302 REPORT OF THE INDIAN HEMP DRUGS COMMISSION, 1893-94. [CH. XV.
(2) Permit fees at Re. 1 per maund payable by all purchasers of ganja,
other than Government licensed vendors, on account of all ganja
for which permission to purchase is granted.
(3) Registration fees at Re. 1 per maund payable by all purchasers of
ganja, other than Central Provinces licensed vendors, on account
of all ganja of which the transfer by sale is registered.
Wholesale vend.
619. The sole monopoly of wholesale vend in the province is granted by
licenses to wholesale vendors approved by the Excise
Commissioner. The licenses are given either for a
district or for each tahsil. Tenders are invited annually for the licenses for whole-
sale vend, and the tenders must state what fee per sér, in addition to a direct duty
of Rs. 2 per sér (except in Sambalpur and the south-east part of the Raipur dis-
trict, where it is Re. 1 per sér), the applicants are prepared to pay for the privilege.
The wholesale vendor is required to supply the retail vendors with ganja at Rs. 3
per sér (Rs. 2 in Sambalpur and the south-east part of the Raipur district). The
ganja purchased by the wholesale vendor is conveyed under a transport pass or
import license to a storehouse belonging to the licensee at the district or tahsil
head-quarters, one key of which is kept by the Tahsildar, by whom it is issued
according to the requirements of the wholesale vendor. Duty is only charged on
cleaned ganja, the refuse being destroyed both at the Government storehouse at
Khandwa and at the district or tahsil storehouse.
Retail vend.
620. The monopoly of retail vend is usually auctioned separately for each
shop, except in large towns, where the shops are
generally sold to one person. The localities of all
shops are fixed by the Deputy Commissioner subject to the control of the
Excise Commissioner. All retail vendors are entitled to be supplied with ganja
by the wholesale vendor at Rs. 3 per sér, and may charge their own retail
price to consumers. The number of shops is regulated by the demand for the
drug. In those districts which are specially exposed to smuggling from
foreign States, shops are licensed more freely.
Every wholesale vendor of ganja is given a license for the retail vend of bhang
free of charge. Licenses for retail vend of bhang are not granted to other persons,
and no wholesale vendor may import without a written permit from the Deputy
Commissioner. A duty of Rs. 2 per sér is levied on all foreign bhang sold, and
the rate of sale to the public must not exceed Rs. 3 per sér. Stocks of bhang
are kept under control in the same way as ganja.
Consumption on the premises is prohibited by a clause in the retail licenses.
There is no restriction as to the persons to whom ganja or bhang may be sold.
Local opinion as to the opening of shops is not ordinarily taken, but objections,
if raised, are considered.
Statistics.
621. The average area of ganja cultivation at Khandwa during the past five
years has been 785 acres; the average outturn
about 8,000 maunds, of which about 5,000 have
been exported and 1,000 consumed in the province, the remainder having
been destroyed as unfit for sale. The revenue derived from this source has
been Rs. 2,18,000, of which Rs. 1,36,500 has been from license fees, and