With an eye of the 2014 elections, the government is all set to fix a market-linked minimum support price for 14 items, including bamboo, tendu leaf, honey and tamarind, which are on the minor forest produce list. This is high on the Union Cabinet’s agenda on Thursday. If decided on, it will benefit 100 million tribals and forest dwellers substantially.
But a senior agriculture ministry official voiced doubts about the tribal affairs ministry move, and said the Cabinet may not be able to take a final decision on Thursday as “our objection is that MSP could be fixed for any commodity only if there exists a policy of procurement”. He added: “Our views are part of the Cabinet note.”
But the other view in the government is that the forest rights law, enforced by UPA-1, gave forest dwellers and tribals the right to harvest minor forest produce for their livelihood, a business worth `5,000 crores annually. But they still get less than one-tenth of market price for the produce collected.
“The new MSP will substantially increase the income of tribals without having a ripple effect on the market price of the produce,” sources said.