JK Govt to roll out ‘State Bamboo Mission’

Srinagar, Sept 21: The Jammu and Kashmir government is all set to introduce the “State Bamboo Mission” to create a robust ecosystem in the bamboo sector in J&K and to generate more employment opportunities in the UT, officials said.
A senior official, who is part of drafting the document, informed that the mission document has been carefully drafted with an aim to create financial and market linkages for the bamboo product and facilitate promoting bamboo startup entrepreneurship.
“It will help in developing the training facilities for farmers, entrepreneurs, craftsmen, and villagers associated with the bamboo sector,” he said, wishing not to be named.
In this regard, the Industries and Commerce Department today formally constituted a working group committee which comprises of all the crucial departments of the administration.
According to an official order issued in this regard by Vivek Bhardwaj, Financial Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary, the Working Group shall be served by the Directorate of Handicrafts and Handloom Department and shall submit a monthly report to administrative secretary Industries and Commerce Department.
The Working Group will have a composition of other departments that include Secretary in Industries and Commerce Department, Managing Director J&K SICOP, Director Finance Industries and Commerce, Director Handicrafts and Handloom (Jammu) MD J&K Handloom and Handicrafts Corporation, Managing Director North East Cane and Bamboo Development Council (NECBDC), joint Director Planning Industries and Commerce Department and Deputy Secretary to the Government Industries and Commerce Department.
It may be recalled in February last year, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding the cultivation and commercialisation of bamboo was signed between Manoj Sinha, Lieutenant Governor of J&K and Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region.
The Lt Governor had outlined the vision that 75 percent of the income generated from this will be given to the plantation committee in the panchayats so that they can invest that money in the development work of the village, he maintained.
During the signing of the MOU, the Lt Governor had reiterated that the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of ‘Har Medh Par Ped’ has been made a reality in Jammu and Kashmir.
There are large parts in Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Udhampur and Reasi which are not suitable for farming, but have ample scope of bamboo production.
The NECBDC, according to the order, would provide technical guidance in forming bamboo product clusters using modern design and technology and a suitable mechanism will be worked out jointly by both the parties, said the Lt Governor.