehicles, the average response time to emergency calls will reduce to 8 minutes, which will be the lowest in the country.

“In addition, we will construct a state-of-the-art headquarters for the ‘Dial 112’ response team in S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali), which will be equipped with the latest technologies and facilities. I am announcing an allocation of ₹125 crore towards buying new ERVs and an allocation of ₹53 crore towards building the new ‘Dial 112’ headquarters.

In another proposal, an amount of ₹100 crore is proposed for construction, renovation & upgradation of jail infrastructure in the state. An allocation of ₹233 crore has been proposed in the budget to modernise and upgrade police infrastructure. This includes construction and renovation of police complexes, purchase of land for police lines, police stations, housing for the police personnel and more.