Bhubaeswar, April 22: Ganja (cannabis) seems to be emerging as the new “cash crop” in several parts of southern and western Orissa notwithstanding raids and other coercive measures to check its cultivation.

Contrary to popular perception that the plants were being cultivated only in inaccessible areas with plantations tucked away in hills and forests, officials now admit that it is also being grown in well-irrigated fertile land suited for paddy farming.

According to Angul’s deputy superintendent, excise, Natabar Behera, ganja was being grown in extremely fertile private and government lands under Chendipada and Jarpada police station areas of the district.

“It’s a short duration crop which is harvested in four or five months. The money is good as one kilogram of local grass fetches around Rs 400. The prices soar when the stuff is smuggled out of the area,” said Behera.

The cultivation flourishes despite raids and arrests.

“It has become a real headache. Only a few days ago, we seized 50kg of ganja from Angul bus stand and arrested two persons. Three others managed to escape,” said the officer.

Official records say during 2009-10, ganja plants worth over Rs 249 crore were destroyed in nine districts, namely Angul, Sambalpur, Boudh, Gajpati, Ganjam, Kandhmal, Malkangiri, Rayagada and Deogarh, almost all of them in southern and western Orissa.

Significantly, barring Angul, Boudh and Ganjam, the six others are known Maoist bastions where the cultivation is allegedly being patronised and protected by the Red rebels.

Malkangiri was in news last month for the seizure of 3.6 tonne of ganja from Sorlukunda area under Orkel police limits of the district.

Though not willing to be quoted for obvious reasons, police officials in the district admitted that a lot of ganja was being grown in Malkangiri’s inaccessible “cut-off” belt where district collector R. Vineel Krishna and junior engineer Pabitra Majhi had been held captive by the Maoists for nine days following their abduction on February 16.

The rebels’ support to the thriving ganja trade in the inaccessible parts of the southern Orissa district became evident following the seizure. The area, where the seizure was made, is not far from Malkangiri’s cut-off belt.

Officer in-charge of Orkel police station Aniruddha Routray had said the trade was being patronised by the Maoists who ruled the roost in the inaccessible areas of the district, including Chitrakonda, focus of the state government’s anti-naxalite operation.

“Ganja means easy money for the rebels. Their cut is 20 to 30 per cent a bag of grass,” Routray had said.

That seizure was the third seizure of ganja in as many months.

Inspector in-charge of Chitrakonda police station Rajesh Chatria had said villages such as, Kapatudi and Burudiput, apart from Patlur under the Kalimela police station, were notorious for growing ganja.

“The cultivation is also going on in the inaccessible area, but it remains inaccessible for the better part of the year. We have heard about the Maoists patronising ganja cultivation, but we are yet to come across concrete proof,” said Chatri.

Sources said that apart from Malkangiri, ganja plantations were also thriving in the hills and forests of Rayagada, Gajpati and Kandhmal districts where the Maoists had managed to establish a strong base. While cannabis plants worth around Rs 20 lakh have been destroyed in Rayagada during the past few years, raids on illegal plantations have also been carried in some other areas.

What worries the law keepers is the alleged involvement of small-time politicians in the ganja trade in districts such as, Kandhmal. Raids on some ganja plantations in the district a few years ago had led to the arrest of a sarpanch which surprised the authorities.

Last November, dsitrict officials in Angul had decided to curb ganja cultivation in the surrounding areas.

“Unlike earlier raids, this time we will not give them any scope to raise the plantation after the raids. We have decided to destroy the plantations continuously by conducting repeated raids instead of one raid,” Angul superintendent of police Satyabrata Bhoi had said.

Bhoi said the Chhendipada and Handappa police station areas were located near the Maoist-infested Sambalpur and Deogarh districts. He, however, had ruled out any link of ganja cultivation with the Maoists.

He feared that such a large-scale cultivation of ganja would lead to huge earning resulting in more criminal activities in the vulnerable areas.

Spread over 80 acres under these two police station areas, ganja worth Rs 100 crore have been planted this year. Ganja plants were grown up in about 40 villages in Chhendipada area, he said.

According to sources, people are lured to ganja cultivation leaving behind traditional crops as it pays them rich dividend in shortest time and with minimum investment. Within two months one ganja plant becomes full-grown which costs Rs 2,000 in market.

Officials are of the view that drought has pushed many farmers to opt for ganja crops this year. However, people plant the ganja saplings on government and forestland to evade identification and arrest. Therefore, every year, though police seize crores of rupees they hardly make any arrest.

So far the authorities have failed to find any clue about the main promoters and receivers of the cannabis. However, massive raids by police and excise department are conducted every year.

Chhendipada MLA Khageswar Behera: “Why don’t police and excise officials conduct raids on all areas where ganja plantations are grown?” He also questioned as to how the ganja cultivation continued even after the much-hyped raids.

On the other hand, excise department has decided to hold awareness meeting in the area to educate people about the evil effects behind the cultivation banned by law.

Excise superintendent Ramakant Nayak said: “We have to conduct meeting with villagers to restrain them from pursuing this cultivation leaving the traditional paddy and other crops in their areas.’’