In the Union Budget 2018, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley allocated Rs 1,290 crore for restructuring of the Bamboo Mission to boost the economy of bamboo farmers and entrepreneurs in rural India.
The National Bamboo Mission is a wholly Central Government-sponsored scheme. Previously, bamboo was taken as “poor- man’s timber”. Generally, the people of rural India were using bamboos for construction and annual repair of houses. But things have changed over time. The bamboo made household articles are also widely used in rural and urban areas even today.
The present Government is taking the bamboo as “Green Gold”. In real sense, the economic value of bamboos is rising very fast due to its various domestic and industrial uses.
Of total bamboo productions of India, the North-East region produces 67 per cent. Since last 90 years, the bamboo was treated as tree within the ;egal provisions of the Indian Forest Act.
But the bamboo is a grass in ecological term. President Ram Nath Kovind amended the Indian Forest Act through an ordinance in November, 2017 and removed the legal tag of tree from bamboo for the convenience of people for cutting and removal of bamboo for domestic and commercial transactions, which is very much welcomed by the people.
The unscrupulous Forest Department people were using bamboo for their bonafide rights. The National Bamboo Mission (NBM) is operating in the country since 2007 and Rs1, 400 crore has been spent from 2007 to 2014.
An institution like the North East Centre for Technology Application and Research (NECTAR) is also working for bamboo development in the country whose headquarters is at Shillong in the State of Meghalaya. Similarly, this subject is also taken up by the Department of Science and Technology since 2004 of the Government of India and a sum of Rs 200 crore has been spent towards it for successful achievement of the National Bamboo Mission.
Though Rs1,290 crore has been sanctioned by Finance Minister Arun Jaitlay for such Mission, no clear-cut guidelines have been issued as to how the money has to be spent through rightful stakeholders of bamboos and bamboo growers.
In spite of the President’s rule on de-tagging bamboo as a tree, the bamboo growers are still harassed by the Forest Department employees. So the export of bamboos from one State still is a problem. Even today, the Forest Department employees in the field do not know the botanical differences between bamboo and tree.
The bamboo growers throughout the country are facing huge loss for exporting bamboos to non bamboo bearing areas of the country, which is very pathetic. The attitude of some of the Government officials always acts as anti-economic for the nation.
In Asia, around 80 per cent of bamboo forests are found. Bamboo is spread over 19.8 million hectares in India, China and Myanmar. Although India is second largest bamboo growers of the globe having 13.96 million hectares, the bamboo trade and commerce of India is only 4 per cent in the world, where 45 per cent of bamboo growth is noticed.
As per the Bamboo Mission statistics, eight North –Eastern States are having 65 per cent of bamboo plantations in the country.
During 2006-2007, the bamboo plantations were carried out in North-East over 2,36,425 hectares of land. The North East part is also a leading manufacturer of bamboo due to its research and development. A new species like “Mosobamboo” created in China through research and development grows well in China and far East having better and stronger breaking tenacity more than three times over cotton, wool, rayon and polyster which is very much appreciated in the commercial field.
Such products are used as paneling of floor wall and furniture making. Similarly, the pulp of bamboo is used for making clothing. The pulp of bamboo is extensively used for manufacture of paper; which is substitute of timbers.
The National Bamboo Mission, whose blue print is not yet clearly displayed for public awareness which has begun operating since 2006/2007 has not progressed much in the field of research. Now certain private farms are engaged in the process.
The bamboo is used in various forms of articles in day- to-day life of people in India. A wide variety of pickle items are also prepared by households in the western Odisha, but no research and development are going in Odisha for potential economic output of bamboo in the fields of commerce.
The bamboo forests are the home of elephants, deer, Nilagai (Ghodinga), Sambar, wild boar and Bison (Gayal), including other herbivores. Besides the herbivores, certain ground flora and fauna and avifauna make the bamboo forests their habitats. As the habitat of bamboo is declining, the animals are straying into human habitats and creating serious problems for the human race. Against this backdrop, the National Bamboo Mission should protect bamboo bearing areas as ecological reserve for wild lives managements.
In case of Odisha, the coastal districts are very rich in bamboo, which are commercially available for industrial purposes and for meeting domestic needs. Very rich quality bamboos are found in coastal regions of Odisha. The clean bole of Sundarkania bamboo and thorny bamboo go up to 100 to 120 feet in coastal plains, but there is no market for the bamboo.
Odisha should be included in the National Bamboo Mission to boost the cultivation of bamboo and their commercial use. Similarly, the National Institute of Designs should extend its wing up to Odisha for economic uses of bamboos.
There are ample opportunities in Odisha for establishing bamboo- based industries. Now, almost all paper mills in India are using timbers for their paper pulp, which should be banned by Government of India, and in place of timer bamboo and the Sabigrass should be utilised for production of paper pulp and material for packing industries.
(The writer is a senior forest officer and environmentalist.M- 9937460649 (M), nadiya.kanungo@gmail.com)