Amend policy on private drug rehab centres, CM urged

Chandigarh, February 9

The Punjab Drug Rehabilitation Centres Union (PDRCU) has sought the immediate intervention of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to free them from the alleged “regressive policy” enacted during the Congress regime due to which the drug rehabilitation centres being run in the private sector are on the verge of closure. It would render over 2,000 people jobless, the union said.

Addressing a press meet here, Kunal Lakhanpal, president, PDRCU, said that as per the guidelines promulgated in 2011 on the intervention of the High Court, drug rehabilitation centres are required to have in-house counsellors and weekly visits by an MBBS doctor and psychiatrist at the rehab centre.

“In 2020, the previous Congress government in Punjab — ignoring the 2011 High Court guidelines foisted a new policy on drug rehabilitation centres being run by private players. It mandates that every rehab centre should have a permanent MBBS doctor and also a psychiatrist on its payroll. It’s illogical as no medicine is to be given at these centres,” added Lakhanpal.

The PDRCU members contended that the new policy would lead to high operating costs, which they cannot meet given the fact they run small centres.