During the 2025-26 crop season, the Odisha police, as part of a drive, destroyed illicit cannabis cultivation on 36,508 acres of land in these six districts. Of the total area, 6,632 acres were either government or revenue land. (Pic: Wikimedia commons)Vast stretches of unused government and revenue land in inaccessible and remote locations in Odisha’s hinterlands have fallen prey to illegal cultivation of cannabis, or ganja, by the mafia and unscrupulous elements.As per official records, such illegal encroachment is rampant in six districts — Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Kandhamal, Boudh and Gajapati.During the 2025-26 crop season, the Odisha police, as part of a drive, destroyed illicit cannabis cultivation on 36,508 acres of land in these six districts. Of the total area, 6,632 acres were either government or revenue land.The state’s Revenue Department has asked the Collectors of these districts to sensitise the field-level functionaries to maintain continuous vigil over land parcels where illegal cannabis cultivation had been earlier detected or destroyed.“Persons engaged in illegal cannabis cultivation have a tendency to return to the same land patches season after season, particularly in remote and inaccessible areas where surveillance remains inadequate,” Revenue Secretary Arabinda Kumar Padhee said in a letter to the six Collectors.With the onset of the new crop season, there exists a real and imminent risk of re-cultivation on the very land parcels cleared during the previous season unless sustained and focused field-level vigilance is maintained, Padhee added.The District Collectors were asked to immediately report any instance of illegal cannabis cultivation detected on government/revenue land to the jurisdictional police station or the Special Task Force, as required under Section 47 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act).Story continues below this adThe state government has also warned of strict action in view of suspicions that some police personnel and field-level officials are helping in the illegal cultivation of cannabis.“Any officials found conniving with vested interests or mafia elements will face stringent disciplinary/criminal action,” the revenue secretary said in his letter. The district collectors were also asked to monitor the action taken by the field-level functionaries to prevent illegal ganja cultivation.Lucrative returns drive many in the inaccessible pockets to engage in the illegal cultivation of ganja. According to the police, ganja cultivation fetches about Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 per kg as compared to other legal crops.They are further emboldened by the relatively limited detection and intervention by law enforcement due to the remoteness of their area. Police said people from outside engage the villagers and fund them to grow the crop and to keep their identity hidden.Story continues below this adThe majority of these six districts were once affected by Left-wing extremism, with Kandhamal and Boudh declared Maoist-free only recently. Officials said the illicit cultivation of cannabis had also received patronage from Maoist groups and had emerged as one of their major income sources.The Odisha Police recently informed that it destroyed more than 108 metric tonne of seized ganja, valued at around Rs 544 crore, during a special drive conducted in June-July.Odisha is a primary source hub for illegal cannabis cultivation and trafficking, supplying major inter-state syndicates connected to Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and Goa, police sources said.Sujit Bisoyi is a Special Correspondent with the Indian Express and covers Odisha. His interests are in politics, policy and people’s stories. He tweets at @bisoyisujit87 ... Read More Tags:Bhubaneshwarmarijuana seized