Tribals in Bastar have got rid of middlemen in the sale of minor forest produce as the Chhattisgarh government is providing them support price and directly procuring their produce, a woman resident said on Wednesday.
Sumani Baghel said this in response to Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel’s question at a Bhent-Mulaqat programme. She said her self-help group was presently collecting minor forest produce under the Van Dhan Yojana and directly selling them to the societies.
Earlier, only seven produce were in the support price bracket but now 67 products were procured by the state government.
Under this scheme, they collect forest produce like Harra, Bahera, Giloy, Mahua and Tamarind, said Sumani. All this has made them financially empowered, she said.
