Search:

WWW Ahmedabad.com

MLAs pin proposal for prosopis charcoal
Charcoal mafia groups with MLAs to keep constructive, proposal at bay

Forest officials here have accused the state government of staving off the decision to give an "in principle" approval to the proposal of the Gujarat State Forest Development Corporation to produce charcoal from ganda baval for the last five years due to involvement of about 25 MLAs who are "hand in glove" with the "charcoal mafia" believed to be against any regulation on cutting of the ganda baval.

A top forest official told The Asian Age that fuel needs of 35 per cent of the population in the state who use charcoal as fuel can be sufficed by the charcoal produced from ganda baval, but the state government is reluctant to give the final nod due to vested interests of politicians who have contacts with local contractors extracting the tree produce. "Local contractors are using their political clout to put the issue on hold," the forest officials said.

However, it seems that the murder of an ardent supporter of industry minister Suresh Mehta in Kutch by the charcoal mafia that had prompted him to hand over his papers to the chief minister was just the tip of an iceberg.

The Gujarat State Forest Development Corporation which is reportedly on the brink of collapse due to the handina over of 80 per cent of its activities of collection of non timber produce to the gram panchayat has pinned all hopes on the state government's response.

However, the state government has been sitting pretty on the proposal since the last five years and the last meeting held in September, 1999, chaired by additional chief secretary, forests and environment, P. Basu, additional chief secretary, revenue, and top forest officials has remained as unresolved as the previous ones.

"Things have refused to move forward due to lack of political will, as the proposal has been discussed threadbare for years and there is nothing more left to bedone," the official said.

The prosopis has encroached upon large stretches of land in Kutch, Patan, Banaskantha, Surendranagar, Bhavnagar, Bharuch, Ahmedabad and Mehsana and in the areas adjoining the Gulf of Khambhat.

"In fact the unrestrained growth of ganda baval what is being perceived as a major problem in the state can be turned into a big advantage. Several countries are considering alternative sources of fuel and have reserved the growth of ganda baval to meet exigencies," the official said.

"The ganda baval has a tremendous genetic capacity and is an invading species which reproduces itself and its deep roots suck away all underground moisture making it difficult for other trees in the area to survive" the official said.

In fact the prosopis has degraded pasturelands and forests and destroyed several species of grass in the Banni grasslands and other places, the official claimed.

The Gujarat Ecological Commission had also in its report recommended handing over the management of the prosopis to the Gujarat State Forest Development Corporation.

The Gujarat State Forest Development Corporation proposal involves regulation of the natural resources and engaging the financially backward people in the implementation of the scheme and is expected to facilitate an estimated nine lakhs human days of labour in a year. The proposal includes production of 10 lakhs bags of coal through state-of-the-art machinery and an annual turnover of Rs 712 crores by conservative estimates. It further includes the sale of charcoal on no profit no loss basis to local people through the public distribution system.

"The proposal includes the participation of the local cooperatives of each village, who will be made profit sharing partners in the project, apart from a huge sum to be paid as royalty to the state government. Moreover, the state government does not have to expend a single sum for the project as the Gujarat State Forest Development Corporation will bear the expenses out of its independent funds.

"By conservative estimates one hectare of land produces five to six tonnes of prosopis every year," the official said admitting it is difficult to estimate the total growth in the state.

Moreover, the growth of prosopis has stunted the growth of various other trees in the state and the forest cover has remained stagnant at 9.89 per cent.