(a) whether the Government has curtailed the opium cultivation area
in Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh;
(b) if so, the reasons therefor and the effective measures taken
by the Government to increase the opium cultivation area in the said district;
(c) if not, the reasons therefor;
(d) whether the opium growers are being trained to do opium
cultivation in a scientific manner; and
(e) if so, the details thereof?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI S.S.PALANIMANICKAM)
(a), (b) & (c) The maximum area a cultivator is licenced to
grow opium in has been reduced from 20 ares (1/5 of a hectare)
to 10 ares (1/10 of a hectare) for all opium growing areas in
the country (including Barabanki district) since the crop
year 2004-05, considering the stocks of opium and demand for opium.
Further, licences for cultivation of opium are issued only
to such cultivators who tendered the Minimum Qualifying
Yield (MQY) in the previous crop year and fulfill other
licensing conditions. Cultivators, including those of
Barabanki district, who could not tender the MQY and/or
do not fulfill the other eligibility criteria of opium
Licensing Conditions, were not issued licences resulting
in reduction in number of licensed cultivators and licensed area.
At present, the Government has no plans to increase the opium
cultivation area in Barabanki or anywhere else in the country.
Area under poppy cultivation has to be strictly controlled as
opium is prone to abuse. Only that quantity of opium, which is
required for medical and scientific purposes needs to be produced.
As such, opium cultivation area cannot be increased either in
Barabanki district or anywhere in India, keeping in view the
large stocks of opium with the government factories and the
relatively low annual demand.
(d) & (e) Opium cultivators in the traditional opium growing
areas possess the requisite expertise in the cultivation of opium
poppy crop and in extracting of opium through the capsule incision
process. In addition, the Department distributes technical
literature/pamphlets prepared by Agricultural scientists
amongst the poppy licensees/cultivators at the time of grant
of licence. This literature indicates the best practices for
cultivation of opium poppy crop as well as precautions to be
taken to prevent damage to opium crop due to pests, etc.