Shillong (Meghalaya), May 16: Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma chaired a review meeting on the Drug Reduction, Elimination, and Action Mission at the State Guest House, Taraghar, with officials from the Social Welfare Department and allied departments.
The meeting assessed rehabilitation infrastructure across the state, noting that several centres are functional while multiple new district proposals are under examination. Key hurdles flagged were delays in NOCs, land availability, and procedural bottlenecks. Work is underway to standardize design templates and implementation frameworks to speed up execution, with services backed by both government interventions and partnerships with civil society and faith-based institutions.
Enforcement under DREAM also came up, with officials reporting seizure and arrest figures, preventive measures under existing laws, and efforts to strengthen financial investigations in drug cases. Sangma stressed stronger inter-agency coordination and financial probes, and called for structured public communication on enforcement outcomes to boost awareness and deterrence.
On prevention, the discussion focused on expanding IEC outreach through community networks, schools, and local leaders, along with QR-based systems for confidential access to rehab information and services to reduce stigma and improve accessibility.
The Chief Minister directed officials to adopt a structured, outcome-oriented approach with clear action points, timelines, and periodic reviews to track progress on rehab expansion, enforcement, and awareness. Departments were asked to enhance coordination and fast-track both ongoing and proposed interventions in a time-bound manner.
