An interesting battle awaits in Mendha Lekha village in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra.

This village is set to become the first one in the country to exercise their right to harvest bamboo, a minor forest produce, as granted in the Forest Rights Act of 2006. Environment minister Jairam Ramesh and Maharashtra chief minister are scheduled to preside over a function that will mark this new beginning tomorrow (April 27).

Two days ahead of that, on April 25, the forest bureaucracy of Maharashtra has revolted.

The principal conservator of forests of Maharashtra has written a warning letter (copy attached with the story) to his junior officials making it clear that this would be violative of the Indian Forest Act of 1927. His letter says: “Therefore, in the instant matter, the act of entering into and cutting down bamboo in the RF (reserve forest) by the villagers of Lekha Mendha village without permission in writing by a forest officer is a forest offence under section 26 (1)(d) and (f) of the IFA (Indian Forest Act. This is the correct legal position today”. (emphasis his own)

This despite Ramesh’s letter to all chief minister to allow harvesting of bamboo as a minor forest produce wherever the Forest Rights Act has been settled.

At the root of the conflict is the forest bureaucracy’s control over Rs 10,000 crore of annual trade in bamboo in the country.