60
REPORT OF THE INDIAN HEMP DRUGS COMMISSION, 1893-94.
[APP.
These provisions seemed to be workable enough, especially as in only 2 districts was there
anything like systematic cultivation of the hemp plant. Unexpected difficulties, however
arose in the disposal of the produce by cultivators to wholesale dealers and licensed vendors.
The Commissioner of Excise was present both in Nagpur and Nimar on the occasions when
sellers and buyers met for the disposal of the produce. At Nagpur the wholesale dealers held
aloof, being uncertain of the effects which the enhanced duty demanded on the drug might
have on consumption, while the retail vendors were not prepared to purchase direct or other-
wise than in previous years from the wholesale dealers. In Nimar also sellers and buyers failed
to come to an understanding. Accordingly it was found necessary, in order to guard the cul-
tivators against loss and to secure to Government the control of the entire crop to purchase on
behalf of Government 1,856 maunds of ganja in Nagpur and some 5,000 maunds in Nimar at
a total cost of nearly Rs. 50,000. These quantities together represented nearly the entire
crop of the year in the Central Provinces, so that practically Government obtained a monopoly
of the drug.
The small cultivation of ganja in districts other than Nagpur and Nimar was specially
dealt with. The Wardha crop was taken over by the Deputy Commissioner and forwarded
to the Nagpur Store, to be there dealt with like the produce of the Katol Tahsil. In Betul,
Chhindwara, Narsinghpur, and Raipur the whole produce was put up to auction and sold to
licensed vendors, the upset price fixed being Rs. 36 per maund: the cultivator's share of the
proceeds was fixed at one-seventh.
10. The revenue was Rs. 83,144-0-3, of which Rs. 1,727 was collected on licenses to
cultivate, a source of income which had now to be finally abandoned in accordance with the
opinion of the Judicial Commissioner on the draft rules as first drawn.
Bids for the right of retail vend increased by Rs. 18,522-1-5, Mandla and Chhindwara
being the only districts which did not contribute to this improvement. The auctions had
been held much earlier than usual in order to give licensed vendors generally a fair opportunity
of buying their supplies direct from producers: hitherto the principal ganja crops had been
for the most part bought up by a few persons for purposes of wholesale vend. Another pro-
bable cause of the improvement was the selling of the monopolies as far as possible in small
circles, instead of in lump or by tahsils or large circles, as had previously been the practice in
several districts.
The incidence of revenue rose to very nearly 2 pies per head of population. The number
of retail shops which worked during the year is not ascertainable, but was probably much
the same everywhere as in 1877-78.
11. With a view to administrative efficiency as well as economy the district formerly
known as "Upper-Godavery" was abolished in this year, a small portion being transferred
to the Madras Presidency and the remiander being constituted a sub-division of the Chanda
district and styled "Sironcha." For the sake of preserving uniformity throughout Appendix
A, the statistics relating to the Upper-Godavery district have all along been included in those
of Chanda.
1879-80.
12. The arrangements for raising the revenue in 1879-80 were peculiar, owing to the
position
in
which Government found itself as holder of
almost
the whole provincial stock of ganja. In five districts
the circles of vend were not sold at all, but farms were given to men of capital and position,
who engaged to find retail vendors and to keep them supplied with ganja taken as it came
in the uncleaned state from the Government stores, paying only duty at certain fixed rates on
removal from the Stores: those rates were as under:—
Rs. A. P.
Jubbulpore tahsil
2 12 0 per seer.
Jubbulpore District
Sehora and Murwara
3 0 0
"
Narsinghpur District
3 6 0
"
Hoshangabad "
4 4 0
"
Khandwa and Bur-
5 0 0
Nimar District
hanpur tahsils
5 0 0
"
Mortaka tahsil
4 1 0
"
Mandla District
5 0 0
"
In the remaining district the monopoly of retail vend was sold in the usual way, at first
for 3 months and then for the rest of the year. The plan tried in the 5 districts above named,
though not an absolute failure, was soon found in practice to be open to serious objections:
the farmers, not being bound to work in earnest in order to be able to pay stipulated instal-
ments to Government, did very little towards ensuring an adequate supply to the public.
For
the last nine months of the year, therefore, in the remaining 13 districts the retail monopolies