Tribal economy set to get a fillip; Madhya Pradesh govt notifies PESA Act

According to the state forest minister Vijay Shah, in this year's Van Mela, forest products worth Rs 3 crore were sold

To strengthen the tribal economy, the Madhya Pradesh government recently notified the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act.

According to the state government estimates, about 3.7 million people are associated with minor forest produce collection work. Of this, more than 50 per cent belong to the tribal community.

To protect these minor forest produce collectors from exploitation by middlemen, the state government has recently implemented the PESA Act.

With the aim of providing proper benefits from the collected minor forest produce, collection and trading in the state will now be done through the Gram Sabha. The Madhya Pradesh Minor Forest Produce Association is also working to provide proper remuneration to the forest dwellers and villagers for the collection of nationalised forest produce.

Through its 1,066 primary forest produce cooperative societies and 60 district forest produce cooperative unions, the union is doing small forest produce collection work. It is also providing employment as well as processing, storage and marketing of medicinal and aromatic plants.

Every year, the state government organises the International Van Mela (International Forest fair), where diversified forest products are showcased.

According to the state forest minister Vijay Shah, in this year’s Van Mela (which ended on December 26), forest products worth Rs 3 crore were sold.
 

Pacts worth Rs 28 crore were also signed during the fair, which is double compared to last year.

He said that efforts are being made to remove middlemen from buyer-seller interaction.

This will allow forest produce collectors to directly connect with big institutions and get better prices for their produce. Shah also said that the state government is planning to make products such as Chyawanprash and chocolate from forest produce like Mahua.