Behind the tribal pride fortnight: Van Dhan Vikas Kendras and the minimum support price for minor forest produce

Background

Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission is the Ministry of Tribal Affairs scheme, launched in 2021-22, that tries to raise what tribal gatherers earn from Minor Forest Produce such as honey, tendu leaves, mahua flowers, tamarind, lac and bamboo. It works mainly through Van Dhan Vikas Kendras, in which fifteen self-help groups of about 300 people are clustered into one centre and at least 60 per cent of the members must be from the Scheduled Tribes. The Van Dhan Yojana, launched on 14 April 2018, is the base of this model. A minimum support price has been notified for 87 items of Minor Forest Produce, and TRIFED buys at that price through State agencies whatever the market is paying. Working capital is arranged through banks and the National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation. Two laws give the rights the mission rests on: the Forest Rights Act, 2006 lets tribals collect and sell non-timber forest produce, and the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 gives tribal Gram Panchayats ownership of minor forest produce.