The Government monopoly of opium was an inheritance from early days, and, on the introduction of the East India Company's rule, poppy cultivation was entrusted to contractors initially, but this arrangement led to a deterioration in the quality of the drug and a marked decline in the profit. Hence, in 1797, the management was made over to a covenanted officer, and the Benares Agency was established under the control of the Commercial Resident, known as Opium Agent.
