Cane and Bamboo

Location:

Meghalaya is located in the north eastern part of the country, and lies between 85.49° and 92.52° East Longitude and between 20.1° and 26.5° N Latitude. It has an area of 22429 Sq. Km. The capital is the hill town of Shillong , Meghalaya - literally meaning “Abode of (alaya) of the clous (megh) – occupies a mountainous plateau of great scenic beauty. This name was coined by the great Indian geographer, S.P. Chatterjee. Meghalaya was created under the Assam Reorganisation (Meghalaya Act, 1969 and inaugurated on April 2,1970 and attained the statehood on January 21, 1972.

The landlocked Meghalaya is bounded on the north by Goalpara,Kamrup and Karbianglong districts of Assam , on the east by the districts of Cachar and North Cachar Hills and on the south and west by Bangladesh .

Physiography:

Meghalaya is an upland area formed by a block detached from the Deccan Plateau. The rocks and geological structure resemble the Chota Nagpur region of Bihar and Bengal . Shillong the capital of Meghalaya is situated in the centre of the plateau. It has been called the Scotland of the east. The highest peak in the state is the Shillong Peak the highest of which 1965 m above the sea level. The Khasi Hills and the Jaintia Hills which form the central and eastern part of Meghalaya is in imposing plateau with rolling grassland, hills and river valleys. The Garo Hills in the west rise abruptly from the Brahmaputra Valley to about 305 m and then merge with the Khasi Hills and the Jaintia Hills to form the single table land. The southern face of this plateau is marked by deep gorges and abrupt slopes, at the foot of which a narrow strip of plain land runs along the international Border with Bangladesh. A number of rivers the most important is the Umiam-Barapani, which is the major source of hydro electric power. None of the rivers are navigable yet draining the mountaneous state.

Climate:

Considering the temperature, pressure, and humidity conditions in their temporal distribution, the climatic condition of Meghalaya in a year can be divided into the following four seasons:

i) Winter season (November – February)

ii) Pre-monsoon season ( February – May )

iii) Monsoon Season ( June – September)

iv) The season of retreating monsoon (September – October)

Meghalaya’s charms are made doubly attractive by its climate. On the whole cool and temperate round the year. Its mild climate makes Meghalaya the rarest hill resort in the country that is pleasure to visit round the year even in winter.

Rainfall:

True to its name Meghalaya, for half of the year from late April to September rain-bearing clouds envelop the land. One of the world’s wettest regions is found in the state. Monsynram with an average of 17780 mm of annual rainfall over a 74 year period has the highest ever rainfall recorded in the world. The Annual rainfall in Shillong is about 2337mm. In August, the mean temperature at Shillong is 21°C and it falls to 9.5°C in January.

Economy:

Meghalaya is basically an agricultural state though the net sown area is less than 9%. 83% of the total population of the state depend primarily on agriculture for their livelihood. But the potential for agricultural expansion is very limited in Meghalaya due to the terrain. Jhuming or shifting cultivation practiced in the state on a large scale is one of the biggest problems needs to be tackled. Rice and maize are the major food crops. Pineapple, oranges and bananas are the important horticultural produces. Potato, jute, cotton, mustard, ginger, turmeric, black pepper, tezpatta are some of the important cash crops produce in Meghalaya. Apart from above, Meghalaya has achieved success in cultivation of tea, mushroom and tomato.

Forest:

In 1997 the forest area in Meghalaya was 15657 Sq.Km. which has gone down to 15584 Sq.Km. in 2001 mostly due to jhum cultivation (burning of tree and planting the cleaned areas in a cyclical operation). The principal timber species are Teak, Pine, Titachapa, Gomari, Bola and Makrisal. Principal forest products include timber, bamboo, cane, medicinal plants and herbs. Meghalaya is endowed with a rich variety of beauty in nature. Of the 17000 species of orchids in the world, about 1250 exist in India of which nearly 300 are found in Meghalaya. The state abounds in elephants, tigers, leopards, deer, monkeys, peacocks, pigeons, mynas and parrots. Out of the total forest area of 15,657 Sq.Km. in the State only 1,027.20 Sq.Km. is under the control of State Forest Department, which constitutes only 4.58% of the total geographical area of the state and 6.56% of the total forest area of the state. Rest of the area is either private or clan/ community owned and is under the indirect control and management of the Autonomous District Councils.

