Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday directed officials to take stringent measures to curb the drug menace and protect youth from substance abuse, asserting that the State government is committed to building a drug-free Karnataka. Chairing a high-level review meeting, attended by Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh, senior police officers and heads of various departments, Mr. Kharge stressed the need for coordinated action involving law enforcement agencies, educational institutions, local bodies and technology-driven governance systems.

The Minister instructed police to take strict action against drug suppliers and those involved in trafficking networks, ensuring rigorous enforcement of all relevant laws. He also called for large-scale awareness campaigns on the dangers of drug abuse, extending beyond urban centres to rural areas through schools, colleges, factories and gram panchayats.

Emphasising inter-departmental coordination, he said the fight against drugs cannot be left to a single department. He directed departments such as Home, Higher Education, School Education, Medical Education, Labour, Social Welfare and Rural Development to work together using advanced technology and data-sharing mechanisms.

The Minister also asked officials to leverage the Karnataka State Wide Area Network (KSWAN 3.0), which is being expanded to all gram panchayats, to strengthen monitoring and awareness programmes at the grassroots level.

To encourage public participation, Mr. Kharge directed officials to further strengthen the Janaspandana (iPGRS) grievance redressal platform to enable citizens to report drug-related activities. Complaints, he said, should be mapped to field-level officers and acted upon within stipulated timelines under strict service-level agreements.

He also instructed departments to expedite Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) initiatives to streamline data-sharing and monitoring mechanisms, particularly between the Home and Education departments.