Srinagar, Aug 24: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo on Monday 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.