Mineral Resource:

Meghalaya is very rich in minerals. The chief among them, which are exploited at present are -

Coal – The coal found in the state is of superior quality in terms of calorific value and ash content but the only drawback is its high sulphur content. The total estimate of coal reserves in the state is to the tune of about 640 million tones.

Limestone – The total reserve of this minor mineral in the State is estimated to be in the region of 5,000 million tones. The quality of the limestone found here is found to range from the chemical to cement grade.

Silimanite – One of the best silimanite reserves of the world is found in the West Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya. The total estimated reserve of this industrially useful mineral is estimated to be about 0.045 million tones.

Uranium – Meghalaya has recently appeared on the Uranium Map of India with the discovery of high-grade uranium deposits in the southern part of the East Khasi Hills District.

Kaolin Clay – This mineral is found almost throughout the State and finds application in pottery, paper industry and the rubber industry and the extent of its availability in the State is estimated to be about 6 million tones.

People:

The people of Meghalaya belong to some of the earliest community on Indian Subcontinent with their own tradition and customs. The Garos, the Khasi and the Jaintias are among the few communities in the world that observe matrialineal line of descent in the family in which lineage the ancestral property passes down from mother to daughter.

Some of other basic datas of Meghalaya are as under:

1. Total Geographical Area : 22,429 Sq.Km

2. Total Population : 23,06,069

Sl.No.	Name of the District	Total Population	Male	Female
1.	West Garo Hills	515819	259440	256373
2.	East Garo Hills	247555	126312	121243
3.	South Garo Hills	99105	51051	48054
4.	West Khasi Hills	294115	149159	144956
5.	East Khasi Hills	660994	333187	327807
6.	Ri-Bhoi	192	99315	93480
7.	Jaintia Hills	295692	149376	146316
	Total :	2306069	1167840	1138229

3. Total Rural Population : 18,53,457

(a) Male : 9,09,803

(b) Female : 9,13,654

4. Total Urban Population : 4,52,612

(a) Male : 2,28,037

(b) Female : 2,24,575

5. Total Population below Poverty Line : 12,72,027

6. Total No. of major river : 19 Nos.

7. Total Nos. of National High Ways :

(a) Total Nos. :10 Nos.

(b) Total Lengths : 520 Kms.

8. Total Nos. of PWD Roads –

(a) Total Nos. : 23 Nos.

(b) Total lengths : 6087 Kms.

9. No. of Industrial Estates - : 7 Nos.

Name of District	Location	Area in Acres	No. of Sheds	Shades Occupied	Shades Vacant	Power Position	Present Status
East Khasi Hills	Shillong (Shillong IE) Barapani	10.22	14	-	-	Normal	Functioning Unit-6 Not Functioning-9
West Khasi Hills	Nongstoin	12.00	4	-	-	Normal	Functioning-2 Not Functioning-4
Jaintia Hills	Mawlyndep (Khlientymshi IE)	14.56	4-Govt 3-Private	-	-	Normal	Functioning Unit-1 Under Functioning -3 Not Functioning-4
West Garo Hills	Tura (Tura-IE)	19.83	5	-	-	Normal	Not in use by Industrial Units
East Garo	William Nagar Mendipathar	51.3 7	4 4	-	-	Normal
South Garo Hills	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

10. Total Power Scenario :

(a) Total Power Generation in the state : 637.63 MW

(b) Power availability : 1393.29 MW

11. Total Nos. of District :

(a) Name of District/ No. of villages :

Sl.No.	Name of Districts	No. of Village	No. of Household	Total Population
1.	East Khasi Hills	920	70,242	3,83,175
2.	West Khasi Hills	924	44,238	2,61,451
3.	Jaintia Hills	467	45,708	2,74,051
4.	Ri-Bhoi	543	32,474	1,79,610
5.	East Garo Hills	864	38,800	2,14,675
6.	West Garo Hills	1469	85,350	4,59,412
7.	South Garo Hills	595	16,312	92,337

