Rapid Fire
Kendu Leaf
- 14 May 2025
- 2 min read
Villages of Odisha, are awaiting government deregulation on kendu (Tendu) leaves to manage their trade independently under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006.
- Odisha is India’s 3rd-largest kendu leaf producer after Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, contributing around 4.5–5 lakh quintals annually, nearly 20% of national output.
Kendu Leaf
- Botanical Name: Diospyros melanoxylon (leaves)
- Common Use: Wrapper for beedis (local hand-rolled cigarettes)
- Economic Significance: Kendu leaf, a nationalised product like bamboo and sal seed, is a major Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP), often called “green gold” and a key income source for tribals, women, and widows.
- Legal Status: Covered under Minor Forest Produce (MFP) as per FRA, 2006
Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006
- The FRA, 2006 recognizes and grants forest rights to forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers lacking formal land titles despite generations of residence.
- It grants individual rights over cultivated land, MFP rights to collect and sell non-timber produce, community rights over traditional forest use, habitat rights for PVTGs, and Community Forest Resource (CFR) rights to manage and conserve forests. Gram Sabha approval is mandatory for diversion of forest land.
- The FRA overrides conflicting state laws like the Odisha Kendu Leaf (Control of Trade) Act.
| Read More: Tribal Ministry’s Directive on Forest Right Act, 2006. |
