MP: Tribal dominated districts will get organic certificate soon

To promote the export of minor forest produce, tribal dominated districts will soon get organic certificate. Forest Minister Shri Nagar Singh Chauhan has given instructions to complete all the formal procedures for this. He said that to provide social security to tendu leaf collectors, they have been included in Sambal Yojana.

For the economic security of the tribal families involved in tendu leaf collection, the tendu leaf collection rate has been increased from Rs 3000 per standard bag to Rs 4000 per standard bag. The collection rate in the year 2003 was Rs 400 per standard bag. As a result of this decision, approximately Rs 560 crore has been distributed as collection remuneration to the collectors.

Along with the collection remuneration, the net profit received from the trade of tendu leaves is also shared with the collectors. This dividend is also being increased. Whereas in the year 2003, 50 per cent of the net profit was distributed as bonus to the collectors, now 75 per cent is being distributed to the collectors as bonus. The amount of bonus distributed in the year 2002-03 was Rs 5.51 crore whereas the amount of bonus distributed in the year 2022-23 is Rs 234 crore.

At present, 38 lakh members of about 15 lakh families are involved in minor forest produce collection work. More than 50 percent of these belong to the tribal community. To protect them from exploitation by middlemen and to provide them the benefits of their collected minor forest produce, a three-tier structure of cooperative has been created. There are 10 primary forest produce cooperative societies formed at the primary level with the membership of 15.2 lakh collectors. At the second level, there are district level unions in 51 districts and at the top level, Madhya Pradesh. State Minor Forest Produce Association is functioning.

Even during the Corona period, labor wages of Rs 397 crore and Rs 415 crore were paid to tendu leaf collectors. In the last 10 years, Rs 2000 crore has been given to the collectors as incentive remuneration (bonus).

“Eklavya Vanvasi Shiksha Vikas Yojana” was started in 2011 for the education of children of tendu leaf workers. Assistance is given to meritorious children. So far, assistance amounting to more than Rs 14 crore has been given to 15,026 students.

Minor Forest Produce Processing and Research Center Barkheda Pathani was established in the year 2004-05. It has got the license to make 840 medicines based on minor forest produce and 350 medicines are being manufactured.

In order to provide fair price of forest produce to the minor forest produce collectors, the state government has also declared the minimum support price of 32 major minor forest produce so that if there is no fair price in the market then the collectors can get the fair price of the forest produce.

To increase the income of minor forest produce collectors, attention is also being given to processing and approval has been given for the establishment of 126 Van Dhan Kendras under the Pradhan Mantri Van Vikas Yojana in the state. Of these, the work of manufacturing processing products has also been started by about 70 Van Dhan Kendras.

Under PESA law, resolutions were received in 268 gram sabhas of 20 districts for collection under PESA rules from the year 2022-23 and in the collection year 2023-24, 13363 standard bags of tendu leaves were collected and a business worth Rs 7.19 crore was done. In this way, from the experience of the first year, Gram Sabhas got experience of minor forest produce trade, got confidence for tendu leaf collection and marketing and this year the work of tendu leaf collection started by 229 gram sabhas.