From cultivation to sale, Maha targets entire drug supply chain

In a first, the government has moved beyond a conventional police-led crackdown by assigning specific anti-narcotics responsibilities to nearly a dozen departments under a common “Whole-of-Government Approach”

Mumbai: From tracking suspected cannabis cultivation with digital crop surveys and drones to checking cargo containers at ports and scrutinising buyers of precursor chemicals, Maharashtra is putting nearly a dozen government departments on the anti-drug front as it sets a 2029 deadline to make the state drug-free.

From cultivation to sale, Maha targets entire drug supply chain

In a first, the government has moved beyond a conventional police-led crackdown by assigning specific anti-narcotics responsibilities to nearly a dozen departments under a common “Whole-of-Government Approach”. The multi-department plan includes revenue, agriculture, forests, ports, transport, industry, education and health into a coordinated anti-narcotics framework, with the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) acting as the key coordinating agency.

The 10-page framework, released by the state home department on September 16, covers the drug trade from cultivation and manufacture to transportation, distribution and sale, while also focusing on prevention, treatment and rehabilitation.

The initiative follows a series of raids on clandestine units allegedly manufacturing MDMA in Maharashtra and other states over the past year. Locations targeted include Sangli, Karjat and Akola in Maharashtra, besides Bhopal, Mysore and Hyderabad. Government data shows that drugs worth ₹411 crore and assets valued at ₹256 crore had been seized in police operations by May 2026.

The new plan also comes months after two college students died and another was critically injured following a suspected ecstasy overdose after a music concert at the Nesco Exhibition Centre in Goregaon on April 11.

The revenue department will maintain district-wise records of illegal cultivation of narcotic crops and coordinate with the ANTF and police to destroy such plantations. It has also been asked to prepare an SOP for coordinated action by officials at the village level.

The agriculture department will use its digital crop survey to identify suspected cannabis and opium cultivation and alert police. The forest department will use satellite imagery, GIS, drones and forest patrols to monitor dense forest areas for illegal cultivation.

“The move effectively brings agricultural and forest surveillance into the state’s anti-drug enforcement architecture, potentially allowing authorities to identify cultivation before crops can be harvested,” said a senior home official.

The state is also tightening its watch on the chemicals used to manufacture synthetic drugs. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and industries department have been directed to monitor the movement, storage and use of precursor chemicals and prevent their diversion for illegal drug manufacture.

The framework calls for action against illegal narcotics manufacturing in closed, abandoned or non-operational factories in MIDC areas.

Companies ordering precursor chemicals will have to undergo KYC checks covering business licences, GST registration and corporate identity. Buyers will also have to declare the intended use of the chemicals.

Transport contractors, drivers, warehouse workers and logistics operators handling precursor chemicals will be subjected to background verification and periodic checks, it added.

The crackdown will extend to the state’s maritime gateways and transportation network. The ports department has been directed to coordinate with Customs, the Coast Guard, Navy and police for intelligence-based inspections of cargo vessels and containers. The transport department will identify routes vulnerable to drug trafficking and conduct preventive operations against inter-state and intra-state movement.

The campaign will also target demand. The school education department has been asked to include drug-awareness material in the curriculum, train teachers and sensitise parents. The higher and technical education department will conduct awareness drives through NSS in colleges and universities and appoint campus coordinators.

The state’s drug-free campaign was also discussed during Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah during Shah’s two-day Mumbai visit.

A senior government official said “The Union home minister has assured that he will hold a day-long meeting with the chief minister and officials from all the concerned agencies.”