BJP Government Refutes Its Own Punjab Drug Report Before Polls

Union Minister Vijay Sampla refutes AIIMS’s drug survey, commissioned by his own ministry.

Government Minister Vijay Sampla after being made Punjab poll-in charge refutes Drug report commissioned by his own ministry. (Photo Altered by The Quint)

A Punjab Opioid Dependency Survey (PODS) was conducted by Society for Promotion of Youth & Masses in collaboration with National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, AIIMS,courtesy Udta Punjab and the 2017 state elections. The survey recently attracted a lot of media attention. All this publicity has caused the ruling BJP-Akali government a lot of heart burn.

In a belated response to a January report, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Vijay Sampla has said that he did not ‘accept’ the AIIMS report. Questioning the ‘authenticity’ of the findings, Sampla tried to avoid getting blamed and said that the report was ‘exaggerating’ numbers. He claimed that the problem was much more serious in other states, compared with Punjab.

The Conflict of Interest

Sampla was appointed the BJP poll in-charge for Punjab two months ago and is now refuting a report that was commissioned by his own ministry. Moreover, Sampla should answer why the report, if indeed ‘exaggerated’, was uploaded on the Punjab government website in January 2016. Does this not count as an acknowledgement by the government of Punjab?

Snapshot of PODS report still available on Punjab government website. (Photo: Official Website Punjab Government)

In Defence of the Report

The PODS report clarifies that the areas surveyed constitute 60% of the state, and is thus factually correct.

The RDS (Respondent Driven Sampling) study was carried out across 10 districts in the state: Bathinda, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Moga, Patiala, Sangrur, Tarn Taran. 10 districts house about 60% of the state’s population and are representative of the state on many parameters (population, male: female ratio, urban: rural ratio, location at international or inter-state border, location in the different regions of Punjab).

Authors of the report have clarified that over 80 organisations in the 22 districts participated in the survey.

These include:

• Government, Private or NGO de-addiction centres
  
• Private nursing homes
  
• Government OST centres
  
• NGOs providing needle-syringe services
  
• Rehabilitation centres

‘Alarming’ Because ...

76% of addicts between the age group of 18-35 spend an average of Rs 900 a day buying drugs. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Another senior AIIMS drug specialist has further clarified that 0.84% is not a small number. Apart from the fact that it is four times the global average, he said:

76% of addicts are between the age group of 18-35, the prime years of employment and they spend an average of Rs 900 on an average daily buying drugs. This indicates that the drug menace affects at least 60% of the population directly or indirectly.

The expert also also added that if the figure of addiction would have stood at something like 60-70%, it would indicate that Punjab is a ‘hot-spot’ and it would be difficult to breathe the air in the state.

Ministry Officials Say ‘No Comments’

The Quint spoke to Gazala Meenai, the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. She claimed to have no knowledge of the minister’s statement and was quick to avoid any further questions on the matter.

I don’t know what comment you are referring to, I have nothing to say in this matter. 

Gazala Meenai, Joint Secretary (Social Defence), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment