Maoists raise funds through poppy sale

MHA reveals illegal farming of narcotic plants is on the rise in four states

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday revealed that the Maoists are collecting money through the sale of illegal poppy cultivation in Maoists-dominated areas of Chattishgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Bihar.

“The CPI (Maoist) tacitly allow large-scale of poppy/ganja cultivation in their strongholds in order to collect money from such illegal cultivation. The outfit is collecting money from illegal cultivation of ganja and opium in some areas of Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar,” Minister of State (MoS) for Home, Jitendra Singh, said in a written reply to BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP, Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

Though the MHA response gives instances of illegal organised farming of poppy and ganja, it does not give any indication of the volume of such trade that is funding the Maoists andglobal terrorists in Afghanistan.   

In February, the MHA came across a couple of instances where poppy plants were being cultivated in Jamui district of Bihar, but the illegal crop was destroyed soon after the local police registered a case against Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS).

Two years ago, ganja cultivation in nearly 10 acres of land was detected, and 113 quintals of items were seized from a Maoist-dominated area in Chattisgarh, the MoS stated.

A case has also been registered to probe into the matter, he added. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in coordination with Central and state agencies, destroyed the crop after identifying them via satellite imagery. The influence of the Maoists has increased since 2010.

As per the latest government data available, activities of the Maoists and its other organisations have spread to 203 districts in comparision to 196 recorded in 2010.
Factories Bill, 2011

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has returned the Factories (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2011, to the Jagdish Shettar government in Bangalore, after incorporating comments from the Ministry of Labour and Empowerment.

MoS Mullappally Ramachandran told BJP MP in Rajya Sabha, Dr Prabhakar Kore, that the bill was examined in consultation with the ministries of law and justice and labour.

“The comments on the bill relieved from the ministry…. have been sent to the state government of Karnataka for their clarifications/comments on June 11, 2012 followed by a reminder on July 30, 2012,” Ramchandran said in his written reply.