Calendar of activities related to the production of licensed opium
05 October 2022, New Delhi: The below table shows the calendar of activities relating to production of licit opium. The table mentions all the important activities which a farmer needs to prepare for during the cultivation of opium.
The month of February-March is an important time for opium farmers. The opium capsule is ready for lancing or extraction of opium by incision of opium capsule. The latex that oozes out of the capsule is collected by the cultivator on daily basis and the weight of such opium is recorded in a register called preliminary weighment register (PWR) maintained by the Lambardar of village .
CBN staff periodically checks the entries in PWR against the physical stock with the cultivator and in case of any discrepancy, action against the cultivator is taken. If there is a variation between the quantity of opium produced, the cultivator for punishment under Section 19 of the NDPS Act, 1985.
S. No.
Activity
Period
1
Finalization of the General Conditions for Grant of License for cultivation of Opium Poppy by the Central Government
September-October
2
Licensing of farmers and settlement of previous seasons accounts on receipt of General Condition for Grant of License
October
3
Measurement and test measurement of licensed fields
3rd Week of December to the end of January
4
Lancing of opium poppy bulbs for collection of opium gum
Commences generally in February
5
Checks are conducted regarding the opium produce tendered by the Cultivators
February/ March
6
Field analysis, weighment, and procurement of opium
Late March/ April
7
The collected opium is sent to the two Opium factories at Ghazipur and Neemuch for final analysis, drying and processing
