Faced with problems in collection of tendu leaves in the Naxalite-affected Dantewara district, the Chhattisgarh government today decided to hand over the job to private hands.In the rest of the state, tendu leaves, which are rolled to make bidis, will be collected through primary cooperative societies. They will ultimately sell the produce to the Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce Federation, a PSU of the Forest department.Every year, nearly 19 lakh standard bags of tendu leaves are collected in the state. The state Cabinet, in its weekly meeting today, decided not to make any change in last year’s policy except for Dantewara. ‘‘This year, there was a record collection of 1.74 lakh standard bags in Dantewara compared to 1.43 lakh in 2001. This weighed heavily in making the exception,’’ said S Kumar, CM’s Principal Secretary.Under the new system in Dantewara, tendu leaves collectors are allowed to sell leaves as it is not mandatory for them to send the produce to the cooperative societies or any government agency.
