Most drug rehabilitation centres in Assam have no clinical licences

 Government to regulate drug rehabilitation centres

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Most of the drug rehabilitation centres in the state are without clinical licences and other necessary documents. To streamline the activities of such rehabilitation centres, the State Government formed a committee today.

The Social Justice and Empowerment Department organized a meeting with the owners of around 64 drug rehabilitation centres working in Guwahati. It came to light during the meeting that only 12 of the 64 rehabilitation centres have clinical licences from the Health Department. The rest of the centres have no registration as rehabilitation centres. The only registration they have is as NGOs.

Today's meeting made it clear that all drug rehabilitation centres have to register themselves with the Social Justice and Empowerment Department, GMC (Guwahati Municipal Corporation) and the Health Department. And all these centres will come under the monitoring of the police and the district administrations within two months. The committee also has eight owners of drug rehabilitation centres as members.

Chairing the meeting, Social Welfare and Empowerment Minister Pijush Hazarika said, "The rehabilitation centres will have to fulfil the minimum facilities. They can keep a maximum of 5-7 inmates in a room. However, some of them keep around 20 inmates in a room. Quality food, proper sanitation, counselling with trained medical personnel without using force, etc., are must in all such centres. No owner can close his centre all of a sudden. The government will close the centres if they violate the rules and regulations."

Hazarika said, "We will keep provisions in the next budget to hone the skills of 1,000 rehabilitated drug addicts yearly." Significantly, the owners of most of the drug rehabilitation centres in the city were drug addicts themselves.

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