12. Un-employed Scenario – : 36,623 Nos. upto April, 2004

13. Total area under forest – : 9,50,000 Hectare

14. Total Bamboo grown area under forest :

(a) Name of the District / Bamboo grown area under forest (in Hectare)

Sl.No.	Name of District	Bamboo Grown Areas
1.	East Khasi Hills West Khasi Hills Ri-Bhoi	1729.52 Sq. Km
2.	East Garo Hills West Garo Hills South Garo Hills	1161.70 Sq. Km
3.	Jaintia Hills	140.18 Sq. Km.

15. Name of various species of bamboo :

Sl.No. Species

1. Arundinaria hirsute

2. Arundinaria mannii

3. Arundinaria microphylla

4. Arundinaria suberecta

5. Bambusa arundinacea

6. Bambusa balcooa

7. Bambusa glauscescens* = Bambusa nana

8. Bambusa khasiana

9. Bambusa longispiculata

10. Bambusa nutans

11. Bambusa pallida

12. Bambusa tulda

13. bambusa vulgaris*

14. Cephalostachyum capitatum

15. Var. Decompostium

16. Cephalostachyum fuchsianum

17. Cephalostachyum pallidum

18. Cephalostachyum griffithiana = Arundinaria griffithiana

19. Cephalostachyum hookeriana = Arundinaria polystachys

20. Cephalostachyum khasiana = Arundinaria khasiana

21. Cephalostachyum polystachya = Arundinaria polystachya

22. Dendrocalamus calostachys

23. Dendrocalamus hamiltonii

24. Dendrocalamus hookeri

25. Dendrocalamus sikkimensis

26. Dendrocalamus strictus

27. Dinochloa compactiflora = Melocalamus compacitiflorus

28. Gigantochloa macrostachya

29. Gigantochloa takeserah

30. Melocana baccifera = Melocanna bambusoides

31. Neohouzeoua dullooa

32. Neohouzeoua helferi

33. Oxytenanthera albociliata*

34. Oxytenanthera nigrociliata

35. Phyllostachys mannii

36. Pseudostachyum polymorphum

37. Teinostachyum griffithii

38. Thamnocalamus prainii Arundinaria prainii

16. Total Quantity of Bamoo Harvested yearly (in MT)

Name of the Species / Quantity harvested ( in MT)

1. Forest Department till now have not harvested

because of reserved forest policy

2. Bamboo grown areas are under private sector

3. In Garo Hills,the District Council realized

Rs. 14 lakh p.a.

17. Methods of Collection of Bamboo : Indigenous system of cutting by villagers

& carrying to main road.

18. Departmental arrangement of bamboo

plantation (in hectare ) : 1. East Garo Hills – 50 Hectare

2. West Garo Hill – 100 Hectare

3. South Garo Hills – Not yet started

19. Departmental arrangement for

bamboo nursery : East Garo Hills – started nursery of 5(five)

varieties amounting to 1,30,000 Nos of

seedlings in 2005 near williamnagar.

BAMBOO POLICY F MEGHALAYA, 2004

1. Preamble:

Meghalaya is richly endowed with the bamboo resource. Abundance and multiple uses of bamboo have led it to play a pivotal role in the socio-economic and cultural life of the tribal people of the state. Bamboo represents a vast untapped natural resources of Meghalaya whose full ecological and economic potential remain underutilized; it needs to be recognized, developed and promoted in a manner ensuring ecological security and all round sustainable development of the State and well being of its people.

Bamboo is an essential component of forest eco-system, which is a dominant feature of the State’s landscape. Traditional living and lifestyle of the tribal people, to a large extent, is dependent on bamboo for its variety of uses. The eco-friendly Bamboo crop has immense potential in improving rural economy, industrial development and a sound economic base for the state on sustained basis.

Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plant species, which is extensively found all over the State. With a vast range of uses of bamboo, which include traditional and modern products; bamboo offers immense potential for the socio-economic upliftment of the people of the State. Tiny to large scale enterprises can be established in a wide spread manner using bamboo as raw material for generating employment opportunities to a large cross section of jthe rural and urban population of the state. This could be one of the most appropriate strategies for the sustainable development of the State.

With the wide spread realization of the potential of bamboo in ecological an economic development of the State and high level of thrust being attached by the Government of India for development of bamboo sector, there is a necessity to have a policy frame work for development of bamboo sector in the State.

2. Resource Base:

Bamboo forests in the state have diverse species base, which include clump forming as well as non-clump forming species.It has been reported that 38 species of baboo from 11 genera are found in Meghalaya (Biswas, 1988). The important clump forming species include Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Bambusa tulda, Bambusa bambos, Bambusa pallida, Dendrocalamus strictus, Bambusa balcooa whereas Melocana baccifera is the important non-clump forming species.

Extent of natural bamboo forests in Meghalaya has been estimated to be 3108 sq. kilometers (FSI Inventory Report, 1990), which is about 14% of the total geographical area of the state. It has been estimated that the bamboo forests in the state bear 471 million equivalents of sound culms of bamboo. The weight of this bamboo growing stock has been estimated to be 2.6 million tones. Considering felling cycle of 4 years, the potential yield of bamboo in the state is 2.09 tones/ha/year.

3. Management & Utilization: Current Status:

Bamboo forests of the state are largely private or communities owned and are under the administrative control of Autonomous District Councils (ADC). These forests are subjected to little or no scientific management. In the government controlled reserved and protected forests, which constitute about 4.4% of the total geographical area, bamboo generally occurs as associate of tree species. Regular harvesting of bamboo has not been prescribed in the working plans of the reserved and protected forests.

Yield of bamboo mostly comes from the areas owned by the communities, which are under the administrative control of ADCs. Large part of the bamboo comes from the abandoned ‘jhum’ areas where it grows in gregarious manner as colonized. People harvest bamboo from the areas belonging to their respective communities. The harvested bamboo is utilized for household uses of the villagers, making handicrafts, selling bamboo poles in the village and city markets, selling bamboo as raw material to the paper mills located in the adjoining state of Assam etc. These activities are in un-organized sector and therefore no statistics to indicate quantum of volume and the monetary worth is available. There are four bamboo based industrial units in the state viz Meghalaya Bamboo Chips Limited., Meghalaya Plywood Limited, Timpak Pvt. Limited and M/s. Roka Cane and Bamboo Works.

4. The Vision:

Holistic and balanced development of bamboo resource in the state for –

harnessing maximum ecological benefits such as soil and water conservation, biodiversity conservation, landscape aesthetics and environment amelioration in general.

creating a vast and vibrant hub of bamboo based enterprise in the State, ranging from cottage and tiny industries to large industries for variety of traditional and new generation bamboo based products and thus provide large scale opportunities for income generation to the people of the State.

making bamboo sector as a vehicle for the economic development of the State.

5. Objective:

5.1 Protection and preservation of mountain ecology; protecting the mountain slopes by affording protection to bamboo forest areas for sustained productivity and environmental security of the people.

5.2 Conservation of rich bio-diversity associated with bamboo forests.

5.3 Sustainable development and utilization of bamboo resources through scientific management.

5.4 Promotion of private bamboo plantations by individuals and communities as the key thrust area for future economy of the State.

5.5 Promotion of bamboo cultivation in the homesteads and as a cash crop under agro-forestry to generate income and to meet the contingent need of rural households in the State.

5.6 Improvement of bamboo productivity in plantations by use of biotechnology and improved management practices thus making bamboo plantation a profitable and attractive economic enterprise.

5.7 Promotion of bamboo based industries at cottage level, small scale, medium and large scale for utilizing the available resources at a sustainable level and for assured income to all those who are involved in bamboo based enterprises as well as in bamboo plantations.

