Question : POPPY CULTIVATION

(a) whether the Customs Department in association with the Central Bureau of Narcotics has recently destroyed 218 hectares of poppy cultivation along the Assam -Arunachal border, without providing alternative sources of income to the growers;

(b) if so, the details of the regulations and the programmes set forth in this regard; `

(c) whether any programme sponsored by ILO and UNDP for creating awareness amongst the people against ill-effects of opium has been launched;

(d) if so, the details thereof; and

(e) the steps taken to provide alternative means of income to the cultivators and others concerned thrown out of job?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI GINGEE N. RAMACHANDRAN)

(a) & (b) With the assistance of the Customs & Central Excise Department, Shillong and the State Government Agencies concerned, the Central Bureau of Narcotics has arranged to destroy a total of 218.65 hectare of illicitly cultivated opium poppy in Lohit and Upper Siang districts of Arunachal Pradesh. Under the relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, opium poppy can be cultivated only in notified tracts and by licensed cultivators. The provisions of the above mentioned Act also mandate destruction of illicitly cultivated opium poppy and further prescribe stringent punishment, including fine upto one lakh Rupees and imprisonment upto 10 years, for those who commit the offence of such illicit cultivation.


(c), (d) & (e) A non-Government project initiated by United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and International Labour Organisation (ILO) has been taken up in the illicit opium cultivating Districts of Arunachal Pradesh, for evolving a comprehensive strategy for alternative development including amelioration of the social conditions, providing alternative long-term livelihood, improving social infrasrtucture and creating awareness of the pernicious effects of drug addiction.