Tendu leaf purchases drop despite price hike

Korba | Correspondent: The purchase of tendu leaves, also known as “green gold,” has been reduced again this year.

In the Katghora and Korba forest divisions, the forest department had set a target of 1.30 lakh standard bags.

However, this target was not met, and purchasing has also been stopped.

Compared to the target set by the forest department, only 91% of the tendu leaves were purchased in Katghora. The target in Katghora was set at 76,300 standard bags, but only 69,187 standard bags were purchased.

Similarly, in the Korba forest division, the target was set at 53,200 standard bags of tendu leaves. However, only 81% of the target was achieved.

Until 2018, the leaf collectors in Chhattisgarh were paid ₹2500 per standard bag of tendu leaves. In 2018, the Congress government increased this price to ₹4000. In the last election, the BJP promised to raise it to ₹5500.

While the price of tendu leaves in the state has been increased, the quantity purchased has decreased. Due to the reduced purchasing, the leaf collectors are not receiving the full benefit of the increased price.

According to the state-wide data, in 2002, 19.58 lakh standard bags of tendu leaves were purchased in Chhattisgarh. In 2023, after the price increase, only 12.94 lakh standard bags were purchased.