Green gold rush

The Assam Bamboo and Cane Policy, 2019 came into effect in January this year and will remain valid till 2025. Drawing up time-bound action plans based on the policy vision and objectives is critical to its successful implementation. India has 136 bamboo species including 11 exotic species. With 13.96 million hectares under bamboo cover and 14.6 million tonnes production India is the second largest bamboo producer after China. India is also the second largest importer of bamboo and bamboo products. In Assam, 42 naturally growing bamboo species are found. In 2017, the Parliament passed the amendment to the Section 2(7) of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 to exempt bamboo grown in non-forest areas from the definition of tree. Following this amendment obtaining felling/transit permit for transport and economic use of bamboo from non-forest areas is no longer required. The Assam government's policy states that plantation can be carried out either on forest land or non- forest land. The Forest Department will carry out the plantations inside the Forest area through their own schemes and nearby Joint Forest Management Committees (JMFC) shall also be involved in plantation and harvesting activities. Provision to involve local JFMC will ensure regulated use of bamboo naturally growing in forests and regenerating it through cultivation. The state needs to leverage raising of the customs duty on import of bamboo sticks required for incense sticks industries. The Central government recently increased the customs duty from 10 per cent to 25 per cent to curb import and boost domestic production of bamboo sticks. The state policy will help the entrepreneurs to set up bamboo stick production units and also explore new avenues in the bamboo sector. Bambusa tulda (Jati Bah), one of the 36 bamboo varieties found in the state is used for making incense sticks and the entrepreneurs in the sector has a huge untapped market potential. This will, however, require modern bamboo splitting machines in large quantities and other tools to keep pace with the market demand. Initiative by the State government to set up bamboo splitting machine manufacturing units in the State will help entrepreneurs procuring the machinery at much cheaper cost and thereby cutting down the capital expenditures. According to Khadi Village Industries Commission (KVIC), the country imported bamboo sticks worth Rs 370 crore, mostly from China and Vietnam in 2019-20, for meeting the requirement of raw incense stick manufacturing units. The KVIC estimates say that consumption of incense sticks in India is to the tune of 1490 tonnes a day. Against this demand, country produces 760 tonnes a day and the gap resulted in rising import of raw incense sticks. Reduction of custom duty boosted the import affecting domestic incense making industries. Tripura supplies about 50 to 60 per cent of raw incense bamboo sticks to Indian incense stick manufacturers but import from China and Vietnam affected the bamboo industry in the state. Assam government in its policy assures that it would actively consider the use of value-added bamboo products for its own requirements and programmes and promote bamboo housing through District Rural Development Agencies, Rural Development departments. The State government rightly hopes that this will motive the people to bamboo as a wood substitute. To government needs to dovetail the policy provisions in government schemes and programmes so that these do not remain on paper. The Policy initiatives also need to be backed by market demands. In the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic situation the government has to lead from the front in creating the demand in the market for bamboo and cane products. The Assam government, the Central government and the public sector undertakings making significant use of bamboo scaffolding mandatory in all construction work will generate a substantial demand for individual bamboo plantations. Government departments purchasing cane and bamboo furniture and other products will also increase the demand significantly. Funding research and development activities in bamboo sector such as improvising traditional bamboo houses to make them more disaster resilient will lead to creation of new employment avenues. Tie up with Industrial Training Institutes, Diploma Institutions and Engineering Colleges for introduction of bamboo and cane technology subjects in the curriculum proposed in the policy will help create a pool of skilled and trained manpower that will be needed by micro, small and medium sized bamboo industries. However, financing bamboo-based units is not a priority sector for financial institutions in the state. The State Government will be required to push the bamboo and cane policy with the State Level Bankers' Committee to address the problem. Opportunities under India's Act East policy need to be explored to tap the huge market of bamboo shoots and other edible bamboo products in South East Asian countries. Translating the policy prescriptions into an actionable agenda is the real task cut out for the state industries and commerce department.