(a) whether the Government is aware of illegal production/ cultivation of narcotics in the country and if so, the details thereof and the areas identified as on date, State-wise along with the details of the narcotics seized during the last three years and the current year;
(b) whether the Government has set up any monitoring mechanism to check the illegal production and consumption of narcotics; and
(c) if so, the details thereof along with the outcome thereon?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE
( SHRI SANTOSH KUMAR GANGWAR)
(a).Yes, the Government is aware of illegal production/cultivation of narcotics in the country. Illicit narcotic crops have been noticed mainly in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. A policy has been made for survey and destruction of illegal narcotic crops.
The State-wise seizure of major drugs for last three years is given at Annexures A to C for the years 2014 to 2016 respectively.
(b) & (c).The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (61 of 1985) provides for stringent penalties/rigorous provisions for illegal production and consumption as well as for illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Both Central and State Governments have been empowered to enforce the provisions of the Act.
Law enforcing agencies of Central and State Governments carry out destruction operations. Field intelligence and satellite imageries are also used to identify illegal cultivation. An annual action plan is prepared for destruction of illicit poppy and cannabis cultivation in coordination with State agencies. For coordination between various Central and State agencies, a new platform, called N-CORD, has been created which conducts regular meetings with these agencies for effective drug law enforcement.
The data of destruction of opium poppy and cannabis crops during the last three years and the current year is at Annexure D.