Srinagar, Aug 24 (KNO): Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, today chaired a high-level meeting to review the preparedness for implementation of the Phase-I Pilot of the Rehabilitation & Socio-Economic Reintegration Scheme for Drug Abuse Victims, 2026, being coordinated by the Social Welfare Department.
The meeting was attended by the Principal Secretary, Home; Commissioner Secretary, H&ME; Commissioner Secretary, Social Welfare Department; DC, Srinagar; Head, IMHANS, Srinagar; Director, Health, Jammu/Kashmir and other concerned officers.
Deputy Commissioners from outside districts along with the Institution heads connected with the meeting through video conferencing.
The meeting reviewed the readiness of the identified pilot institutions and districts, availability of human resources and infrastructure, capacity-building initiatives, inter-departmental coordination and the development of a dedicated digital mechanism for end-to-end monitoring of beneficiaries.
The Phase-I pilot is proposed to be implemented at IMHANS Srinagar, ATFs at Jammu, Kathua, and in Budgam district. The pilot is aimed at testing the rehabilitation model on the ground, identifying operational gaps, refining the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and generating the necessary learning for its subsequent expansion across the Union Territory.
Taking stock of the preparedness in the pilot districts, the Chief Secretary reviewed the availability of infrastructure and manpower at each location and stressed the need for focused training and capacity-building of Medical Officers, Counsellors, Case Managers, ASHA workers and SHG members so that each stakeholder is adequately equipped to discharge the role assigned under the rehabilitation framework.
The Chief Secretary directed the Social Welfare Department to coordinate the implementation of the programme and ensure its commencement at the earliest. He further directed the Department to simultaneously identify the requisite human resources and infrastructure for extending the rehabilitation mechanism to other districts, so that the pilot exercise facilitates a smooth transition towards wider implementation.
He also sought a first-hand appraisal from the heads of the concerned institutions and the Deputy Commissioners of the districts where the pilot is being initiated. Emphasising the importance of ground-level coordination, he observed that the success of the programme would depend upon each stakeholder performing the designated role with commitment and ensuring seamless coordination throughout the rehabilitation process.
The Chief Secretary also reviewed the capacity-building initiatives undertaken by IMHANS Srinagar for Medical Officers, Counsellors, Case Managers, SHG members and ASHA workers. He directed IMHANS to continue conducting such training programmes across all districts so as to create a sufficiently large and skilled pool of human resources capable of supporting the rehabilitation programme as it expands.
He further directed the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to complete the Rehabilitation Monitoring Portal without further delay, emphasising that an effective digital monitoring mechanism would be critical for tracking beneficiaries and ensuring coordinated implementation of the programme. The proposed portal envisages confidential, end-to-end digital case management, with each beneficiary assigned a Unique Digital ID (UDIN) and role-based access restricted to authorised officials.
The Chief Secretary stressed the importance of building a trained multidisciplinary human-resource pool capable of undertaking screening, assessment, referral, counselling, family engagement, case management and relapse-risk identification, while maintaining confidentiality and ethical standards in handling beneficiaries.
The Chief Secretary underscored that the Phase-I pilot should serve as a practical model for coordinated rehabilitation and socio-economic reintegration, with effective convergence among the concerned departments, health institutions, district administrations and community-level stakeholders.
Giving a detailed presentation on the pilot, Commissioner Secretary, Social Welfare Department, Sarmad Hafeez, apprised the meeting of the proposed implementation framework, site-readiness, manpower requirements, capacity-building initiatives and digital monitoring mechanism.
He informed that every pilot location would require suitable medical, counselling and social-work facilities, including doctors’ rooms, patient and family counselling spaces, group therapy facilities and referral/emergency linkages. The facilities would also have identified Medical Officers/Psychiatrists, Counsellors and Social Welfare Officials/Case Managers, besides linkages with community networks including ASHA workers and Self Help Groups. Orientation and training of the concerned personnel would precede beneficiary intake under the pilot.
The meeting further deliberated upon strengthening addiction psychiatry capacity in J&K through proposed collaboration with the National Drug De-addiction & Treatment Centre (NDDTC), AIIMS New Delhi. The proposed collaboration includes structured training, mentoring, observerships and joint research in addiction psychiatry, opioid agonist treatment, dual-diagnosis management and evaluation of rehabilitation interventions.
On this occasion the Head, IMHANS Srinagar, Dr Arshad Hussain, briefed the meeting about the interventions undertaken so far by the Institute and the facilities covered under the pilot. He also highlighted certain areas requiring focused attention at the participating health facilities.
Dr Hussain informed that training modules for different categories of personnel have been developed and several batches have already been trained. He expressed confidence that the ongoing capacity-building exercise would create adequate trained manpower within the next two to three months to satisfactorily operationalise the rehabilitation centres in accordance with the approved policy framework.
It was further elucidated that the first phase of the Circle of Care training module has already been completed, with more than 300 frontline workers, including ASHA workers, NRLM/SHG representatives and teachers, trained across Kashmir Division. The proposed next phase envisages expanding the programme to 1,020 participants through 34 cohorts across J&K, covering Counsellors, ASHA workers, Social Welfare officials, police personnel, teachers, SHGs and other stakeholders.
Additionally the meeting was apprised that the capacity-building component envisages training of Medical Officers/Psychiatrists, Counsellors, Social Welfare Officials, ASHA workers, SHGs and other frontline stakeholders in areas including screening, assessment and referral, counselling and family engagement, Individual Rehabilitation Plans and case management, relapse-risk identification, confidentiality and ethical handling, besides the portal and reporting workflow.
The meeting also reviewed the proposed training programme for Higher Secondary and College teachers, aimed at ensuring that at least one teacher in every Higher Secondary School and College is trained as an institution-based counsellor for prevention, early identification and referral of substance-use disorders. The proposed initiative envisages coverage of approximately 2,200 Higher Secondary Schools and Colleges across J&K.
A significant component of the proposed programme is the Rehabilitation Monitoring Portal (RMP), designed to facilitate confidential and end-to-end digital case management. The system will cover assessment, treatment, counselling, stabilisation, risk classification, Individual Rehabilitation Plans, referral, vocational support and follow-up, besides enabling real-time inter-departmental coordination and programme performance monitoring.
The coordinated Phase-I pilot is envisaged to provide the operational learning required for strengthening the model and preparing it for UT-wide implementation—(KNO)