Explore joint solutions for river water sharing: Amit Shah

He calls on southern States to step up efforts to tackle drug menace

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday called upon southern States to explore joint solutions to issues related to the sharing of river water and also step up efforts to tackle the drug menace.

Chairing the 30th southern zonal council meeting of south Indian States and Union Territories at Kovalam here, Mr. Shah asked the States to hold regular meetings of the Narco Coordination Centre (NCORD) for effectively tackling the problem of narcotics.

He said the Union Home Ministry had tried to crack down on narcotics with utmost vigilance. States should hold regular meetings of the NCORD (set up by the MHA in 2016 for effective drug law enforcement) and take them to the district level.

Mr. Shah urged Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to mutually resolve pending issues related to the State bifurcation.

He said there was immense potential for increasing trade and export of marine products in the region. Out of 3,461 fishing villages in the country, 1,763 were in the Southern Zonal Council area. Since 2015, ₹4,206 crore had been sanctioned for the Fisheries Infrastructure Development Fund scheme in the southern States.

QR-enabled PVC Aadhaar cards had been issued to over 12 lakh fishermen, which would not only facilitate their identification but would also strengthen the country’s maritime security.

The Home Minister said a policy for establishing forensic science labs had been prepared and sent to the States. This would increase the conviction rate, he said.