The Government has announced the Annual Licensing
Policy for opium for the crop year 2002-03. As per the policy,
about 1 lakh cultivators in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar
Pradesh will be eligible for licence.
All cultivators who have tendered an average
yield of opium of not less than 53 kg/hectare in the state of
Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and an average yield of not less
than 45 kg/hectare in Uttar Pradesh during the last crop year
2001-02 will be eligible for licence. Cultivators who have ploughed
back their entire poppy cultivation during the crop year 2001-02
under the supervision of Government or whose appeal against refusal
of licence has been allowed etc., will be eligible for licence.
Cultivators who cultivated poppy in the crop year 2000-01, and
were eligible for licence in 2001-02, but did not obtain the licence
for any reason or who after having obtained the licence in the
crop year 2001-02, did not cultivate poppy due to any reason,
would also be eligible. Cultivators who cultivated opium during
the year 2001-02 in area lesser than the licensed area or in a
plot of less than 10 acres or in more than 2 plots would be eligible
for licence in the crop year 2002-03 provided they have tendered
the opium in accordance with the Minimum Qualifying Yield (MQY)
and fulfill other conditions of the Opium Licensing Policy 2001-02.
The policy thus takes care of genuine cultivators who could not
sow opium crop or sowed opium in lesser area or in more than two
plots due to water problem.
The individual licensed area per cultivator would
depend upon the yield of opium tendered by the cultivator in the
previous crop year. Thus cultivators who have tendered opium upto
the average yield of 60 Kg. per hectare would be allocated an
individual licensed area of 10 acres, cultivators who have tendered
opium between the average yield of 60 to 65 Kg. per hectare would
get an individual licensed area of 15 acres and cultivators who
have tendered opium above the average yield of 65 Kg. per hectare
would get an individual licensed area of 20 acres.
The forewarning for MQY has been fixed as 53
Kg. per hectare for Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and 47 Kg. per
hectare for Uttar Pradesh. The forewarning has been fixed with
a view to containing any diversion of opium for illicit purposes.
A cultivator, who is granted an opium licence
for the crop year 2002-03, but is unable to undertake cultivation
for any valid reason (including shortage of water) and informs
the Narcotics Commissioner well in time, will be eligible for
licence in the next crop year, i.e., 2003-04.
It is also proposed to substantially raise the
Opium Procurement Price, which has been last increased in the
crop year 1999-2000, for the crop year 2002-03.
The annual Licensing Policy is framed at the
beginning of the Opium Crop Year (October to September) every
year and the Policy for the licence is decided by the Central
government every year. The Policy provides for the eligibility
criteria for grant of licence to individual cultivator, area to
be licensed per cultivator, conditions relating to cultivation,
Minimum Qualifying Yield for next year's licence, etc.
