Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, July 25, 2015: The Odisha government will regenerate the degraded bamboo forests on about 5,000 sq km to meet the growing demand for bamboo products.

The Empowered Committee Meeting (ECM) under the chairmanship of chief secretary G C Pati has taken a decision in this regard, an official said.

Odisha has 9% of the country’s total bamboo forest cover and 7% of total growing stock of Bamboo. The bamboo in forest areas of Odisha grows as mixed crop associated with Sal and other species. The mixed bamboo forest area is spread over about 17,795 Sq. Km. and pure bamboo forest occurring mostly as bamboo brakes) is about 375 Sq.Km.

Primarily, forest bamboo in Odisha was managed and exploited to meet the raw material requirements of the paper mills. Long term leases were granted to the paper mills till 1st October 1988, when the forest bamboo was nationalized to be harvested and marketed by the state and it’s Agency. Even after that, 98 percent of bamboo, extracted from the state forests, was supplied to paper mills.

It is in this contest, the chief secretary is understood to have asked the Odisha State Forest Development Corporation (OSFDC) to take feedback from the stake holders like potential raw material producers (RMP) on the dynamics of bamboo cultivation and trading.

Pati directed forest officials to involve Vana Sanrakshyana Samities (VSSs) actively in silvicultural operations, he said.

At the meeting, it was also decided that all pre-bidding operations would be completed and modalities of working bamboo operations decided by September 15, 2015 and the actual field operation would begin by October 1, 2015.

The bamboo operations through RMP will be allowed for four years.

The meeting also resolved to target creation of 40,000 to 45,000 sale units of bamboo in the state. However, the details of the target would be decided after getting feedback from the stake holders and market demand, officials said.

The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests has also been asked to set division wise targets for bamboo plantation, the official said.

OSFDC has earned good profit from sale of bamboo and other forest produce during the last three years. It had paid a royalty of Rs 3.5 crore the state government in 2011-12, which rose to Rs 4.02 crore in 2012-13. For the 2013-14, the corporation has so far paid Rs 3.4 crore to the state as royalty.