5.8 Revitalization and promotion of local traditional bamboo craft and art with improved technology, design and market linked trade for domestic as well as export market.

5.9 Promotion of bamboo sector development as a component of rural development strategy and enhancement of rural employment.

5.10 Promotion of bamboo as wood substitute. Promotion of enterprises manufacturing bamboo based products, which could be wood substitutes thereby reducing pressure on forests.

5.11 Creating mass awareness about the economic potential of bamboo to galvanize the rural and industrial sector in the State.

5.12 Effective exploitation of the economic potential of Muli bamboo before the impending gregarious flowering in 1006-07.

6. Strategy:

Strategy for development of bamboo sector in the State would have two components viz.

(a) Bamboo Resource Development

(b) Bamboo Enterprise Development

6.1 Bamboo Resource Development:

6.1.1 Conservation of Bamboo Genetic Resource:

6.1.1.1 Bamboo growing in RFs, PFs and Pas will be managed with the objective of in-situ conservation only and not for production. Other bamboo forests found to be important from conservation point of view would be brought under protection by suitable declaration under the relevant Act.

6.1.1.2 A network of bambusetums/gene pools would be established for ex-situ conservation of bamboo species. The bambusetums would be established in every agro-climatic and physiographic zones of the state so that all the bamboo species occurring in all kinds of growing conditions in the State are brought under the ex-situ conservation.

6.1.2 Sustainable Management of Natural Bamboo Forests Growing Outside the RFs, PFs and PAs

Prescriptions for sustainable management including yield regulation of such bamboo forests will be prepared by the State Forest Department. Since most of such baboo forests occur in the areas under the administrative control of the Autonomous district Councils(ADC), the ADCs will be encouraged to follow the prescriptions under management plants.

6.1.3 Bamboo Plantations:

6.1.3.1 Large Scale bamboo plantations of suitable species with commercial objectives would be encouraged throughout the State. Bamboo plantations would largely be raised by the individuals and communities. With suitable technical and marketing support, people will be encouraged to raise bamboo plantations on their lands.

6.1.3.2 Taking into account factors such as commercial value, market demand and growth potential etc., priority species for bamboo plantations in the State will be identified. A complete technical package for these species would be developed by the SFD and through suitable literature and other means the same would be disseminated to the masses.

6.1.3.3 Requirement of seedlings for the plantations will largely be met through the network of nurseries raised and maintained by the individuals and communities. SFD will provide all the necessary technical support towards this. Genetically superior planting stock will be introduced for propagation in the State. SFD will develop the required infrastructure and technical know how in this respect.

6.1.3.4 Training programmes on plantation, nursery and harvesting techniques and plantation management including yield regulation would be conducted on regular basis by the SFD at the centers widely scattered throughout the State.

6.1.3.5 Soft term loan facility for the individuals and communities for raising bamboo plantations will be arranged by the Government.

6.1.3.6 Bamboos will be given due importance in the plantation activity under the Joint Forest Management or other such programmes being implemented in the State. The Government would also consider fixing of minimum percentage of area of bamboo plantations under such programmes.

6.1.4 Bamboo Plantation for Sol & Water Conservation:

Bamboos are efficient species for soil and water conservation measures. Due importance to bamboo species will be given in the plantation programmes of SFD, Soil Conservation, DRDA and other Government Departments for soil and water conservation purpose.

6.1.5 Research:

A comprehensive and long term programme of research on all the aspects of nursery, plantations, management, genetic improvement etc. will be taken up. Findings of the research will be disseminated through the training programmes at the research centers, which will be organized on the continuous basis. The proposed network of bambusetums which will be set up at several places scattered throughout the state will also be the research, training cum demonstration centers on bamboo planting stock raising, plantation and harvesting techniques etc.

6.1.6 Action Plan:

An action plan for a period of ten years will be prepared for the development of bamboo resource. The over all action plan will have sub plan for each of the above component viz. conservation, sustainable management of natural forests, Plantations and Research etc.

6.1.7 Resource Assessment:

Mapping and growing stock assessment of bamboo for whole of the State will be done periodically at an interval of 5 years. Modern tools like remote sensing, GIS and GPS will be used in the assessment.

