13
3. Enquiry on these points has recently been
made by all Deputy Commissioners, and I believe
from their reports that the hemp plant does not
grow spontaneously in any part of these pr
o - v i n c e s .
3. "Ganja" appears to be the only name by
which the plant is known, and it is applied
indifferently to the plant and to the narcotic
produced from it.
5 and 6. Hemp does not grow wild in the
Central Provinces, so I need not attempt to answer
these questions.
7. Hemp is cultivated for the production of
ganja and ganja seed only, and cultivation has
been restricted to the Khandwa tahsil of the
Nimar district since the close of the year 1889-90.
The average area under cultivation during the past
three years is 705 acres, and the average amount
of outturn of the manufactured article, 6,865
maunds. The raising of ganja for seed is confined
to a few villages.
8. Statistics of area cultivated and quantity
stored for each of the past five years are as under
for the Nimar district:—
Acres. t1aunds.
1888-89 . . .
858
9,450
1889-90 . . .
954
10,854
1890-91 . . .
521
7,224
1891-92 . . .
653
6,685
1892-93 . . .
940
6,686
The fall in 1890-91 was due to the market being
overstocked with the large outturn of the previous
year, and to the raiyats having unsuccessfully com-
bined to resist dealers' low prices: in 1891-92
the losses which had been sustained in this way
and excess rainfall prevented any considerable
extension of operations, besides damaging the crop
raised on the area worked. In the latter year,
however, cultivators realized high prices, averag
-ing Rs. 8 per maund, and were encouraged to
sow more ganja in 1892-93; but the crop raised
was again damaged by excessive rain, and the
quality was generally inferior. It may be men
-tioned here that consumption in the Central
Provinces themselves has little, if any, effect
on the area cultivated, for the reason that only
about one-fifth of the crop is consumed locally:
during the past five years local consumption has
increased from 1,123 to 1,468 maunds, the annual
average being 1,282 maunds.
In 1888-89 and 1889-90 there was a little
cultivation in the Katol tahsil of the Nagpur dis
-trict; in the former year 79 acres produced 377
maunds, the corresponding figures for the latter
year being 39 acres and 312 maunds.
9. I have described the method of cultivation
in a separate memorandum,* copy of which has
been furnished to the Secretary, Hemp Drugs
Commission. The memorandum was drawn up
under the Chief Commissioner's orders in accord
- a n c e w i t h t h e C o m m i s s i o n ' s l e t t e r N o . 3 3 , d a t e d
the 11th August last.
10 There is no special class of hemp cultivators
in Nimar, nor was there in Nagpur when culti
-vation was permitted there.
11. No. In Nimar the best ganja is raised
from seed obtained at Dhakalgaon in Indore, and
the rest from seed furnished by a few villages
within the districts which cultivate ganja specially
for this purpose.
12. No.
13. Cultivation of the hemp plant for ganja is
restricted to the Khandwa tahsil of the Nimar
* Published in Vol. III, Appendices.
district. Going back as far as 1871-72, the first
year for which a separate Report on Excise Reve
- n u e w a s i s s u e d , I f i n d t h a t g a n j a w a s t h e n g r o w n
in all districts in small patches, but that even then
the Nimar district and the Katol tahsil of the
Nagpur district were the chief seats of culti
- v a t i o n .
By Central Provinces Gazette Notification No.
610, dated the 16th February 1882, cultivation
was definitely restricted to the Katol and Khand
- w a t a h s i l s . S i n c e t h e y e a r 1 8 8 9 - 9 0 t h e r e h a s
been no cultivation in the Katol tahsil. The
reasons for selecting Nimar as the sole source of
supply were chiefly these:
—
(1) the Katol ganja was inferior, and conse
- q u e n t l y l i t t l e i n d e m a n d ;
(2 the amount raised in Khandwa was far in
excess of provincial requirements, and
would certainly suffice to meet them even
in a year of bad harvest.
The only special condition which I can mention
as necessary for the production of ganja is moder
-ate rainfall. For a good crop manuring and irr
i - g a t i o n s h o u l d b e r e s o r t e d t o : i n N i m a r t h e f i r s t
is never, and the second very seldom omitted.
The kind of natural soil required is one which
does not retain water close to the surface, and so
clog the plant with mud. So much I have been
able to ascertain by local enquiry; and if my
information is trustworthy, there is no difficulty
in understanding why the Khandwa tahsil has
always been a favourite field for cultivation. The
peculiar physical advantages enjoyed by that tah-
sil are as follows:—
(1) the average rainfall is only 33 inches per
annum,i . e .
, l e s s t h a n t h a t o f a n y o t h e r
district in the provinces;
(2) the water-bearing stratum is in most parts
within 20 feet of the surface;
(3) at the same time the surface soil rapidly
loses the monsoon fall by self-drainage.
Great advantages of another kind are that ganja
has been cultivated for generations, and that the
value of manure has always been thoroughly ap
- p r e c i a t e d .
Ganja has at one time or another been raised in
every district of the provinces, and so far as I am
aware, its cultivation cannot be said to be impo
s - s i b l e i n a n y p a r t .
14. As the hemp plant is grown for ganja only,
so ganja is the only product manufactured, and
manufacture, like cultivation, is restricted to the
Khandwa tahsil of the Nimar district. The entire
crop, when manufactured, must be deposited in the
Government storehouse at Khandwa: the amount
deposited in each of the past three years is as
under:—
Maunds.
1890-91 . . .
7,224
1891-92 . . .
6,685
1892-93. . .
6,686
About 1/3of the quantity stored is lost in clea
n - i n g w h e n t h e d r u g i s p r e p a r e d f o r i s s u e t o t h e
double-lock stores of wholesale vendors in the
different districts. A further cleaning is effected
when the drug is issued by tahsildars to wholesale
vendors for sale to retail vendors, and this further
reduces the quantity to about 45 per cent. of that
originally stored at Khandwa.
15. I have described the process of manufacture
of ganja in the memorandum to which reference
was made in my answer to question 9.