War on drugs: Punjab to ink MoU with UN agency

CHANDIGARH : Punjab will soon sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as part of its efforts to intensify its war against drugs.

The decision followed a meeting here on Wednesday between Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh and UNODC representative Sergey Kapinos. The MoU will be signed between the health department, special task force (STD) on drugs and UNODC in the second week of June, said an official spokesperson.

It was decided at the meeting to develop a roadmap for the project implementation, for which a panel will be set up.

The committee will be headed by the principal secretary health, with STF chief ADGP Harpreet Singh Sidhu as co-convener, besides two representatives of UNODC.

The chief minister directed the health secretary to finalise the terms of the MoU after consultation with all stakeholders to identify the areas of cooperation.

Pre-project activity will start immediately after signing of the MoU and the execution will move forward full steam as soon as the project funding is cleared by the UN, it was decided.

Kapinos appreciated the work done by the Captain Amarinder Singh government in fighting the drugs problem and referred to Punjab’s vulnerability to drugs on account of its proximity to Pakistan.

THE DECISION FOLLOWED A MEETING BETWEEN CHIEF MINISTER CAPTAIN AMARINDER SINGH AND UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME REPRESENTATIVE SERGEY KAPINOS