In a move that is expected to benefit millions of people earning their livelihood from the forest, the government has decided to appoint a special commission for fixing minimum support price (MSP) for minor forest produce like bamboo, mahua and tendu leaves.
The commission is expected to be appointed by January 2013 under the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation (Trifed), tribal affairs minister V Kishore Chandra Deo said on Monday.
The Planning Commission has already given its approval for setting up such a commission. ?There is a procedure for setting up a commission. We have received a go ahead from the Planning Commission and Trifed will be its nodal agency,? Deo said.
?The central government will provide financial support for procurement, creation of enabling infrastructure, training for sustainable harvesting and also provide subsidy to state-level agencies in case they incur any loss in the transactions,? Deo added.
At present, the government has fixed MSPs only for main agricultural crops and there has been a long-pending demand for a similar minimum procurement price level for products like tendu leaves, mahua, or sal seed, which provide livelihood to millions of forest dwellers across the country. Several expert committees have also recommended the fixing of MSPs for minor forest produce.
Last year, then environment minister Jairam Ramesh had suggested to the Planning Commission that MSPs for minor forest produce be fixed by a central committee to serve as a benchmark for states. States will be free to fix a price higher than the benchmark. Ramesh had argued that since these areas fall within the purview of Schedule V of the Constitution, the Centre has the right to introduce MSPs for minor forest produce.
Lakhs of tendu or bidi leaves collectors in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa, which produce more than 85% of the country?s tendu leaves annually, are denied even the market price for their produce.
In June, FE had reported that the three states receive close to R1,100 crore as revenue from selling tendu leaves annually.
The combined production of beedi leaves in these key states is estimated to be around 1.5 million quintals. In return, only about 40-45% of the money goes back to the pluckers and other labourers, while the rest is added into the non-tax revenue.
According to the tribal affairs ministry, the minor forest produce has significant economic and social value for the forest dwellers. It has estimated that 100 million people, including a large tribal population, derive their source of livelihood from collecting and marketing minor forest produce.
