INDIA”s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is embarking on an initiative in the five worst Left Wing extremism (LWE)-affected States to provide Maoists with livelihood and income opportunities when they surrender arms.
The MHA, in association with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry plan to go for massive rubber plantation in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
The Ministry has followed the cue of various agencies and groups, including the Rubber Board, when they implemented rubber cultivation projects, particularly in the North East. MHA, observes that the project has been successful in rehabilitating rebels in Tripura and Assam.
According to MHA, cultivation of natural rubber has transformed militants and extremists into rubber planters in the North East. Rubber plantation provides income as well as hones productivity.
“Though rubber is traditionally grown in the southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the non-traditional areas of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh hold great potential for rubber cultivation. Exploratory survey done by the Rubber Board indicates that a total of 50,000 hectares of land in the States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha are suitable for rubber plantations,” it says, citing likewise that Rubber Board has prepared a project proposal that envisages creating 47.5 million man days of employment over 9 years, along with a forest cover of 5,000 hectares.
“The estimated cost of developing one hectare of rubber plantation is this region is estimated to be about Rs.3 lakh over the six year gestation period. This translates into a cost of about Rs.50,000 per hectare per year. During the gestation period, farmers will have to be supported with a subsidy and a wage component, which is gradually decreased as the plantations starts bearing produce, and ancillary activities like bee keeping for income generation”, MHA adds.