Bhubaneswar: Odisha special Task Force (STF) on Wednesday chalked out a four-pronged strategy to curb ganja farming in the state, focusing on stringent enforcement against cultivators, sustained awareness campaigns, intensified surveillance and promotion of alternative livelihoods in cultivation-prone areas.STF IGP Himanshu Kumar Lal reviewed the situation during a virtual meeting with SPs of Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, Kandhamal and Boudh districts, where cannabis cultivation remains a major challenge. STF DIG Kanwar Vishal Singh, and IGPs of southern and south western ranges, J N Pankaj and Akhilesvar Singh, also attended the crucial meeting.Lal directed the district police chiefs to adopt a coordinated approach combining enforcement with preventive measures to check both cultivation and the drug trade associated with it. “Under the enforcement component, officers have been asked to intensify action against ganja cultivation networks and drug mafia. The strategy also includes conducting financial investigations to identify and disrupt the economic backbone of such operations, freezing properties linked to illicit activities and invoking the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT-NDPS) Act, 1988, against habitual offenders,” Lal said.The STF also stressed the need for sustained awareness campaigns in hotspot areas to educate local communities about the legal and social consequences of cannabis cultivation and encourage them to move away from the illegal crop. “Surveillance of vulnerable areas would be strengthened through use of drones, satellite imagery and ground-level monitoring. We urged SPs to maintain strict vigil over areas where cannabis crops had already been destroyed to prevent fresh cultivation on the same land,” said DIG Singh.The fourth pillar of the strategy focuses on developing alternative livelihood opportunities for communities dependent on ganja cultivation. The STF called for coordinated efforts involving all relevant stakeholders to provide viable alternatives to farmers and local residents.Odisha police set an ambitious target on March 20 this year to eliminate ganja cultivation across the state by March 2029, aligning with the Centre’s ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat’ campaign.
