Ranchi: Addressing the women’s self-help conference, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that the central and state governments jointly brainstorm on increasing the sources of income of tribals to make them self-reliant. But, the result of that churning cannot be called very good. Today the tribal community is struggling with many challenges.
Our identity of water, forest and land has now been replaced by coal, copper, taro, uranium. The whole country is being illuminated by our mineral wealth. But, the people of the tribal community are still facing the brunt of displacement. He is also struggling to get bread for two times. Hemant Soren said that today the women of the tribal community are sitting on the highest position in the country. She has also been in Jharkhand as governor. He should help in getting acceptance from the Center for the demands of life and death for the tribal community. The state government has demanded Sarna Dharma Code from the Center.
At the same time, requested to include Mundari and Kudukh in the Eighth Schedule. Try to implement it. Mr. Soren said that there is a lot of hope from the center to bring the tribals of the state forward. In the last 20 years, the development of the state has not happened as much as it should have. Tribal Affairs Minister is also from our state. His attachment towards Jharkhand should also be visible. Help the tribals of the state get a chance.
Market price will be made available to women collecting forest produce:
The Chief Minister said that work is being done at a fast pace by forming the Sido-Kanhu Agriculture Federation in the state. Funds have been made available to all the panchayat committees to speed it up. About 22 lakh women are associated with self-help groups running in the state. Work is being done to provide them the right price for the produce by giving them financial assistance through various mediums.
Marketing has been done by making Palash brand. The demand of Palash brand is so good in the market that the production has fallen short. It needs to be increased. He said that more than 14 thousand villages in the state are directly related to forest produce. There are many forest produce like Lac, Tasar, Chironji, Karanj in the state. But, rural farmers do not get the benefit of forest produce. The middleman buys cheap from them and sells expensive. The MSP fixed by the government is a matter of concern.
The MSP of Lac is 240 to 280 rupees. Whereas, in this market it ranges from 11 to 12 hundred rupees. The market price of Karanj with MSP of Rs 22 to 24 is Rs 40. 200 rupees per kg honey is bought from the villagers and sold for up to 500 rupees. The state government has decided that through the federation, the products will be collected from the women who collect forest produce and the market price will be made available to them. He said that ever since Arjun Munda became the Tribal Affairs Minister, there has been little activism in TRIFED. It is expected that the state will get the benefit of his ministership.
