With the objective of strengthening the relationship between forest and people, the government has become serious about the herbal mission costing Rs 628 crore in the forest panchayats of the state. Preparations are on to start it from the new financial year. Under this, herbs and aromatic plants will be cultivated in the land of forest panchayats. For this, amendments have to be made in the Forest Panchayat Act and rules. The committee formed in this regard has submitted its report to the government and the proposal will be placed in the upcoming cabinet meeting.
There was a deep relationship between forest and people
There was a time when there was a deep relationship between forest and people in Uttarakhand. Along with protecting the forests, people used to fulfill their needs from them. After the implementation of the Forest Act in the year 1980, the relationship between forest and people started getting sour. This gap kept increasing due to the feeling of forests being government property and the shrinking of rights. Although, conservation of forests is a priority among the people, but it is not as important as before. After a long wait, the government has also realized this. In this regard, steps are being taken to link forests with livelihood, so that people can be assured that forests are not government property but their own. With this intention, a blueprint of herbal mission was drawn in forest panchayats. In this, for the first time, it was decided to cultivate herbs and aromatic plants on the land of forest panchayats. The number of forest panchayats in the state is 11267. In the first phase, 500 forest panchayats will be included in it.
Amendment in Forest Panchayat Act and Rules is necessary
Amendment in Forest Panchayat Act and Rules is necessary for Herbal Mission. Under this, provisions are to be made in forest panchayats regarding cultivation of herbs and aromatic plants, rights for extraction of products, establishment of processing units. A proposal was sent to the previous cabinet regarding this, but there were some discrepancies in it. To overcome this, a three-member committee was formed, which has submitted its report to the government. Now on this basis, a proposal to amend the Forest Panchayat Act and Rules will come to the cabinet. After the cabinet’s approval, the mission will take concrete shape on the ground in the new financial year.
