While reviewing the enforcement activities against illegal hemp cultivation and taking a district-wise review of the situation on Tuesday, Chief Secretary Suresh Mahapatra directed for intensification of enforcement through joint actions among police, excise and revenue department officials.
Mahapatra asked to spot the areas and villages in which illegal hemp cultivation is done through collection of local intelligence. It was also decided to apply the satellite and drone technology to locate the areas of illegal cultivation and destroy the plants before harvesting. He also directed to identify the land records of the private persons in whose land ganja is cultivated and proceed against them stringently as per provisions of the NDPS Act. He advised district Collectors to prepare district-level action plans for prevention of this illegal means of earning “through targeted alternative livelihood interventions”.
They were asked to “identify the poor tribal families which are living on this trade and provide them alternative livelihood opportunities through convergence of Odisha Livelihood Mission, National Livelihood Mission, MGNREGS, high return cash crop, agri-business, agro-product aggregation, small food processing units, goatery, poultry, integrated farming and similar other schemes”. Because of the heightened enforcement, ganja crop in 22,217 acres of land were destroyed during 2020-21.
The meeting was attended, among others, by Development Commissioner Pradeep Jena, Excise Department Principal Secretary Susil Kumar Lohani and Director General of Police Abhay.