The Commission will be put in place by January next year and Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation (TRIFED) will be entrusted with the responsibility for implementation of schemes under it, Tribal Affairs Minister V Kishore Chandra Deo said.
"We are working on a commission which will start functioning from January next year. It will ensure Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the forest products used by tribals to earn their livelihood," Deo told reporters on sidelines of a function to celebrate silver jubilee of TRIFED.
Planning Commission has already given its nod for setting up the commission.
"There is a procedure for setting up a commission. We have received a go ahead from the Planning Commission and TRIFED will be the nodal agency for this commission," the Minister said.
He also said that definition of Minor Forest Products (MFP) will be expanded to include items such as bamboo and tendu leaves to provide more options to the forest dwellers.
"The term Minor Forest Products will be changed to include Non-Timber Forest Products to include items such as bamboo and tendu leaves which can be used by tribals for earning a meaningful livelihood," Deo said.
On functioning of the Commission, he said, "Central government will provide financial support for procurement, creation of enabling infrastructure, training for sustainable harvesting and also provide subsidy to state level agencies in case they incur any loss in the transactions." (MORE)