Revitalization of Rivers in India Draft Policy - Isha Guru Jaggi Vasudev

Revitalization of Rivers In India
Draft Policy Recommendation
Communities Dependent on Forest Produce: For the work that is
envisaged on the public land, the communities that have rights on the
forest should be made aware of the proposed plan, what it could mean
for them, and their role in it. These communities have borne the brunt
of restricted access to forests, which their ancestors were able to access
freely. This afforestation on public land should ensure to build upon the
individual and community rights that the Forest Rights Act, 2006 has
bestowed on these communities.
Consumer: The next stakeholder, who is very important in making
this whole solution on farm land successful, is the consumer of the farm
produce. This includes all of us in this country who eat tree produce
like fruits. Creating awareness on consumption of fruits and creating a
willingness among consumers to pay a fair price needs to happen in a
continual way like the National Egg Co-ordination Committee’s Sunday ho
ya Monday Roz khao ande campaign.
Government: The crucial stakeholders that will make this
whole solution take off are the government departments. The various
departments involved in different tasks have to come together to put
this plan into action. An overall communication to all the government
departments about the larger plan and the specific roles of each
department will facilitate smooth roll out of the solutions.
Industries: The last but not the least are the industries. The farmers’
tree-based produce should be decided based on the industrial demand
and the industries’ commitment to procure the produce before a farmer
engages in production. This approach of guaranteed procurement has
been demonstrated by some of the agri-businesses in Tamil Nadu. EID-
Parry enters into buy back agreements with farmers from FPOs and
that provides security for farmers in more than one way and lessens
their anxiety. Such changes in behavior on the part of industries are a
convincing nudge for a farmer to convert to tree-based farming.
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