Bhubaneswar/Baripada, June 30: Even as crores of rupees are being spent on conserving Odisha's famed Similipal Tiger Reserve and National Park, an alarming illegal activity is silently taking root deep inside the protected forest. Investigations suggest that illicit opium cultivation has spread into parts of the reserve, triggering serious concerns over wildlife conservation, organised crime and administrative oversight.
Sources familiar with the developments claim that opium cultivation has been detected in villages located within and around Similipal's core and buffer areas, including Bakua, Kukurbhuka, Jenabil, Gopinathpur, Bandirabasa and Asanbani. Similar instances have reportedly surfaced over the past few years in parts of Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Sundargarh districts.
Officials estimate that several villages inside the protected landscape have come under the influence of drug traffickers allegedly operating from neighbouring Jharkhand. According to local sources, some residents have been drawn into the illegal trade as intermediaries or labourers, while the harvested opium is allegedly transported through interstate networks.
Government records indicate that illegal opium crops worth around Rs 40 crore were destroyed in Similipal during 2024 and 2025 alone. However, despite repeated destruction drives, fresh cultivation continues to emerge in remote forest pockets.
According to officials, while the government procurement price of raw opium remains relatively low, its value in the illegal market increases exponentially, making it an attractive proposition for organised criminal networks.
Officials and local residents allege that the illegal cultivation is largely controlled by operators from Jharkhand, where sustained anti-opium operations in recent years have reportedly forced traffickers to shift their activities towards Odisha's forested regions.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has repeatedly alerted the Odisha government about the growing menace and has reportedly shared satellite imagery identifying suspected cultivation sites. Jharkhand has also intensified anti-opium operations by deploying hundreds of police and paramilitary personnel in affected districts.
Despite advances in surveillance technologies such as satellite mapping, drones and AI-enabled monitoring, questions are being raised over how large-scale illegal cultivation could continue inside one of India's most protected wildlife habitats.
A senior forest official, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted that the department faces severe shortages of manpower, vehicles and surveillance equipment needed to effectively monitor the vast forest landscape. The official also pointed to logistical challenges in accessing remote interior areas.
Some local residents have further alleged that illegal cultivators enjoy political patronage, discouraging lower-level enforcement officials from taking stringent action. However, these allegations could not be independently verified, and no official evidence has been produced linking any public representative to the alleged activities.
Beyond Mayurbhanj, reports of illegal opium cultivation have also surfaced from parts of Koida and Gurundia in Sundargarh, Joda in Keonjhar, Raighar in Nabarangpur, Rairakhol in Sambalpur and sections of the Satkosia landscape in Angul district.
Experts warn that the spread of opium cultivation poses a dual threat—damaging fragile forest ecosystems while strengthening narcotics supply chains. As opium serves as the primary raw material for producing narcotic substances such as heroin, enforcement agencies fear that unchecked cultivation could further fuel illegal drug trafficking networks across eastern India.
The allegations underline the need for stronger inter-state coordination, enhanced surveillance, greater community engagement and sustained enforcement to prevent protected forests from becoming safe havens for organised narcotics cultivation.
