CM assures bamboo supply to NRL

From Our Correspondent

Itagar, May 7: Aruchal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Saturday assured officials of the Assam-based Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) of supplying bamboo from Aruchal Pradesh to fuel the public sector refinery’s bio-fuel plans. The sourcing of bamboo from the state to NRL would eble cultivation of the ‘green gold’ on a commercially sustaible basis and would boost rural economy, a CMO report said.

Khandu assured extension of the validity of an October 2015 between the Aruchal Pradesh Resources Development Agency (APBRDA) and NRL to pave the way for the refinery to source 300,000 tons of bamboo from the state annually. Such an initiative would offer a permanent source of revenue generation for bamboo farmers and communities owning vast bamboo groves in the state, he said. The chief minister advised the officials of NRL to conduct awareness camps for bamboo growers and emphasised skilling in bamboo harvest, processing and storing including equipping them with scientific knowhow on bamboo growing. The meeting also discussed the confusion over whether bamboo is a tree or a grass. Due to non-cohesive policy on bamboo, the country – the North East, particularly – has missed out on harvesting any benefits despite being the world’s largest repository of bamboo, the chief minister said. Taking note of such concern, Khandu said his government would work towards evolving a favourable policy for furtherance of bamboo economy in the state. The meeting mooted creation of a bamboo board for developing the bamboo sector.

The chief minister said that the development of bamboo in Aruchal Pradesh has to migrate from mission mode of research and resource generation to a board mode emphasising that it’s time to have an application approach. Deputy chief minister Chow Mein, who also participated in the discussion, suggested that a committee from the north-eastern states could take up the cause for formation of a bamboo board at tiol level, informing that states like Maharashtra have already constituted one. Taking note of non-availability of market and middle men mece, the DCM advised NRL to provide assurances on market availability for local bamboo producer. He also requested the refinery to provide guarantee in the form of buyback policy so that bamboo farmers do not suffer loss, the report added.