Despite Covid and untimely rains, the Chhattisgarh government had procured 12.80 lakh standard bags of Tendu leaves across the state.
These were collected by 12.09 lakh forest dwellers and they earned Rs 512 crores from the transaction, an official statement said on Sunday.
The statement said due to pandemic, a fall of 30-40 percent was seen in the Tendu leaves collected across the nation but in Chhattisgarh more than 77 percent of the target has been achieved so far, it said.
In Bastar region, 424,118 standard bags were collected. This is 84 percent of the target.
Due to Covid, this year the government decided to pay the collection charge in cash. Forty percent has already been distributed in Bastar, amounting to Rs 170 crores, thel statement said.
