On Independence Day, 15 August 2026, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu drew a hard line against synthetic drug networks in the state — vowing to 'break the back of drug mafias' and announcing the second phase of the government's flagship Chitta-Mukt Abhiyan, set to launch from Una district on 7 September 2026.

Una as the Epicentre of Phase Two

Una, a district that sits along key transit corridors in lower Himachal, has been chosen as the launchpad for the campaign's next chapter — a deliberate signal about where enforcement pressure will intensify. CM Sukhu stated that his government has completed panchayat-level mapping of chitta mafia networks across the state, a granular intelligence exercise designed to cut supply chains at their roots, not just their branches.

PIT-NDPS: The Legal Weapon the Previous Government Left Sheathed

At the centre of the crackdown is the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT-NDPS) Act, a 1988 parliamentary law that enables preventive detention of drug traffickers — a far sharper instrument than routine criminal prosecution. Sukhu pointedly noted that the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government had not invoked it. His administration has now deployed it, and claims 205 drug mafia members have been detained under its provisions, with financial investigations running across 400 cases. 20 properties allegedly acquired through drug money have been demolished.

The figures — if borne out — represent one of the more aggressive applications of the PIT-NDPS framework by any state government in recent memory. Financial investigation alongside detention signals a shift from arresting street-level operatives to dismantling the economic infrastructure of trafficking networks.

'Khelo Himachal' — Sport as the Antidote

Enforcement alone is rarely enough. Sukhu announced the imminent launch of 'Khelo Himachal-Chitta Mukt Abhiyan', a sports-linked awareness drive that pairs the crackdown with an alternative for young people. The framing is deliberate: chitta — a form of heroin — has carved deepest into Himachal's youth demographic, and the CM explicitly linked drug vulnerability to unemployment, calling protection from chitta as essential as job creation itself.

He closed with a commendation to the Director General of Police and the entire state police force, signalling institutional backing for what the government is framing as a decisive, long-haul campaign — not a pre-election sprint.

With phase two launching in six weeks and a sports programme in the pipeline, Himachal Pradesh is betting that panchayat-level mapping plus financial investigation plus youth engagement equals a formula that finally sticks.