Bhubaneswar, Aug 14: The Odisha government has decided to intensify field-level monitoring to completely curb illegal cannabis cultivation on government land, particularly in vulnerable areas across six districts.

Revenue and Disaster Management Additional Chief Secretary Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee has written to the Collectors of Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Kandhamal, Boudh and Gajapati, directing field-level revenue officials to remain vigilant against the re-emergence of illegal cannabis cultivation.

Revenue officials asked to monitor vulnerable plots​​​​​​​

Padhee has instructed Tahsildars, Additional Tahsildars, Revenue Inspectors and Revenue Supervisors to work in close coordination and maintain continuous surveillance over government revenue land where illegal cannabis cultivation had previously been detected and destroyed.

Officials have been directed to compile and maintain village-wise and plot-wise records, including the GPS coordinates of vulnerable locations, so that these areas can be monitored systematically.

The government has also directed officials to immediately alert the concerned police station, Special Task Force (STF) or Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) if fresh illegal cannabis cultivation is detected on government land.

The instructions refer to Section 47 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, under which law enforcement authorities are required to be informed about offences involving illicit cultivation and narcotic substances. An internal reporting mechanism at the district level has also been ordered.

Strict action against officials helping cannabis mafia

The government has warned that strict action will be taken against any revenue official found assisting or supporting a cannabis cultivation mafia.

The move comes as authorities prepare for the ongoing 2026-27 crop season, with concerns that illegal cultivators could return to government land that had been cleared during previous anti-cannabis drives.

Over 36,500 acres of illegal cannabis cultivation destroyed

During the 2025-26 crop season, Odisha Police carried out a major cannabis destruction drive across the six identified districts.

Illegal cannabis cultivation was destroyed in 1,631 GPS-mapped land parcels covering 36,508.792 acres under 41 police stations. Of this, 6,632.197 acres was identified as government revenue land.

The Police Department has also shared GPS coordinates of locations where illegal cannabis cultivation was destroyed between November 2025 and March 2026.

Based on these coordinates, the state government plans to undertake systematic and continuous monitoring of the previously cleared plots to prevent cultivators from returning to the same locations.

According to Padhee, illegal cultivators often attempt to reuse the same government revenue land in remote and inaccessible areas every year.

With the 2026-27 crop season already underway, authorities fear that cannabis could once again be cultivated on land cleared during the previous destruction drive.

The Additional Chief Secretary has therefore called for special attention to such vulnerable locations and stressed the need for closer coordination between revenue officials and the local police administration to prevent illegal cannabis cultivation.