NCB classifies six Punjab districts as 'ultra-sensitive' drug zones under Centre’s anti-narcotics roadmap
PTC News Desk: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has classified six districts in Punjab as 'ultra-sensitive' districts as part of the Centre's three-year blueprint to make India 'drug-free' nation by 2029.
The five such districts in the state that have been red-flagged are Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Fazilka, on the Indo-Pak International Border, and the sixth one is Ludhiana, the industrial hub of the state, also known as the Manchester of India.
Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh on Wednesday, Amanjit Singh, Zonal Director, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Chandigarh; and Raj Kumar, Additional Director General (Media), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), detailed the vision document released by the MHA IN 2026.
Amanjit said, “Out of 272 vulnerable districts identified nationwide where sports-based interventions will be promoted, 73 are classified as ‘ultra-sensitive’. In Punjab, these include five border districts—Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Fazilka and Ferozepur— and Ludhiana. Pathankot is the only Punjab border district excluded from the ultra-sensitive list.”
Giving details of the government’s enforcement efforts, the MHA spokesperson said more than 93.33 lakh kg of narcotic and psychotropic substances, worth an estimated ₹1.53 lakh crore, were seized between 2019 and July 2026.
During the same period, more than 44.88 lakh kg of seized drugs, valued at around ₹88,010 crore, were destroyed. Illegal properties and assets worth ₹3,992 crore were also frozen or seized since 2019, while 128 clandestine drug laboratories had been dismantled by July 2026, he said.
Under the government’s new roadmap, schools and colleges have been identified as the first line of defence against drug abuse. A drug-free campus framework, including 500-metre safe zones around educational institutions, is proposed to be implemented by March 2027. The plan also includes preventive screening of more than 10 lakh students.
The roadmap also proposes expanding the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). Its workforce is planned to increase from 1,107 to 1,630 personnel, while the number of zonal units would rise from 13 to 36 and regional offices from three to seven.
According to the MHA spokesperson, the Union Government has prepared the roadmap around four key areas: intelligence- and operation-based enforcement, control of precursor chemicals and synthetic drugs, demand reduction and harm reduction, and capacity building and coordination.
The roadmap was prepared after consultations with more than 35 ministries, departments and agencies, he added.
- PTC NEWS
