Minimum support

As part of the Central governments development offensive in Naxal-affected areas,the Planning Commission has proposed a minimum support price MSP for minor forest produce bamboo and non-timber products like mahua and tamarind that are a source of income for tribal communities. Such a move is expected to put more money in the hands of the tribals,give them some amount of financial independence that would translate into freedom from both the oppressive,exploitative middle men who buy their products for a pittance and the Naxals who find in them and their deprivation a constituency and a cause. If implemented properly,it can deepen the tribals rights to livelihood,and stem the flow of funds from the middle-men to the Naxals and undermine the authority of both in our forests.

There is no faulting the intention of the proposal,which,however,requires both clarity and structure in its implementation. The institution of MSP has to be followed up with the constitution of an organisation to administer the prices. While the government charts that out,it has to factor in several issues that are essential to the economic development of tribal communities: the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas PESA Act that grants tribals complete rights over minor forest produce is often disregarded by several states and needs to be strengthened,and gram sabhas that are meant to protect community resources should be given suitable powers and resources to make them operational bodies in the local level and not vulnerable organisations that can be easily manipulated.

While the fixing of MSP could give a thrust to a programme for regenerating and harvesting forest produce,there should be a move to slowly dehyphenate our big-ticket tribal welfare programmes from anti-Naxal initiatives. The former,by themselves,are needed and for their own sake.