Amit Shah Launches Drug Disposal Drive, Opens NCB Offices
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday, June 26, 2026, chaired the 10th Apex-Level Meeting of NCORD in New Delhi, where he launched an online Drugs Disposal Fortnight Campaign targeting the destruction of 2,09,500 kilograms of narcotic substances. The seized drugs, valued at over ₹6,000 crore, are to be destroyed as part of a coordinated national enforcement drive. Shah also inaugurated the Narcotics Control Bureau's (NCB) new zonal office in Guwahati and a new office building in Jammu.
Context
The National Coordination Committee on Drugs (NCORD) serves as the apex inter-agency mechanism for narcotics control in India, chaired by the Union Home Minister. Its meetings bring together central and state enforcement agencies to align strategy on drug trafficking, seizures, and disposal. The 10th meeting marks a decade of structured apex-level coordination under this framework.
Shah announced the campaign as part of a broader push to clear backlogs of seized contraband and demonstrate enforcement momentum. The Drugs Disposal Fortnight sets a specific, time-bound target — destruction of narcotics worth over ₹6,000 crore — signalling an operational rather than merely symbolic intent.
Policy Backdrop
India's drug enforcement architecture rests on the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, which mandates regulated disposal of seized substances. The NCB, constituted in March 1986, is the nodal agency responsible for coordinating enforcement across state and central bodies.
Periodic destruction of seized narcotics is a statutory requirement under the NDPS framework, but large-scale, nationally coordinated disposal campaigns of this scale reflect a deliberate policy choice to accelerate the process. The online format of this campaign is designed to ensure transparency and real-time monitoring across disposal sites nationwide.
Stakeholders and Impact
The inauguration of the NCB zonal office in Guwahati is particularly significant for the Northeast region, which has long been identified as a vulnerable corridor for synthetic drug trafficking, including heroin and methamphetamine, owing to its proximity to the Golden Triangle. A dedicated zonal presence strengthens the bureau's operational reach in a geographically complex area.
Similarly, the new NCB office building in Jammu addresses longstanding infrastructure gaps in Jammu and Kashmir, a region exposed to cross-border narcotic smuggling. Both expansions reflect the government's stated priority of hardening enforcement infrastructure at pressure points. Border communities, local law enforcement, and drug rehabilitation networks stand to benefit from enhanced NCB coordination in both regions.
What's Next
The Drugs Disposal Fortnight Campaign will run over a defined two-week window, with outcomes expected to be reported through NCB's monitoring systems. Parliament sessions and official NCB bulletins are the likely venues for disclosure of final destruction figures and compliance rates across states.
Further expansion of NCB's zonal and sub-zonal office network — particularly in states with high seizure rates — may follow as the bureau scales its operational footprint. The NCORD framework is also expected to continue pushing for tighter state-level integration, a recurring theme in successive apex-level meetings.