The State Government on Thursday decided to rationalise the Forest Development Fund Tax and other charges so as to distribute the profit to the 9 lakh poor kendu leaf pluckers.
The decision was taken at the State Kendu leaf Advisory Board meeting held here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
According to official sources, the Forest Development Tax and other charges would be rationalised soon so as to calculate realistic profit which will be paid to the 9 lakh kendu leaf pluckers, most of whom are women, as dividend.
At present, the State is getting Rs420 crore out of the Forest Development Tax and other charges which is being collected at 16 per cent. However, it was decided to reduce the tax rate to 2 per cent which would help the Government earn around Rs100 crore towards profit per annum.
At the meeting, the Chief Minister also asked the Forest Department authorities to take steps to formulate service conditions for the seasonal kendu leaf workers and take steps to bring the seasonal workers into the fold of Kendu leaf Pluckers Welfare Fund, sources said.
