DoNER to expedite Bamboo Mission

Aizawl, Sep 18: Disturbed by inordinate delay, the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) has urged Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh to expedite the launching of proposed Bamboo Mission.

Delay in launching of the Mission which is crucial for utilisation of the bamboo resources has led to serious misgivings among the North Eastern States and the Ministry DoNER was flooded with queries from Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and others, DoNER ministry sources here today said.

The ambitious project got tangled in bureaucratic web in New Delhi, with Union Ministry of Agriculture and Science and Technology vying with each other to run the Mission. The size of the domestic bamboo industry is estimated to be about Rs.6505 crore, which is predicted to grow to Rs.26,000 crore by 2015.

The Mission envisages scientific development of bamboo as well as, marketing initiatives not only nationally but also in international markets. As an industrial product, bamboo is available at a much lower cost, the Ministry sources said.

The North Eastern Region (NER) produces some 65 per cent of national bamboo resources. The world market for bamboo is valued at USD 10 billion of which China's share alone is to the tune of 50 per cent. Market for bamboo expected to reach about USD 20 billion by 2015. China's export in the last fiscal was in the order of USD 55 million.

The Mission document envisages coverage of 2 million hectares under bamboo during the Tenth Plan involving an investment of Rs.

2,608 crore. The other features of the Mission include technology development and transfer for planting, technology intervention on process and products including standards and codes, handicraft development including training, trade and market development for bamboo products and technology development for building material.

UNI