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Government should ban opium cultivation

Interview/ M.L. Lather, director general of Rajasthan Police

M.L. Lather

Q\ Is opium cultivation profitable for farmers in Rajasthan?

A\ It is due to the illicit market for opium that farmers are cultivating it. Otherwise, it is not a very profitable crop. It gets destroyed easily by adverse climate—hailstorm, heavy rain or frost. It also requires proper fencing, continuous tendering, and day and night care since it has to be grown upright. It needs [greenhouse netting] to prevent birds like parrots from pecking at it.

Q\ Where are the lapses in the law that allow opium to reach the black market?

A\ Under the law, there is a provision that the husk of the first poppy crop, commonly known as doda post, must be destroyed and then a licence should be re-issued to the farmer. They have to produce the destruction certificate before the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN) and only then would they get licences for further cropping. But despite the clear policy, farmers are being issued licences. These farmers are then pedalling the husk to the [narcotics] mafia. So, it is a [law] implementation problem at the primary level.

Q\ How big is the threat from cross-border narcotics smuggling?

A\ In cross-border narcotic hauls, we have seized more than 30kg of heroin in the last year. The quantity is not so much as the border is totally fenced in Rajasthan. There are some topographic features in the Barmer sector which help infiltration of narcotics. But the narcotics problem is more an internal problem here than cross-border.

Q\ What steps should be taken immediately to resolve the problem?

A\ If the government decides to ban opium [cultivation], the problem will be solved in a major way. Otherwise, government-[controlled] farms should be created for its cultivation with proper fencing—to grow opium in a limited way for the pharma industry. In the same way, all the farmers’ lands can also be pooled by the government, to grow the crop. Since cultivation and rates are fixed, they can be given more money for the yield. The problem can be solved in many ways if there is a will.