Bamboo in Orissa: Trade and Livelihood Perspective - Vasundhara

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them(like M/S. J.K.Paper) were no more critically dependant on the Orissa bamboo. With
the change in policy in 2000 they appeared to be not in a mood to depend on OFDC (based
on Saxena, op.cit., p.15).
During 2000-01, the bamboo coupes in the Kalahandi Forest Division were worked out by
the M/S. Ballarpur Industries Ltd.(BILT). In other areas, there was no harvesting by the
RMPs.
The suspension of bamboo cutting operations
While non-lifting of bamboo by the paper mills was creating a problem for OFDC, expiry
of the Working Plans turned out to be another major issue for the Forest Department. The
Hon'ble Supreme Court had issued a directive that bamboo working would not be allowed
in the absence of an approved Working Plan. By the end of 1990s the Working Plans of
most of the concerned Forest Divisions were on the verge of expiry. After the moratorium
imposed by the apex court on the felling of green timber, many in the Forest Department
saw no use of preparing new Working Plans simple because such Plans were meant more
for timber than for bamboo. Further, a new version of preparing WPs had been introduced
which required intensive, costly, and time-consuming field work so as to incorporate
various scientific details; and the Forest Department lacked adequate financial- and staff
strength etc. to take up this challenge. Hence, bamboo working had to be suspended in
most of the concerned Forest Divisions of the state after 1999. The Department failed
several times to submit the required WPs to the Chief Conservator of Forests(better known
as Central CCF) appointed by the Central Govt, for his approval. The Central CCF
however, on request by the Department, allowed one-year extension to few Plans as a
result of which OFDC could resume cutting operations in the concerned Divisions during
2003-04.
'Since the Forest Department's negligence in submitting working plans to the Central
Government was the major reason behind the non-working of coupes, a public interest
litigation was filed in the Supreme Court praying for an intervention of the Hon'ble Court
in this matter. The Hon'ble Court then asked the state government in May 2002 to file an
affidavit in this regard which the latter failed to submit, whereas in the neighbouring state
of Andhra Pradesh the government could resume cutting operations through such kind of
affidavit(The Pragatibadi,4-9-03 5 )' that justified that bamboo working in their state would
not be violate the decision of the court(per comm., R. Bakshipatra). Interestingly, what the
state government was required to do was to have valid working plans only, and there was
no need to submit the same for approval of the Central CCF since bamboo was not
timber/tree in the strict sense, and permission of the latter was required only in case of
timber/tree felling from forest lands. Hence, waiting for the approval of the Central CCF
was just a waste of time. In fact, few states like Tamilnadu did not care for the permission
of Central CCF once they had valid working plans.
5 Details of this public interest litigation however could not be available from any source although another
newspaper report in the Sambad(9-7-04) has also referred to it.
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