(a) whether the Government have taken any steps for promoting opium cultivation in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the provisions for providing relief to the opium growers in the case of natural calamity?
(a) whether the Government have taken any steps for promoting opium cultivation in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the provisions for providing relief to the opium growers in the case of natural calamity?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI GINGEE N. RAMACHANDRAN)
(a)&(b) The following steps have been taken by the Government for promoting opium cultivation in the country:-
(i) The cultivation of opium for scientific and medicinal purposes in the notified tracts of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh is regulated by he Central Bureau of Narcotics under licence.
(ii) Research project for development of opium poppy variety with higher alkaloid content has been commissioner by the Government.
(iii) The Government provides remunerative prices for the procurement of opium from licensed opium cultivators.
(iv) A scheme for upgrading and enhancing the production facilities at the Government Opium and Alkaloid Works, Neemuch and Ghazipur is under implementation.
(v) Efforts are made to increase the sale/export of opium in the international market in order to sustain licensed opium cultivation.