Raipur, 28 August 2021. Union Tribal Affairs Minister Shri Arjun Munda has appreciated the work done by Chhattisgarh Government in the field of collection, valuation and employment of minor forest produce in the last two years during the transition period of Kovid-19. He said that on one hand there was fear of global pandemic of COVID-19, on the other hand it was also a challenge that the employment of a large section of forest produce collectors should not be snatched away from the collection of forest produce. In such a situation, Chhattisgarh took the initiative to collect forest produce and provided employment to the people. Union Minister Shri Munda was reviewing various schemes being run in tribal areas of Chhattisgarh in a meeting held with Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel at his Raipur residence office.
Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel urged the Union Minister Shri Munda to provide maximum benefit of various schemes of the Union Tribal Ministry to Chhattisgarh. He gave detailed information about the collection, valuation of forest produce as well as the schemes operated in the field of education, health and employment in Chhattisgarh.
The Union Minister said in the meeting that in the last two years, in coordination with the State Government and TRIFED, encouraging results have been obtained in the collection and evaluation of forest produce in Chhattisgarh. Chhattisgarh has been awarded in this field. For this achievement, he congratulated the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Mr. Bhupesh Baghel, collectors of minor forest produce and officials. Shri Munda said that the activities of providing income and employment to the people of forest area should continue continuously. He said that tribal students should get the same education across the country. Initiatives are being taken for this at the national level. Because in the field of professional education, the entrance examinations of medical and technical education are now being conducted at the national level. He expressed happiness over the fact that schools have started in Chhattisgarh. He said that special programs are being run for the tribes in Chhattisgarh. Re-review of canceled Forest Rights Recognition Cards is being done in Chhattisgarh.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said that the State Government has made efforts to ensure that the income of the forest dwellers does not decrease. This work continued continuously. The work of collecting tendu leaves should not stop. Chhattisgarh is a state surrounded by seven states, so preventing corona infection here was quite a challenge. Despite this, when there was complete lockdown, the state government carried out the collection work through self-help groups. Self-help groups also got good price for forest produce. The work of tendu patta collection and MGNREGA also went on simultaneously. In these works also, the forest dwellers got a lot of employment. The number of minor forest produce to be purchased on support price has been increased from 7 to 52. At the same time, the support price of Kodo-Kutki was fixed at Rs 3,000 per quintal. In Bastar zone, self-help groups are also being provided employment in the work of valuation of minor forest produce. Traders from other states used to buy cashew from Bastar for Rs 50 a kg, the same cashew was bought through self-help groups for Rs 100, after valuation it is being sold for Rs 1900. Similarly, Bastar Amchur is also being sent to other states at the rate of 600 per kg.
The Chief Minister said that more than 4 lakh 41 thousand forest rights recognition cards and 44 thousand 524 community forest leases have been distributed to the forest dwellers. For the first time in the state, more than two and a half thousand community forest resource rights have been given. The canceled leases are being reviewed. Shri Baghel also informed about the work done in the field of education and health in the state. He said that 92 schools which were closed over the years were restarted. There is no shortage of doctors in tribal areas now. Malaria cases have come down by 35 percent due to Malaria Eradication Campaign and 33 percent in malnutrition level at the state level due to Mukhyamantri Suposhan Abhiyan. He informed that 172 Swami Atmanand English medium schools have been started for the education of poor children in English medium. One school each has been started in tribal development blocks.
On this occasion, Tribal and Scheduled Caste Development Minister of Chhattisgarh Dr. Premsai Singh Tekam expressed his gratitude towards the Union Minister. Agriculture Minister Shri Ravindra Choubey, Forest and Climate Change Minister Shri Mohammad Akbar, Industries Minister Shri Kawasi Lakhma, Food Minister Shri Amarjit Bhagat, Chief Secretary Shri Amitabh Jain, Additional Chief Secretary Shri Subrata Sahu, Tribal and Scheduled Castes Department Secretary Mr. D.D. Singh, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief of Forest Force Shri Rakesh Chaturvedi, Managing Director of TRIFED Shri Praveer Krishna and Managing Director State Minor Forest Produce Association Shri Sanjay Shukla were also present.
