Experts hail Jairam Ramesh’s initiative on bamboo trade

Experts in the bamboo industry have welcomed the initiative of the Forests and Environment Minister, Mr Jairam Ramesh, on ending monopoly of the Forest Department on bamboo trade in the country and making it available to tribals.

“This could be the beginning. But the ideal situation for developing bamboo processing industry would be when bamboo is freed completely from the draconian laws restricting its plantation and transportation,” Mr Pratap Goswami, a bamboo consultant, told PTI.

Mr Ramesh recently wrote to all State chief ministers to direct their state forest officers to treat bamboo as a minor produce.

The Forest Rights Act in 2006 defined bamboo as minor forest produce but forest officials refused to deal with it accordingly and instead held a monopoly control on the trade.

Mr Goswami said that activists in Maharashtra have been waging a struggle against the Forest Department’s control on bamboo for long.

“Despite all efforts the State Government has not come out with the much-needed bamboo policy to compliment the twin national missions on bamboo and its applications floated by the Union Government to promote use of bamboo as alternative to forest timber,” he said.

Mr Goswami, who has been assigned a special task as bamboo consultant by the Government, believes that the Union Minister has made this announcement to facilitate ‘Nistar’ rights of tribals and “to make it easier for traditional tribal craftsmen using bamboo, special powers could be given to gram sabhas to issue transport permits,” he said.

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