Over 10 lakh bags of tendupatta worth about Rs120 cr has so far been collected in Chhattisgarh.
Tendupatta is currently being collected from the forests of the State at a total of 10,000 collection centres attached to 900 primary forest produce cooperative societies.The tendupatta arrival has increased in all the forest divisions from Bastar to Surguja divisions. The highest of 82,584 bag tendupatta arrival was registered in East Bhanupratappur forest division of Kanker district, officials informed.
For the payment of wages of tendupatta collectors, Chhattisgarh State Small Forest Produce Federation has deposited Rs109.97 cr in the bank accounts of Primary Forest Produce Cooperative Societies.
Officers of the Federation said here on Wednesday that 41,106 standard bag tendupatta has arrived in the Bijapur forest division of South Bastar, 4,197 bags in Dantewada forest division, 20,681 bags in Jagadalpur, 21,120 bags in South Kondagaon, 21,535 bags in Narayanpur, 82,584 bags in East Bhanupratappur, 49,877 bags in West Bhanupratappur, 35,789 bags in Kanker, 60,411 bags in Rajnandgaon, 29,260 bags in Khairagarh, 10,704 bags in Balod, 28,291 bags in Kawardha, 27,215 bags in Dhamtari, 82,830 bags in Gariyaband, 80,804 bags in Mahasamund, 19,175 bags in Balodabazar, 18,560 bags in Bilaspur, 9,342 bags in Marwahi, 50,000 in Raigarh, 62,670 bags in Dharamjaigarh, 32,000 in Korba, 41,700 in Katghora, 42,241 in Jashpur Nagar, 16,049 bags in Manendragarh, 11,453 bags in Korea, 19,338 bags in Sarguja, 17,525 bags in Balrampur and 23,418 bags in Surajpur forest division.
It may be mentioned here that the collection of tendupatta provides seasonal employment to about 13.50 lakh families in Chhattisgarh. These families are registered members of more than 900 primary forest produce cooperative societies. The State Government is paying wages to the labourers for Tendu Patta collection work at the rate of Rs1,200 per standard bag.
Chief Minister Raman Singh has instructed the officials concerned to conduct the entire process of tendupatta procurement smoothly and systematically.
Moreover, Chief Secretary Vivek Dhand has also issued a circular to all the district collectors and forest officials concerned in this regard while saying that tendupatta collection work is of great economic significance for the poor forest dweller families.The District Small Forest Produce Associations and the Forest Department as well as district administration machinery across the State have been entrusted with the responsibility to conduct the tendupatta collection process in a systematic manner.
In case of unavailability of banks, the wage payments are being done to the tendupatta collectors under the supervision of committees formed for this particular purpose.The Chief Secretary has further stated in the circular that the collection work should be continued until the inflow of good quality tendupatta continues, so that the labourers may get maximum amount as wages and bonus.
Dhand insisted on the need of constant monitoring of the tendupatta collection process at all levels, especially in the areas of Sukma, Bijapur, Mahasamund and other areas under District Forest Produce Associations.He said that the officials of various departments should necessarily inspect the storage centres located in remote areas and ensure timely delivery of quality stock.
To avoid the loss caused due to delay in transportation of collected tendupatta stock, the government-owned trucks should also be deployed for timely transportation of the stock, the Chief Secretary has directed.Dhand has also instructed the Director-General of Police (DGP) to take precautionary measures in the sensitive areas to ensure uninterrupted and systematic collection of tendupatta in the State.