At stake is the forest bureacracy's control over the Rs 10,000 crore annual business with the paper and pulp industry as the biggest benefactor for getting the raw material at dirt cheap prices. Mendha-Lekha is meant to set an example with the environment ministry finally accepting what the law says since 2006 - bamboo is a forest produce that people have a right to harvest and sell.
The Maharashtra principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) - the highest forest official of the state - has written a letter warning that despite the Forest Rights Act of 2006 declaring bamboo as a forest produce that people can harvest, the forest department will not allow the people to cut it and they will continue to regulate its trade.
His letter comes despite Ramesh's official letter to all states that bamboo was a forest produce and people should be allowed to harvest it where they claim rights over it under the law. Read the full report here.
Source: Nitin Sethi, TNN, New Delhi.
