The government has decided to defer the introduction of a minimum support price (MSP) for minor forest produce (MFP) following protests from some states. In other words, tribals will have to live with what little get for collecting bamboo and tendu because some states don't want to end their hold over a lucrative trade.

The recommendation to introduce the MSP for MFP had come from the T Haque committee constituted by the panchayati raj ministry in 2010. The committee had submitted its report in May last year.

According to sources in the ministry, the government is considering constitution of another committee to take a fresh look at the Haque committee report.

“Looking at the way some of the states are opposing the implementation of committee’s recommendations that certainly are far-reaching, the government has decided to take another look at the report,” said an official from the ministry.

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The committee headed by agriculture economist T Haque had recommended setting up of a commission to declare MSP for 12 types of minor forest produce including bamboo, tendu leaves and mahua flower.

It recommended setting up of a central commission to fix the MSP for important MFPs. It said while fixing the MSP some important factors – labour time used in the collection, the prevailing wage rate, transportation cost if any, market prices, and demand and supply analysis –  should be considered. It also recommended amendment of state laws and the India Forest Act “to clearly reflect the ownership of MFP by the gram sabha”.

The recommendations, if acted upon, would address the contentious issue of exploitation of tribals by the nexus of forest officials, contractors and state officials who buy the MFPs, the main source of income for millions of poor, especially tribals living in the forest, at throwaway prices.

Haque told Governance Now that the government was not serious in implementing the recommendations. “The government is busy with other silly things and would take its own time taking a decision,” he said.

He revealed that even when he was preparing the report, he had faced opposition from a number of states.

Reacting to a question on the government’s inaction, minister of state for tribal affairs Mahadeo Singh Khandela told the Lok Sabha on December 2 last year that the government was still studying the Haque committee recommendations.

“The ministry of tribal affairs has not sanctioned and released funds to state governments for procurement of MFP at MSP so far, as the decision on the recommendations of the committee has not yet been taken,” he said in a written reply.

On July 12, two months after the committee submitted the report, the panchayati raj ministry had asked the environment ministry to “take necessary action to operationalise the relevant recommendations” of the committee.

“The definition of MFP in the Indian Forest Act needs to be aligned with the definition given in the Forest Rights Act. Lack of alignment leads to denial of access to MFP on the ground. Further, ownership of the gram sabha, particularly with respect to high value MFP like bamboo and tendu, needs to be ensured. Sensitization of Forest Department officials in this regard also becomes essential,” it had said.

According to data compiled by the panchayati raj ministry, 75 percent of MFP comes from six states: Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.