Centre’s laxity at border to blame for drug smuggling, says minister

At a review meeting held at Bachat Bhawan here, Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh assessed the progress of government health and welfare schemes and directed officials to intensify outreach so that benefits reach every citizen.

After the meeting, the minister briefed about the state’s ambitious health insurance drive, voicing strong concerns over the drug menace in Punjab.

Dr Singh said the government was determined to enrol every Punjabi under the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna (MMSY) within the next three months. The scheme provides cashless health insurance coverage of up to Rs 10 lakh per family annually, removing income barriers and ensuring universal access to treatment at empanelled government and private hospitals.

Currently, around 60,000 health cards are being issued daily and the government is scaling up efforts to achieve 3 lakh enrolments per day. So far, nearly 9 lakh health cards have already been distributed. The Jagraon constituency has emerged as the state leader in enrolments. To accelerate the drive, additional manpower, machinery and registration camps are being deployed.

The minister confirmed that the state had already released Rs 500 crore to its insurance partner, with strict instructions to clear hospital dues within 21 days. “There is no pendency of payments up to January 31,” he assured, adding that the scheme covers hospitalisation, surgeries, diagnostics, medicines and pre- and post-hospitalisation expenses on a completely cashless basis.

Earlier in the day, Dr Singh visited the Civil Hospital, inspecting the ICU, stroke ward and emergency departments and personally interacted with patients to collect feedback on the scheme’s implementation.

Turning to the issue of drugs, he launched a scathing attack on the Centre, alleging that laxity at the border was allowing narcotics to flood the state. “The Centre does not want drugs to be completely eliminated from Punjab. Nearly 2,000 kg of narcotics are entering the state through the border,” he claimed.

He alleged that gangsters, terrorists and smugglers are working in collusion, with drugs and illegal weapons being supplied from Pakistan. “Rajasthan and Gujarat share larger borders with Pakistan, yet such volumes of drugs and weapons are not smuggled there,” he said.

The minister also revealed that 550 drones had been seized so far but some continue to cross over. He warned that forces both across the border and within the country were conspiring to destabilise Punjab’s atmosphere.