New Delhi, July 20 -- Tackling the pendency of drug trafficking cases across the country will require establishment of 394 exclusive courts under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) where presently only 113 exist, the Centre told the Supreme Court in an affidavit filed ahead of a hearing in this regard on Monday. The affidavit was filed by the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) in a suo motu case for establishing exclusive courts for clearing pendency of matters under special laws such as NDPS, National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act among others. The matter was last heard by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on May 8 when the Centre was directed to indicate the progress achieved in the deliberations between the Centre and states on establishing exclusive NDPS courts. "As per the inputs received from states/UTs, a total of 394 Exclusive NDPS courts is required across the country as against the existing strength of 113 exclusive NDPS Courts," the affidavit filed on Friday stated. The case of Punjab stands out as a stark example where nearly 50,000 NDPS cases are pending and not a single exclusive NDPS court exists. At a review meeting held in April, the Registrar of the Punjab & Haryana high court cited this huge pendency to be a matter of "serious concern" and proposed 103 special NDPS courts. In Uttar Pradesh, 44,000 cases are pending, with no exclusive court. Here, 25 special NDPS courts are proposed. The government said that it recently launched the Narcotic Control Vision Document for achieving a "Nasha Mukt Bharat" by 2029 targeting illicit drug trafficking and drug abuse. As the scheme envisages effective investigation and prosecution of NDPS cases, the Centre said that establishment of exclusive NDPS Courts is a concurrent constitutional responsibility of the Union and the states/UTs, requiring close coordination with the respective high courts....