Where has drug rehab gone, asks HC

CHANDIGARH: With both drug addictionand rehabilitation centres set up to stem the rot running loose, the Punjab andHaryana High Court on Wednesday asked the governments of Punjab, Haryana andChandigarh to file reports on the working of these facilities within 15days.Justice Rajive Bhalla also told the authorities to suggestimprovements for the centres.He also asked if closing private rehabcentres was the right step when state-run ones had not been opened in theirplace.Punjab advocate-general HS Mattewal said the government waskeen on battling the menace even as the judge observed that there were drugaddicts ���from top to bottom��� in the state.The judgeasked sarcastically if Punjab and Haryana governments would ensure thatnarcotics come into the states in truckloads from Rajasthan as elections wereapproaching.���I will refer the issue to Election Commission andtell it that in Punjab and Haryana drugs come in handy to entice voters.Fortunately, the UT does not have such a tradition,��� said thejudge.The matter came before HC after Mohali-based NGOs JeewanjotOrganization of Promotion and Empowerment of Humanity and Chetna Foundationsought protection for their staff running rehab centres according to centralgovernment rules.HC had issued a notice to Punjab, UT and others afew months back. The NGOs��� counsel, Atul Lakhanpal, hadsubmitted that the organizations worked on non-profit basis to curb the drugmenace. He said that even PGI did not have all the facilities forthis as required by the Mental Health Act. He added that the NGOs were notrunning mental hospitals but counselling centres.Lakhanpal saidCentre government provided grants for setting up rehab facilities. Petitionerssaid Punjab officials, like the senior medical officer, police personnel andhuman rights activists had a callous attitude towards thefacilities.Punjab had closed some of the centres after arehabilitation seeker died at one such facility in August 2008. Thecentres charge Rs 3,000 per months for food, clothing and medicines for thosereceiving treatment there.The judge also asked the governments as tohow many centres they had opened.