NEW RULES FOR GROWING OPIUM

The Centre has gazetted new rules for cultivation of the opium poppy in the areas notified by it during the opium crop year from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022, basically allowing only those farmers having the experience of cultivating the narcotic crop in the past.

The notification is of immense interest to the farmers in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh who thrive on growing opium over the years and supplying their yield to the government opium factory, located at Neemuch which is in operation since April 1935. Another opium factory was at Mandsaur bit it closed down.

The rules say the following categories of farmers will be eligible to get the licence to grow opium poppy:

Who cultivated it in 202021 and tendered average yield of Morphine, not less than 4.2 kg per hectare as the average qualifying yield;

Who ploughed back entire poppy crop cultivated in the crop years of 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 under the supervision of the Central Bureau of Narcotics;

Whose appeal against refusal of licence has been allowed after the last date of settlement in the crop year 2020-21;

Those eligible for a licence in crop year 2020-21 either voluntarily did not take the licence for any reason or did not actually cultivate due to any reason even after obtaining the licence;

Those nominated by decease eligible cultivator in 2020-21;

One of the legal heirs of the deceased eligible cultivator;

Those delicensed on the ground of charges framed by a competent court under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, but subsequently acquitted; and

Farmers who get their opium poppy crop bloughed back in excess of 50% of total area cultivated during the crop years 2018-19 to 2020-21 shall not be eligible for a licence in 2020-21.

Two types of farmers will get a licence to grow opium poppy for production of poppy straw, from which no juice is extracted through lancing. They are:

Farmers and their legal heirs who tendered an average yield of Morphine at the rate of 3.7 kg per hectare and above bu less than 4.2 kg per hectare in 2020-21; and

Farmers who were de-licensed in 2019-20 and 202021, provided they had tendered opium have average equal or more than 100% of an average yield of Morphine at the rate of 4.2 kg per hectare for the last five years.

The rules also deny licence to those who exceeded the area licensed for poppy cultivation in 2020-21, or any time resort to illicit cultivation of opium poppy, or violated any departmental instructions in 2020-21. Also, the excess cultivation will be condoned if the area actually cultiated is up to 5% in excess of the licensed area.