Pasha Patel
Credit: X/@BambooPasha
Mumbai: In a transformational initiative, projects to the tune of a whopping Rs 4,000 crore for bamboo-based industries will be inked in Maharashtra.
Veteran politician Pasha Patel, who is Chairman, State Agriculture Price Commission and Executive Chairman, Chief Minister’s Task Force on Environment and Sustainability, is spearheading the campaign to grow bamboo trees.
"A Rs 4,000 crore project for bamboo-based industries will be implemented over the next seven years with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). MoUs with farmers and Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) will be signed during a conference in Mumbai on September 18-19,” said Praveen Pardeshi, CEO of Maharashtra Institute of Transformation (MITRA) and Chief Economic Advisor to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
September 18 is observed as International Bamboo Day.
"Under the biomass policy for energy production, there is a huge demand for bamboo. Instead of supplying raw bamboo, it needs to be processed into torrefied and pellet forms,” said Pardeshi.
Similar to the SMART project, the ADB will fund a Rs 4,000 crore, seven-year bamboo project. "This includes promoting bamboo cultivation, research, developing new bamboo varieties, and providing subsidies and incentives for bamboo-based industries,” Pardeshi said.
"In the next five to ten years, bamboo cultivation will become a key factor. The question of who will buy bamboo after cultivation will now be resolved through this initiative."
He expressed regret that the Rs 7 lakh per hectare subsidy provided under the Employment Guarantee Scheme is not reaching farmers due to the indifference of some government departments.
"Due to the shortage of agricultural labour and losses caused by climate change, farming has become unaffordable. Bamboo can be used to produce energy, ethanol, methanol, and various products, creating a new economy,” he said.
Pardeshi urged FPOs to contract with farmers having over 100 acres to achieve bamboo cultivation targets and assured that the government and industries are committed to guaranteeing buyback.
Dr. Hemant Vasekar, CEO of the SMART project, stated that necessary support for bamboo cultivation and processing would be provided through the existing network of FPOs.