DC announces crackdown on ganja cultivation

District Collector AS Dinesh Kumar has announced a decisive crackdown on farmers cultivating cannabis, citing its severe adverse effects on society.  During a high-level meeting on Wednesday with officials from the Police, Agriculture, Forest, Horticulture, Medical Health, and District Water Management Agency (DWMA) departments, along with the DRDA, Kumar reaffirmed the government’s unwavering commitment to eradicating ganja cultivation and promoting sustainable alternative crops.
The meeting highlighted the formation of a seven-member ministerial committee at the State level to spearhead the anti-ganja initiative. Kumar emphasised the necessity of establishing inter-departmental committees at the mandal and village levels, tasked with formulating and implementing strategies to eliminate ganja cultivation and promote sustainable alternative crops for tribal farmers.
“Alluri Sitarama Raju district has unfortunately become synonymous with ganja,” Kumar stated. “It is our collective responsibility to shatter this perception by eradicating cannabis cultivation.” The Collector has mandated monthly meetings at the village, mandal, and district levels to devise preventive measures and raise awareness about the detrimental effects of ganja. To incentivise villages that abandon ganja farming, the Collector announced that significant infrastructure support will be provided. In addition, tribal farmers and youth will be given opportunities in horticulture and other employment fields, including the cultivation of crops such as strawberries and avocados. DIG Gopinath Jetty, former ACP of Chintapalli, noted a sharp increase in ganja cultivation since his tenure, highlighting its infiltration into schools, colleges, and public spaces. He stressed the urgency of targeting areas where ganja seeds are planted during June, July, and August.
Jetty also reported that last year, three lakh kilograms of ganja, cultivated on 10,000 acres, were destroyed. Another one lakh kg is expected to be destroyed soon. Volunteers, secretariat staff, and combing police are actively identifying cannabis crops, with a collaborative effort required from all departmental officials to achieve eradication.
Additional SP Dheeraj, DRO B. Padmavathi, DFO Vinod Kumar, District Agriculture Officer SBS Nand, District Park Forest Officer Ramesh Kumar Rao, Deputy Director of Tribal Welfare Department I Kondalarao, and other district officers attended the meeting.