Indian Tribal News Service
Bhopal
Ahead of the mega event in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday said that his Government has decided that tribals will get a bonus on tendu leaves and 20 percent of revenues incurred on timber wood will be given to forest committees so that they can use it as per their needs.
“Also, ‘Van gram’ will be transformed into ‘Rajasv Gram’,” he said. The bonus is being restarted after a gap pof two years as it was stopped due to the pandemic.
The event is seen as yet another tribal outreach move by the BJP before the 2023 assembly elections. Tribals constitute more than 21 percent of the State’s population. The importance attached to the event can be gauged by the fact that Union Home Minister Amit Shah is attending it and some other major announcements too are likely.
It is also in line with the BJP’s renewed focus on tribals and MP last year had hosted a mega tribal rally on November 15, which also happens to be the birth anniversary of tribal icon Birsa Munda. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that November 15 would be observed as Janjaatiya Gaurav Diwas every year.
The Shivraj government has also renamed places in the name of tribal heroes, including Rani Kamlapati Railway station in Bhopal and put up statues of the tribal icons.
Officials said the profit from the sale of tendu leaves in the current year has declined to Rs 67 crore, down from last year’s Rs192 crore, the lowest in five years, but the state government has decided to give 20 percent of the revenue from the sale of timber and bamboo to the forest committees rather than 20 percent of the profits.
The programme, at Jamboree Maidan, is also being organised to motivate forest committees who really worked hard for the restoration of forest.
Bhopal has 126 forest committees, of which eight are minor forest produce committees, which work as collectors of tendu leaves. There are members of over 17,000 forest committees in Bhopal, out of which 12,000 are members in minor forest produce committee working for collecting tendu leaves.
