Chhattisgarh produces the best quality of Tendu Patta used as Beedi (cheap cigarette) wrappers and tobacco. The production of Tendu leaves in Chhattisgarh is approximately 1.64 million standard bags annually that contribute nearly 20 per cent of the total Tendu leaves production of the country.
One standard bag of Tendu leaves in Chhattisgarh comprises of 1000 bundles of 50 leaves each. The collection season is from third week of April to last week of May and starts earlier in the Southern part comprising Naxal-infested Bastar region.The inflow of tendupatta in the societies set up by the Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce Corporation had been reported to be poor. "Sukma forest division---second among the top collectors in the state---could collect hardly 10,000 standard bags as against the annual average collection of 75,000 bags," S Reddy, a local trader in Sukma, said.
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As of now, about 350000 standard bags of tendupatta had been collected in the 900 primary forest produce cooperative societies set up across the state, a state government spokesperson said. In all, about 1.3 million families are engaged in the collection earning Rs 1200 per standard bag.The Chhattisgarh Government took a major policy decision in 2004 that ensured selling leaves to the contractor in advance instead of lifting from the godowns.
However the collection of leaves and the payment of wages to the pluckers would be done by the primary co-operative society only.
The contractors had not showed interest in purchasing tendupatta in advance that had reportedly stranded the process. Since the society had no buyer, it avoided to pluck tendupatta and stock.
From the societies, the contractor purchasing the yield in advance would collect the stock.