JAIRAM FAVOURS TRIBALS’ RIGHT TO SELL BAMBOO

Days after Naxalites ambushed CRPF personnel in Gadchiroli, Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh in a letter to Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has sought empowering gram sabhas in the district with rights to market forest produce, including lucrative bamboo used in making paper. Mr Ramesh said that war against Maoists can not be won by battalions alone and, hence, gram sabhas should be strengthened to win local support against Naxals.

He is also reaching out to Gandhian institutions, who number more than 100 across the country, in a bid to rope in them in reaching out the benefits of the Centrally- sponsored flagship schemes in the Naxal affected areas.

In a letter to the Maharashtra chief minister, which has been sent to the minister of panchayati raj V. Kishore Chandra Deo and minister of state environment and forest Jayanthi Natarajan, Mr Ramesh gave a list of suggestions, which included cancellation of contracts or leases of the forest areas ( awarded to private companies) where community forest rights are recognised.

“Gram sabhas which are willing to exercise ownership right over forest produce, including bamboo, should be given working capital as well as technical support from the forest department in selling and marketing of such forest produce,” Mr Ramesh has suggested.