I have already explained why bamboo should be treated as grass. It grows like weed and because of its high productivity and versatility in terms of use, it has the potential to create huge economic wealth. So if you put bamboo in the hands of people, to grow, to harvest and to add value, you would be putting wealth in their hands.
But policy was reluctant to make this change. The Indian Forest Act had over time categorised bamboo as timber, which meant the forest department had a monopoly on it. Those who grew bamboo in their backyard could not harvest or sell this productive grass without permission from the forest department.
Even as activist Anna Hazare's movement against corruption takes the country by storm, we must make the connection. It is a cumbersome policy that creates opportunities for corruption and harassment. It is a policy that must be reformed. In this case, ordinary people in villages and forests got the permission to cut bamboo only after they had greased many palms and fought many battles. In most states, a tree owner needs a “transit pass" to cut bamboo. It requires tree owners to obtain revenue records and then apply to the collector or the forest department for permission to cut. It requires up to 10 different departmental permissions and many visits to the “headquarters". So, the way out is to find a well-heeled contractor who can pay his way through the system and facilitate the transaction. In all this, the person who grows the tree is shortchanged. There is no incentive to use trees or grass as an income-generating activity. Nobody grows trees. The environment loses. Read the full report here.
Source: Sunita Narain, Business Standard, New Delhi.
