In a striking alignment of political will, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma has extended strong support to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s recent call for a united, cross-state campaign against the drug menace sweeping the Northeast. Amid mounting concerns over the growing influence of narcotics networks across porous state borders, Sangma’s endorsement signals a significant step towards a cohesive regional offensive.
Describing the joint approach as critical to addressing the complexities of drug trafficking in the region, Sangma remarked, “We all need to work together because it’s a region, it’s a complete route and there are Intel’s, informations, that are connected in different states that need to be coordinated.” Emphasizing that the state governments are already collaborating on intelligence-sharing and action, he added, “It will happen in a much more qualitative way in the future… the state governments are working very closely and sharing the Intel and taking the actions necessary at their level.”
The Chief Minister’s statement came during a media interaction following the postponement of a scheduled review meeting under the state’s flagship anti-drug initiative, DREAM (Drug Reduction Elimination and Action Mission). Explaining the deferment, he stated, “We were supposed to have a meeting on the dream project. We had organised a meeting because we regularly meet for DREAM. DREAM is, as you know, a program that the government has come out with in terms of the fight against drugs. So, this was as per a regular meeting scheduled, but unfortunately, two or three of the ministers concerned are not there. And therefore, when they came I have told them that we will just postpone it for a week or so and we’ll have the meeting when all of us are here.”
When asked about the trends in drug-related cases across Meghalaya, Sangma offered a layered view. “It depends on how you define cases, whether it’s defining in terms of the number of people who have been caught supplying drugs, selling drugs or in terms of the drug users,” he noted, adding that what matters more is the scale of collective action underway. “What is more important I guess to understand is that, for the first time, there is a very, very strong and concerted and coordinated effort by the Central Government, the state governments within their states, and the region — all the coordination that is taking place in order to fight against this entire menace of drugs. And I can tell you that this is yielding huge results. Because the number of cases — which is saying, of people being caught — has gone up. Now, is that a good thing or a bad thing? Well, means that more and more people who are involved in this are being caught, so which is a good thing.”
Despite the improved metrics, Sangma warned against overconfidence. “We are seeing the frequency also of the supplies and all are going up. And that’s why more and more people have been caught. Police have a very strong intelligence network. So, therefore on an overall scale, we are seeing things improving but there’s a long way to go. A long way to go, and there are a lot of challenges that we are facing.”
Underscoring the state’s commitment, he highlighted investments in enforcement and legal infrastructure. “A lot of investments and structures have been made in the past, whether it is the dedicated workforce or the police force to target the supply chain, which has been formed. The task force is working very aggressively and very successfully. We have put up our labs to test the drugs so that we’re able to immediately charge-sheet the concerned person so that they don’t go scot-free just simply because of procedural matters, which used to happen in the past. But once we now have the lab in our state, we’re able to take care of that.”
Sangma also acknowledged the multifaceted nature of the drug crisis, stressing that enforcement alone is not enough. “We have to realise that there are multiple angles when it comes to drugs — there’s a supply chain with the main source, there is a distribution network which has to be targeted, then there is an aspect of the users and their rehabilitation and their health concerns and the counselling that has to be given. So all of these require multiple interventions at multiple levels.”
On the DREAM meeting’s delay, he reaffirmed that the review is routine and will be held shortly. “That’s why today we were supposed to have that meeting, but as I said, it happens every month. So by default, if not today in this meeting — 22nd, 23rd after Easter — but we’ll have one meeting this month.”
While admitting he did not have updated statistics at hand, the Chief Minister stood firm on the government’s resolve. “Yes, the number has gone now. But I don’t have the numbers, exact details with me. So, I don’t want to give the wrong details to you.”
Concluding with a sharp message of urgency and resolve, Sangma reiterated the broader vision behind the DREAM mission. “This entire review of the DREAM was supposed to be discussing those mentors. But as I said earlier, the results are showing. But as I said, I’m not happy with that kind of a result — there’s much more to be done. And we want it to be completely drug-free and, you know, a complete — as I said — we are looking at it as a war against drugs, and so we’ll have to work much harder.”