In India the opium is cultivated in Madhya Pradesh in Neemuch, Mandsaur and Ratlam districts and in adjoining districts of Rajasthan. It is also grown in Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh. The cultivators are given license for it and they have sell the entire produce to the Government. Opium smugglers are also very active in these areas.
Under the Government laid down conditions the average yield of opium per hectare should be 56 kilogram. For any reason if there are situation that average yield will not be there than that crops are to be destroyed by uprooting it.
This year the opium crop is not expected to come up average level. This year the Government has issued licenses to 28,310 cultivators and many of them applied for uprooting the fields as average crop is not likely to be there due to some ill effects on the opium plants. The job of uprooting the plants are to be done departmentally by the Narcotic Department.
The opium cultivators are in distress and urging the Government to pay them compensation to meet losses.
