Illegal poppy cultivation in Manipur declined in last 4 years: Survey report
Overall, in 2023-2024, the state’s opium poppy cultivation decreased by 32.13 per cent compared to the previous year, 2022-2023
Imphal: Illegal poppy cultivation in Manipur has seen a notable decline over the past four years, according to a survey by the Manipur Remote Sensing Applications Centre (MARSAC), which used advanced mapping and estimation methods.
MARSAC began this survey in 2021 as part of the Manipur Government’s “War on Drugs” initiative, led by chief minister N Biren Singh.
This study, conducted from September 2023 to January 2024, mapped the poppy cultivation areas. The report shows a drop in poppy cultivation from 16,632.29 acres in 2022-2023 to 11,288.07 acres in 2023-2024, cultivated across nine hill districts – Chandel, Churachandpur, Kamjong, Kangpokpi, Noney, Senapati, Tamenglong, Tengnoupal, and Ukhrul. In 2022-2023, over 16,890 acres of opium poppy were cultivated in these nine hill districts. The other districts included Churachandpur, Chandel, Kamjong, Senapati, Tamenglong, Tengnoupal, and Ukhrul.
Overall, in 2023-2024, opium poppy cultivation decreased by 32.13 per cent compared to the previous year, 2022-2023. The initial MARSAC report from 2021-2022 showed that 28,598.91 acres were under poppy cultivation in eight districts, with Kangpokpi district having the largest area at 9,517.90 acres.
This represents a decrease from 28,598.91 acres in 2021-2022 to 16,890.37 acres in 2022-2023, a reduction of 40.94 per cent compared to the previous year.
The report also highlighted that poppy cultivation in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts dropped from 6,688.61 acres in 2021-2022 to 4,062.04 acres in 2022-2023, and from 9,517.90 acres in 2021-2022 to 5,407.47 acres in 2022-2023, respectively.
Tamenglong district had about 96.06 acres of poppy cultivation in 2022-2023. Noney, previously poppy-free in 2021-2022, showed 132.36 acres of poppy cultivation in 2022-2023. Pherzawl district remains the only poppy-free hill district in Manipur, according to the survey.
An official report by the Narcotics and Affairs of Border (NAB) corroborated the MARSAC findings, showing significant progress in eradicating poppy cultivation from 2017 to 2024. NAB reported the destruction of 19,135.50 acres of poppy plantations during this period, with the highest destruction rates in Kangpokpi at 4,454.4 acres, followed by Churachandpur at 2,317.8 acres.