Farmer seeks CM’s nod for cannabis cultivation

LOKMAT NEWS NETWORK

YEOLA, Sep 24

A farmer from Nimgaon Madh in Yeola taluka has demanded that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde grant him permission to cultivate cannabis. In his letter to the Chief Minister, he has alleged that the policies of the government have pushed farmers into a debt trap, forcing many to die by suicide, since the prospect of being forced to sell their farms is extremely humiliating for them.

The former sarpanch of Nimgaon Madh, Navnath Labhade, has suggested to the Chief Minister that the government should now allow the cultivation of cannabis and impose a tax on the income earned from it so that the state also benefits from the additional revenue generated.

The letter further demands that if the government can earn thousands of crores of rupees in revenue by allowing the production and sale of country and foreign liquor, why can't it allow farmers to cultivate cannabis and earn revenue from it too?

Labhade has claimed that not only will the farmers become debt-free from the income generated, the state too can become debt-free.

Labhade warned that if no reply is received within one month from the date of receipt of the letter by the CM's office, the silence would be deemed as a consent and a grand function would be organised on October 25, where cannabis and opium would be planted with much fanfare.