Rights over forest produce

The Chhattisgarh government has imposed new restrictions under which no individual can carry more than five kilograms of mahua, tribal India's kGreen Goldy without a permit. This way of making tribals' access to forest produce a crime is not new. In kBamboo risingy (16-31 January, 2013), Down To Earth had profiled Odisha's Loyendi village, mostly inhabited by Kondh tribals. Between 2006 and 2012, despite the passage of the Forest Rights Act, the people of Loyendi could not procure bamboo from the forests. They had to fight an intense battle with the mighty forest bureaucracy, and a paper mill to do that. On December 7, 2012, Loyendi got rights over 20 forested hills after a sustained struggle. Perhaps, the Chhattisgarh tribals could learn some lessons from the people of Loyendi.