6.1.8 Protection from Fire:

Action Plan for protection of bamboo forests and plantations from fires will be prepared. Annual campaigns for mass awareness about fire protection measures for bamboo forests and plantations will be undertaken before the fire season.

6.1.9 Bamboo Flowering:

Bamboo flowering is a peculiar phenomenon. Different species have different flowering cycles and after gregarious flowering bamboo species of a population die. Scientific record of every bamboo flowering occurring in the State and in the neighbouring areas will be maintained. Suitable action plan to utilize excess availability of bamboo after flowering, rodent control and regeneration etc. would be prepared and implemented.

6.2 Bamboo Enterprise Development:

6.2.1 The state will endeavour to promote bamboo based enterprise in the entire range of such industries i.e. from cottage to large scale industries and for all the economically viable and marketable products.

6.2.2 Planning of enterprise development will be done keeping in view the progressive availability of bamboo resource in consonance with the plantation development programme and the market potential, both domestic as well as the export market.

6.2.3 The following categories of bamboo-based products will be promoted for enterprise development.

(a) Finished industrial bamboo products like bamboo mat boards, bamboo corrugated sheets, bamboo particle boards, bamboo ply, bamboo timber, flooring tiles, shuttering etc.

(b) Intermediary bamboo industrial and semi finished products for production of chopsticks, toothpicks, skewers, incense sticks, etc.

(d) Bamboo charcoal and bamboo charcoal industrial products in the form of activated bamboo charcoal filter products.

(e) Bamboo food products in the form of –

Raw bamboo shoot food products.

Finished bamboo shoot food products

Bamboo beverages

(f) Bamboo medicine and chemical products

(g) Bamboo related ancillary activities such as tourism etc.

6.2.4 Bamboo panel boards such as mat boards, bamboo ply boards, bamboo particle boards etc. would be promoted as wood substitutes in construction industry so that larger amount of value addition to raw bamboo takes place within the State and use of timber is also reduced.

6.2.5 Use of bamboo and bamboo products shall be emphasized in Government constructions where such uses are feasible. Standard housing designs for various constructional purposes shall be evolved taking help of national and international expertise available.

6.2.6 High value bamboo products will require modern technologies, machineries, market support and export linkages. Joint ventures with entrepreneurs from wide the stall and outside the State including foreign firms will be encouraged.

6.2.7 The State Industrial Policy will be reviewed to include package of incentives and subsidies for promotion of bamboo based industries in the State.

6.2.8 The State Government will tie up with financial institutions for securing soft term loans for the bamboo-based enterprises including bamboo plantation projects.

6.2.9 Entrepreneurial Development:

Entrepreneurship will be promoted through organized and volunteered participation of people. The Government shall facilitate the growth of entrepreneurship skills through several means such as education and training, promoting SHGs, providing supports such as funding, credit, leases, tenure security and consultation with people’s groups and involving jthem in management committees.

6.2.10 Basic Processing Facilities:

To promote value addition to the raw bamboo at the village level itself, centers with machineries and tools for basic processing of the raw bamboo like sliver making, splitting, knot removing etc. would be set up in the cluster of villages. The local committees, JFMCs or SHGs, would run these centers. These centers would help in enhancing productivity of the persons engaged in bamboo craft and would also lead to better quality of the products.

6.2.11 Market Information Dissemination:

Market information is vital for the growth of industries. Dissemination of information regarding existing markets of bamboo and bamboo based products within and outside the States to the growers, traders, bamboo enterprises, etc. would be done through brochures, involvement of media, IT Network, etc.

6.2.12 Bamboo Industrial Estates:

The Government would take appropriate action for setting up bamboo industrial estates or bamboo technology parks for promotion of bamboo based industries. Such areas would have all the necessary infrastructure for bamboo based industrial units. The Government would also consider suitable incentives for the units located in such areas. The government may also consider facilities and incentives for promotion of export of bamboo products from these estates.

