Rajasthan
In opium land, farmers’ angst fills air, may tilt poll outcomes | Jaipur News
With assembly elections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh round the corner, opium cultivators in both the states have started pressing political parties to promise easing of licensing norms to let them legally harvest ‘afeem’ (opium).
Two districts in Rajasthan—Chittorgarh and Pratapgarh—and two in MP— Neemuch and Mandsaur—together produce 90% of the country’s total opium used for medicinal purposes, primarily by the Indian armed forces.
Bhartiya Afeem Kisan Sangarsh Samiti (BAKSS) has been protesting the central government’s revised policy of 2016 that set the minimum qualifying cri teria for obtaining license. BAKSS has also been seeking for farmers the right to sell poppy husk and fix a perhectare price of their produce. Farmers affiliated to the organisation have been staging frequent protests since 2018, the longest having been for a year in Chittorgarh.
Opium farmers have the potential to influence the outcome in 16 a ssembly seats, seven in Rajasthan and nine in MP. Of the 1.25 lakh licenses issued for opium cultivation by Central Bureau of Narcot ics (CBN) in 2023, around 45,000 were given to farmers spread in seven assembly constituencies in south Rajasthan—Badi Sadri, Begun, Chittorgarh, Kapasan and Nimbahera (in Chittorgarh), Pratapgarh and Dhariawad (in Pratapgarh) and Vallabhnagar (in Udaipur).
“It is election time, and we have made it clear that whichever party supports our cause will get our 2 lakh votes,” said Radhey Shyam Gurjar, the secretary of BAKSS, while addressing a gathering of opium farmers outside the Mira temple at Chittorgarh Fort. As per the current opium rules, the minimum production per hectare in a licensed cultivator’s land must be 4.2 kg. If it is less, the farmer must explain why, or the license could be withdrawn. This “illogical rule” causes hundreds of farmers to lose their licenses every year, said Gurjar.
“From November to January, the crop requires 15-20 irrigation rounds. For the past 10-15 years, the amount of rain in winter has decreased dramatically. Insects have been attacking the crop every other year, which has been diminishing output,” he said.
According to locals familiar with the extent of opium farming and the angst of the farmers, opium farmers have the potential to influence the outcome of 16 assembly seats —seven in Rajasthan and nine in MP. “The opium growers would be kingmakers in both the poll-bound states this time,” he said.
In fact, opium farmers’ issues gained political traction in a big way in 2016 when the government enforced a ban, under the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act, on farmers selling extra poppy husk in the open market.
“The government’s purchase price of opium remains the same since 2012 as the administration has not considered the 5-8% annual inflation. Licensed farmers are paid somewhere between Rs 3,000 and Rs 7,000 per kg, depending on the quality of their produce as determined by CBN. It should not be less than Rs 15,000 per kg,” said Mangilal Bilot, whose family is into opium farming for decades.
BAKSS’s Neemuch-based national president Narsingh Bairagi told TOI, “We will hold a meeting in the first week of November to see which party supports our cause in both the states. In the next weeks, we will ensure our votes go to that party.”
Two districts in Rajasthan—Chittorgarh and Pratapgarh—and two in MP— Neemuch and Mandsaur—together produce 90% of the country’s total opium used for medicinal purposes, primarily by the Indian armed forces.
Bhartiya Afeem Kisan Sangarsh Samiti (BAKSS) has been protesting the central government’s revised policy of 2016 that set the minimum qualifying cri teria for obtaining license. BAKSS has also been seeking for farmers the right to sell poppy husk and fix a perhectare price of their produce. Farmers affiliated to the organisation have been staging frequent protests since 2018, the longest having been for a year in Chittorgarh.
Opium farmers have the potential to influence the outcome in 16 a ssembly seats, seven in Rajasthan and nine in MP. Of the 1.25 lakh licenses issued for opium cultivation by Central Bureau of Narcot ics (CBN) in 2023, around 45,000 were given to farmers spread in seven assembly constituencies in south Rajasthan—Badi Sadri, Begun, Chittorgarh, Kapasan and Nimbahera (in Chittorgarh), Pratapgarh and Dhariawad (in Pratapgarh) and Vallabhnagar (in Udaipur).
“It is election time, and we have made it clear that whichever party supports our cause will get our 2 lakh votes,” said Radhey Shyam Gurjar, the secretary of BAKSS, while addressing a gathering of opium farmers outside the Mira temple at Chittorgarh Fort. As per the current opium rules, the minimum production per hectare in a licensed cultivator’s land must be 4.2 kg. If it is less, the farmer must explain why, or the license could be withdrawn. This “illogical rule” causes hundreds of farmers to lose their licenses every year, said Gurjar.
“From November to January, the crop requires 15-20 irrigation rounds. For the past 10-15 years, the amount of rain in winter has decreased dramatically. Insects have been attacking the crop every other year, which has been diminishing output,” he said.
According to locals familiar with the extent of opium farming and the angst of the farmers, opium farmers have the potential to influence the outcome of 16 assembly seats —seven in Rajasthan and nine in MP. “The opium growers would be kingmakers in both the poll-bound states this time,” he said.
In fact, opium farmers’ issues gained political traction in a big way in 2016 when the government enforced a ban, under the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act, on farmers selling extra poppy husk in the open market.
“The government’s purchase price of opium remains the same since 2012 as the administration has not considered the 5-8% annual inflation. Licensed farmers are paid somewhere between Rs 3,000 and Rs 7,000 per kg, depending on the quality of their produce as determined by CBN. It should not be less than Rs 15,000 per kg,” said Mangilal Bilot, whose family is into opium farming for decades.
BAKSS’s Neemuch-based national president Narsingh Bairagi told TOI, “We will hold a meeting in the first week of November to see which party supports our cause in both the states. In the next weeks, we will ensure our votes go to that party.”
