Odisha has forest area of 58.136 sqkm which is about 37 per cent of the total geographical area of the State. Forest has been a source of livelihood of people living in forest area, forest fringe villages, specially for minor forest produce (MFP)/ Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP) collectors, and people engaged in primary processing, binding, storing and other forest based works. These people depend on forest for almost more than half a year for income and employment. A large majority of them are poor Adivasis and women.
Kendu leaf (Kl), one of the important MFPs, has engaged about eight lakh pluckers in 7,482 collection centers covering 23 districts of the State. Odisha has lots of potentialities to improve the forest resources and forest based activities for generation of income and employment for the forest dwellers. Forest sub sector alone contributes more than 10 per cent of the agriculture sector to SGDP. The revenue collection from forest products by the Odisha Forest Development Corporation (OFDC) was about Rs 500 crore in 2011-2012.
Kendhu leaves along generate about 80 per cent of the total revenue. The forest department activities include timber, kendu leaf, bamboo, and MFP trade, apart from plantation and forest safety.Forest produces have been in demand in both domestic as well as in international markets. The Kendu leaves are exported to Sri lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other Asian and African countries. There are 9,500 licenced herbal industries in the country with increasing demand for herbal medicines. WHO says about 80 per cent of population in South Asia depend on plant based medicine for health. India is a major exporter of lac in international market. There are a number of forest based industries such as paper mills in the State that are run with NTFP like bamboo and there has been growing interest for capital investment in NTFP sector.
The recent trend shows the State is facing challenges due huge deforestation as a result of mining, industry and other projects in forest areas. The Forest Department sources say 390 projects are approved under Forest Conservation Act, 1980 till 2012 which diverted 40,101 hectares (ha) of forest land and another 424 projects are in the pipeline for approval. On the other side, there has been huge displacements and increasing poverty among forest dependent communities due to loss of livelihood. There is a need to develop forest integrating the income and employment demand of forest based communities where NTFP can be tapped as a potential source. It has been experienced that a large majority of forest based communities are illiterate and not yet tapped the resources like NTFP because of historical injustice meted out to them in denying rights and ownership over forest clubbed with exploitation of unscrupulous traders in the locality in the absence of a strong State protective mechanism. The anti-people forest policy and colonial legacy in forest administration with feudal mindset of forest officials further marginalized people in post independent era.
The Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy 2006 of the State Government has not identified NTFP collectors as one of the affected category for compensation in case of displacement, but it is recognised in recent Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 where there is a need for amendment in State R & R policy. The provision of compensatory afforestation and generation of new forest in abundant mining areas and waste land are really not compensating the forest dwellers livelihood.
The continued rights-based people’s movement in forest areas along with impact of left extremism has paved the way for rights consciousness among forest dependent communities and forced the Government to recognize people’s rights over forest. This has been challenged further by market forces looking for capital investment in forest sector. The State has to ensure judicious use of forest resources and the livelihood of people depends on forest while allowing market forces in forestry sector.
Article 39 of the constitution of India says the citizen, men and women, equally have the right to an adequate means of livelihood. The center has brought a number of rights-based legislations for Adivasis in recent times which are not followed by the State.
MFP ownership has been a major controversy between the forest department and forest dwellers in scheduled areas after the enforcement of The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled areas) Act 1996 (PESA) and STs and the other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006(FRA). The forest areas are also fifth scheduled areas of the State which is 44 per cent of the total geographical area and about 60 per cent of the population belongs to Adivasi communities and 20 per cent are Dalits.
As part of reparation against historical injustice done to Adivasis through enforcement of FRA Act in true spirit, the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs has a plan for supporting marketing of 12 MFPs in States having fifth schedule area through minimum support price and development of value chain for MFP as a measure of social safety for MFP collectors with TRIFED as nodal agency. There is a plan to develop the local markets with storage facility, drinking water, shade and platforms to help the collectors sell their NTFP. In a letter by Ministry addressed to the State Chief Secretaries, the States have been requested to play a facilitating role in transferring unhindered absolute right over NTFP to STs and other traditional forest dwellers and getting them remunerative price for the NTFP collected and processed by them. The letter says that forest right holders or their cooperatives should be allowed with full freedom to sell such NTFP to any one or to undertake individual or collective processing, value addition and marketing for livelihood within and outside forest area by using locally appropriate transport. The Ministry has planned to go for multipurpose centre for training, primary processing, value addition, storage, and ware housing, cold storage relating to NTFP.
The forest dwellers in Odisha need protection from local market forces. The legal provisions relating to NTFP are contradictory and mostly depriving the locals of their rights to access natural resources for livelihood.The State Government has nationalized MFP like Kl in 1973, bamboo in 1993, Sal seed in 1983, Mahua in 1991 contradicting the rights of the forest dwellers. There is no NTFP policy at national or State level.
NTFP is addressed in several policy, laws and Government orders. The Odisha Government has two agencies for NTFP procurement such as OFDC and TDCC which are functioning mechanically without concern for livelihood of forest dwellers.The forest based industries in the State have been generating very marginal employment. The Kl grants are distributed in all over the State while the workers engaged in plucking and other related activities are not getting their due share. The owners are made workers and their basic human rights are denied to them. The Kl pluckers are facing health problems like malaria and other occupational health hazards like snake and poisonous insects bite.
Odisha has 9 per cent of the country’s total bamboo cover and tremendous potentialities to generate income for the forest dwellers.
The Government has assigned bamboo forest to paper industries that have been appointed contractors and sub agents when the locals are prevented to collect bamboo for their livelihood and household consumption as even today thousands of families depend on bamboo craft for their livelihood. In Odisha the movements of forest dwellers have raised this issue of MFP and are struggling hard for the implementation of PESA and FRA. A number of civil society organizations have demonstrated exemplary work relating to NTFP involving the locals in districts like Rayagada, Balangir and Kalahandi taking the issues of broomsticks and promoting sal leaf collection and Kusum/lac cultivation. International agencies support Odisha forest sector development project without integrating concern for forest dwellers. The 12th five year plan document and sub-group on NTFP has recommended for a holistic development of NTFP sector through conservation, development and management. But this can be possible with active involvement of local forest dwellers by recognizing their rights as owners and by creating infrastructural support and training to make them inclusive in the process of development with forest resources. The Government should implement PESA and FRA in true spirit and fall in line with the guidelines of the Centre.
(The writer is a rights activist, who can be reached at ojaabbsr@gmail.com)