6.2.13 Research & Training:

A programme of research & training on bamboo technology and products would be taken up in collaboration with the related institutions located within or outside the State. The Government would also consider setting up a dedicated center for this.

7. Institutional arrangement:

7.1 State Level Bamboo Coordination Committee:

A number of Government Departments/Agencies viz Forest Department, Industries Department, Soil Conservation Department, Agriculture Department, Forest Development Corporation Ltd., Meghalaya Industrial Development Corporation Ltd., Meghalaya Handloom and Handicraft Development Corporation Ltd. etc. will be involved in the implementation of bamboo policy and bamboo development programmes in the State. A coordination committee at the highest level in the Government would ensure smooth coordination among the various Departments and would facilitate important policy decisions. The State Level Bamboo Coordination Committee under the Chairmanship of the Chief Minister will have Ministers in charge of all the related Departments as members. The State Level Bamboo Coordination Committee (SLBCC) would be the apex body on all policy and other matters related to bamboo in the State.

7.2 The Meghalaya Bamboo Development Agency:

7.2.1 For execution of different programmes of bamboo development in the State and implementation of the bamboo policy, there would be an agency in the state viz. Meghalaya Bamboo Development Agency. Under the Chairmanship of the Chief Secretary the governing body of the Meghalaya Bamboo Development Agency (MBDA) will have Principal Secretaries/ Commissioners and Head of the Departments of Forest Department, Industries Department and Principal Secretary of the Finance Department as members. The Meghalaya Bamboo Development Agency will operate through a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) appointed by the Government. The CEO will be assisted by the two Additional CEOs who will be from the Forest and Industries Departments. The Meghalaya Bamboo Development Agency will have an office with necessary staff and infrastructure.

7.2.2 The Meghalaya Bamboo Development Agency will be serviced by the Forest & Environment Department in the Government.

7.2.3 Whereas the Meghalaya Bamboo Development Agency will steer all the programmes and schemes for development of the bamboo sector in the State as enunciated in the policy, the specific activities would be implemented by entrusting the same to a Government Department or Agency to which such activity is closely related. Such specific activities would be accomplished in the project mode for which the funds would be made available thorugh the MBDA.

7.3 Funding:

Funds for implementing activities enunciated in the policy would be raised from all the possible sources. This would include allocation from the State Plan, central assistance in the form of central sector and centrally sponsored schemes, projects funded by the NEC and DoNER etc. DPRs would be prepared for funding from the financial institutions such as NABARD, SIDBI, public sector banks etc. Funding support from the international organizations would also be sought for specific projects. All the funds for bamboo sector development in the State would be channelized through the Meghalaya Bamboo Development Agency.

8. Human Resource Development:

Adequate pool of trained manpower would be required to sustain the bamboo-based activity in the State. Regular training programmes for the people on various aspects such as plantation techniques and management, planting stock raising, harvesting methos, storage, processing of bamboo, basic machine operations etc will be organized at the existing training institutions/ centres of the SFD and Industries Department etc. Depending on the need, the State Government will take necessary steps for advanced courses and orientation programmes etc for the policy lanners and officials.

9. Acts and Rules:

As required, the existing acts and rules would be reviewed and amended for promotion of the bamboo sector in the State.

10. Action Plan:

The policy will be implemented through appropriate action plan packages and the implementation of programmes shall be monitored from time to time so that policy objectives are achieved.

11. Policy Review:

The policy shall be reviewed periodically so that essential policy directives are evolved from time to time.

12. Licenses to Bamboo Based Industries:

12.1 Bamboo based industries with capital outlay above certain limit, as decided by the Government, would only require license.

12.2 The State Government would facilitate grant of licenses to the bamboo based industries through a single window system. A screening committee consisting of representatives from SFD, Industries, Finance, Trade & Commerce, Rural Development Departments etc will scrutinize the applications from entrepreneurs and recommended grant of license for various categories of units by the Bamboo Development Agency. The rules for screening a proposal would be framed and decision regarding grant of license would be taken in a stipulated time frame.

MEGHALAYA AT A GLANCE