Cultivation of opium, a narcotic formed from the sap released by lacerating immature seed pods of opium poppies, for food, anaesthetic and ritual purposes dates back to the Neolithic era.
Centre asks enforcement agencies to weed out fields under illegal cultivation
NEW DELHI: Cultivation of opium, a narcotic formed from the sap released by lacerating immature seed pods of opium poppies, for food, anaesthetic and ritual purposes dates back to the Neolithic era. In several ancient civilisations, including India, it was the most potent form of pain relief. However, its production was prohibited by many countries in the 20th century, its illicit cultivation now dominated mainly by Afghanistan. But a rise in number of areas under illicit cultivation in India has sounded alarm bells in the country.
In a top secret note, the finance ministry has asked drug enforcement agencies to take necessary action to destroy illicit opium fields across the nation. Under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, police and enforcement agencies like Customs and Central Excise, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN) are empowered to destroy opium cultivation.
What has the Centre particularly worried is the increase in naxalite and insurgency-supported opium cultivation. “Illicit cultivation of opium has been emerging as a major challenge in the field of drug law enforcement in India,” the note cautions. “Kindly alert all officers to this growing problem and direct them to identify and destroy illicit opium crops, if any, in their jurisdiction,” the note says. The ministry also identifies states where it believes that opium is being grown illegally: “Reports indicate illicit cultivation of opium is prevalent in parts of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Karnataka….”
The last time Karnataka saw action on the opium front was 2004 when the NCB destroyed illegal crops in Hoskote, Nandagudi, Shidlagatta and Kolar areas. A senior NCB official said, “We do have reports about illicit cultivation of narcotics and have taken action from time to time. But we also depend on states for information.”
CBN, which gives licences for legal cultivation of opium, revealed in its report last year that area under licensed cultivation in India was 6,300 hectares while illegal opium destroyed by it was spread across 7,753 hectares. The actual area of illicit cultivation destroyed would be higher, if smaller operations by the NCB and other central and state agencies are taken into account.
Licensed opium is cultivated in select tracts in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The crop remains under constant surveillance by the agency and is bought by the CBN at a fixed price from farmers. It is then sent to government factories at Ghazipur and Neemuch where they are processed and utilised for pharmaceutical purposes and export.
In April this year, the CBN destroyed opium crops on 450 hectares in three districts of Arunachal Pradesh bordering Myanmar — Upper Siang, Lohit and Tirap. This was preceded by an operation last year in Wakka and Pangchau when 1,000 hectares of opium were destroyed. In May 2008, CBN destroyed illicit opium on 151 hectares of land at a height of 6,000 to 8,000 feet in Bangan Patti and Fateh Parwat areas of Uttarkashi district in Uttarakhand. The area was a licensed cultivator of opium till 1960. But villagers were growing poppy clandestinely as the area is not too accessible.
In Bengal, an anonymous letter sent to the finance minister, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the NCB, with a map explaining the extent of illicit cultivation in Nadia and Murshidabad, alerted the government to the menace.
Intelligence agencies say Maoists are forcing farmers to grow opium in Bengal to fund their activities. This is a big source of concern because of the state’s porous borders with Bangladesh. The International Narcotics Control Board, a United Nations body, noted in its 2007 annual report: “Illicit opium poppy cultivation is reported to cover thousands of hectares in some remote areas of India including the border with Bangladesh…”
With the new entrants to the illicit opium fields, enforcement agencies appear to have a tough job ahead.
aditya_k@dnaindia.net 
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