Durg, India: The district administration in Durg has taken major action in an illegal opium cultivation case. District Collector Abhijeet Singh has suspended Rural Agriculture Extension Officer Ekta Sahu for alleged negligence linked to the incident.
The action follows a preliminary inquiry that also involved notices issued to crop surveyor Shashikant Sahu and village patwari Anita Sahu. All three officials were asked to submit explanations within seven days before the administration initiated disciplinary proceedings.
Irregularities Found During Investigation
According to the investigation conducted by the district administration, serious discrepancies were found in agricultural records. Officials discovered that a field belonging to farmer Vimal Tamrakar had been officially registered as a maize demonstration plot. However, the land was actually being used for paddy cultivation.
Authorities suspect that local political figure Vinayak Tamrakar, along with some officials, allegedly misused the maize cultivation scheme as a cover to grow illegal opium crops. Investigators believe the field’s location was intentionally altered in official documents to mislead government authorities.
Misuse of Government Incentives
The inquiry also revealed that government incentive funds meant for demonstration plots had already been released. Under official rules, photographs of the demonstration plot must be taken with the actual beneficiary farmer. However, investigators found that a different farmer was photographed near a maize field and the image was uploaded to the system.
Officials further discovered that the maize field shown in the uploaded photographs had illegal opium cultivation taking place right behind it.
Opium Cultivation Detected on Two Survey Plots
Crop survey records uploaded in September 2025 by surveyor Shashikant Sahu in the digital “Photo Girdawari” system listed survey number 309 as fallow land and survey number 310 as a paddy field. However, the investigation later revealed that illegal opium crops were actually being grown on both plots.
Collector Abhijeet Singh stated that the agriculture officer was responsible for overseeing the demonstration plot but conducted it at a different location and uploaded photographs with a different farmer. He confirmed that these irregularities led to the suspension.
The district administration has stated that the investigation is ongoing. Officials said further action will be taken if negligence or involvement of additional officers is discovered in the case.