The claim of the Government on the welfare and betterment of Kendu leaf pluckers rings hollow in Sundargarh district.
Kendu leaf is considered one of the valuable forest products in the State. It is called ‘green gold’. Many tribal people in Sundargarh district maintain their families by plucking Kendu leaves from forest. But unfortunately, the labour cost fixed by the Government to pluck Kendu leaves is abysmally low. As a result, the pluckers’ families are leading a very miserable life here.
Under the Rourkela Kendu leaf Forest division, nine ranges are there and Ujjalpur is one of them where basically the female tribals pluck the leaves and make each bundle with 20 leaves.
The labour cost fixed by the Government for 100 bundles is Rs60. Hence, working for twelve hours, one hardly earns Rs60 to Rs100, which is far below the minimum wage for eight hours, i.e. Rs150, fixed by the Government in other sectors.
As in summer, the tribals do not get any other daily labour jobs they are forced to do it.
Though the Government has declared allowances for chappal (slipper), water bottle and grass mat every year but the labourers actually get them hardly once in two-three years. Besides there is possibility of heat stroke in summer, but the Government has not done any no insurance of the workers.
It is also alleged the bonus for labourers is siphoned in the mid way though, on the contrary, the bidi (made off kendu leaf) workers get adequate facilities from the Government, sources said.
Under Ujjalpur forest range, about 3,000 pluckers of 42 units have been provided with identity cards and in a year about 2,400 quintals of leaves are collected.
Valuable trees cut for storehouses
Hundreds of valuable trees are allegedly being cut in the name of construction and repairing of Kendu leaf storehouses under the Padampur Range office in Bargarh district each year. A total of 462 Kendu leaf storehouses are operating in the Padampur Forest Division.
Although the State Government has the provision to establish permanent Kendu leaf storehouses and sanctions lakhs of rupees for repairing each year yet the department officials, including Rangers and Foresters, have entrusted repairing charge to temporary employees. In the name of repairing storehouses, they along with stick maphias are cutting hundreds of trees every year.
This year, 100 out of 462 Kendu leaf storehouses have used important trees for repairing, the sources said.
The Kendu leaf storehouses are being managed by Forest officials, who feel it easy to cut many impartment trees in the name of the storehouse repairing and earn huge amount of black money, some local people alleged. When asked, Padampur Ranger Amresh Nath Padhan said he would order for an investigation into the matter soon.