Important decision of Chhattisgarh government
Adequate arrangements to provide Bihan Lakh to the farmers in the state
For Kusumi Behan Lakh, till December 15, the deadline for depositing the amount as per the demand has been fixed.
Target to increase lac production from 4 thousand to 10 thousand tonnes
Raipur, 19 November 2022
As per the instructions of Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel, special initiative is being taken by the state government in Chhattisgarh to encourage farmers to cultivate lac and increase their income. In its implementation, necessary arrangements have been made by the Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce Association including supply of Bihan Lakh and sale of Bihan Lakh and help for availability of Lakh crop loan. Presently 4 thousand tonnes of lac is produced in the state, the estimated value of which is Rs 100 crore. There is a target of giving an income of Rs 250 crore to the farmers by increasing lac production in the state to 10 thousand tonnes.
In order to remove the shortage of Bihan Lakh in the state, the purchase rate has been fixed to buy Bihan Lakh available with the farmers at a reasonable price. Under this, the purchase rate payable to farmers for Kusumi Behan Lakh (obtained from Ber tree) has been fixed at Rs 550 per kg and for Rangini Behan Lakh (obtained from Palash tree) at Rs 275 per kg. Similarly, the sale rate has also been fixed to make Bihan Lakh available to the farmers. Under this, the selling rate payable to farmers for Kusumi Behan Lakh (obtained from Ber tree) has been fixed at Rs 640 per kg and for Rangini Behan Lakh (obtained from Palash tree) at Rs 375 per kg.
In order to encourage the farmers for lac cultivation, arrangements have been made by the state government to supply lac crop loan with free interest through District Cooperative Bank. Under this, a loan limit of Rs 5,000 has been fixed for the nutritious tree Kusum, Rs 900 for Ber and Rs 500 for Palash per tree for rearing lac. A training center has been opened in Kanker by the State Minor Forest Produce Association to do lac rearing in a scientific way. In this centre, along with 03 days institutional training, on-farm training is also being imparted in lac production cluster.
For successful implementation of the scheme and increase in lac production in the state, lac production cluster has also been formed by connecting 03 to 05 primary committee areas in 20 district unions. Under this, survey is being done in each lakh production cluster to get information about farmer-wise demand for lakhs. In these, farmers will have to deposit the total amount required for supply of Behan Lakh at the price fixed by the union in advance in the district union account. Under this, the time limit has been fixed till December 15 for depositing the amount as per the demand received from the farmers for Kusumi Bihan Lakh.
