Centre calls for proposals to set up de-addiction centres in 291 ‘gap’ districts

The Union government has invited proposals to set up District De-Addiction Centres (DDACs) in 291 “gap” districts identified by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment across 30 States and Union Territories in the country.
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The Union government has invited proposals to set up District De-Addiction Centres (DDACs) in 291 “gap” districts identified by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment across 30 States and Union Territories in the country as part of its National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction.

“Gap” districts have been identified as those that currently have no Centrally supported infrastructure to treat or rehabilitate people who are dealing with substance abuse or dependence, officials told The Hindu.  

The Social Justice Ministry is also preparing to launch a fresh round of a nationwide survey to establish the extent and pattern of substance use across India, which is expected to gather data at the district level.  

The government’s national action plan provides for the Social Justice Ministry to support Integrated Rehabilitation Centres for Addicts (IRCAs), Community-based Peer Led Initiatives (CPLIs), Outreach and Drop-in Centres (ODICs), and DDACs.  

The Social Justice Ministry told Parliament this April that it is supporting 350 IRCAs, 74 ODICs, 46 CPLIs, and 124 DDACs. Apart from this, the Ministry is also supporting 142 addiction treatment facilities running from government hospitals.  

“These [291] districts are ones where currently no IRCA, CPLI, or ODIC supported by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment are running. So, as a start, the government is calling for DDAC proposals for these gap districts, which will also serve the functions of these interventions,” a government official said.

In addition to administrative and office space for the staff, each DDAC is supposed to house a treatment cum rehabilitation centre, an area for drop-in centre facilities, and an area for CPLI facilities. The DDACs can have the capacity to house 15 or 30 patients at a time, with specific norms of minimum requirements prescribed for them. 

According to the invitation issued by the government for the latest batch of 291 DDACs, the highest number of “gap” districts have been identified in Chhattisgarh, where 31 of the State’s 33 districts have figured in this list.  

Other states where a high number of “gap” districts have been identified include Madhya Pradesh (23), Gujarat (22), Arunachal Pradesh (21), Bihar (25), Jharkhand (16), Uttar Pradesh (18), Punjab (16), and Assam (10). 

The invitation for expression of interest-cum-proposal floated by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for the latest batch of 291 DDACs issued last week asked eligible NGOs and start-ups with at least two years of experience in drug de-addiction treatment to apply by June 30.  

The government said these DDACs would “conduct primary prevention activities through awareness programmes among the vulnerable and affected community”, and “engage in risk mitigation of substance use among children/adolescents/youth”.  

This will include preventing substance use, identifying peer educators in the communities, implementing early prevention education, identifying adolescents or children using substances and referring them to rehabilitation centres or treatment facilities, among other activities.

The National Survey of Extent and Pattern of Substance Use conducted in 2017-18 estimated, through extrapolated data, that there were about 1.18 crore children and adolescents using various psychoactive substances, including alcohol, cannabis, opioids, sedatives, inhalants, cocaine, amphetamine-type substances, and hallucinogens. The same survey had estimated about seven crore adults in the country using these psychoactive substances.