No wages, no bonus for beedi workers

Of the 339 tendu leaf collection units in the State, only 128 are sold this year

Warangal: The neighbouring States like Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have ensured the sustenance of lakhs of people by managing tendu leaf collection effectively; while the Telangana government is creating havoc in the lives of those who eke out a living from it.

Earnings through tendu leaves collection forms a major source of income to those living in forest fringe areas, especially tribals. In fact, tendu leaf (Diospyros melanoxylon) is used for wrapping tobacco and making beedis, is one of the lucrative non-timber forest produces and source of income for the state’s exchequer.

But due to the lackadaisical approach of the State government, more than half of the tendu leaf collection units in Telangana were unsold leaving thousands of workers with no source of income. Of the total 339 units in the State, the government was able to sell just 128 units this year. Incidentally, leaf collection has not taken place in as many as 48 units in Adilabad, the home district of the Minister for Forests Jogu Ramanna.

This happened despite the forest department having called for tenders three times. It appears that the forest department did not make any attempt to find a solution to sell the units and also it took no initiative for the collection of leaves on its own to help those eking out a livelihood on it.

In Chhattisgarh, the government sold out 777 units (total of 918 units) while the remaining 141 units are being run by the forest department. Madhya Pradesh, the largest producer of tendu leaves, has ensured allotment of 1,871 units from a total of 1,962 units. Accusing the forest department of neglecting the process, CPI (M) State committee member Bandaru Ravi Kumar said, “As leaf collection has not taken place in as many as 211 units, thousands of people were deprived of their livelihood.

It has also resulted in beedi factories in Telangana turning to other states to procure tendu leaves”, he said. Meanwhile, it’s learnt that the government had not paid bonus to tendu pluckers for the last four years due to the apathetic approach of the forest department. “There was a need to reassess the units’ leaf collection targets,” Telangana Beedi Leaves and Forest Contractors Association secretary P Varaprasada Rao told The Hans India, pointing to the too many unsold units this year.

Due to the non-collection of leaves, the workers are not only losing their wages but also their bonus, which is more significant, he said. It may be mentioned here that workers would get anywhere between Re 1.18 and Re 1.25 per a bundle (50 leaves). Besides, they were also paid for pruning and other processes including packing of leaves.

Excluding the expenditure from the total revenue accrued through tendu auctions, the forest department will pay rest of the amount to the workers as bonus. The government had to pay over Rs 120 crore as bonus to the workers in the state, sources said. Collection and processing of tendu leaves is not just an occupation but a folklore that reflects and transmits the region’s culture and tradition as people in groups take part in it.

All this is on the verge of extinction unless the government comes up with proactive measures to protect the sustenance of those living in the forest fringe areas of the four districts of Adilabad, Khammam, Karimnagar and Warangal.

By:Adepu Mahender