Chhattisgarh tribals to file FIR against forest official over tendu leaf collection

Chhattisgarh tribals to file FIR against forest official over tendu leaf collection

Subject: Environment

Section: FRA

• The official had seized tendu leaves collected by tribals which they wanted to sell on their own instead of to the government.
• The villagers have claimed that the Gram Sabhas of 13 villages had passed a proposal to collect and sell tendu leaves on their own earlier this year.

Dispute

• Tendu (Diospirusmelanocaylon) is also called ‘green gold’ and is a prominent minor forest produce in India.
• In 1964, the trade in tendu leaves was nationalized in then-undivided Madhya Pradesh. Until then, people were free to sell tendu leaves in markets across the country.
• Maharashtra adopted the same system in 1969, undivided Andhra Pradesh in 1971, Odisha in 1973, Gujarat in 1979, Rajasthan in 1974 and Chhattisgarh in 2000.
• Under this arrangement, the state forest department collects tendu leaves, allows their transportation and sells them to traders.
• In Chhattisgarh, tendu leaf is collected through the state minor forest produce federation. There are more than 10,300 collection centres or phads where tendu leaves are collected from collectors.
• The dispute is essentially about who has the right to sell the leaves. State governments say only they can do so due to nationalization.
• On the other hand, tendu leaf collectors cite The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 and the 2013 Supreme Court verdict in the much-touted Niyamgiri case to say private collectors can sell them on their own.
• Tendu leaf collectors allege that the government gives them a lower price for the leaves, while it fetches a higher price in the open market.
• The tribals, after having obtained forest rights leases under the FRA 2006, now want to sell tendu leaves on their own, with the permission of Gram Sabhas and make good profits.
• While many other types of minor forest produce like Mahua, Salbeej or the seeds of the Sal tree (Shorearobusta) and Chironjior Almondette kernels (Buchananialanzan) are collected and sold by tribals.
• Instead of the controversy, the Chhattisgarh government should encourage these tribal collectors and give them a chance to grow