Chhattisgarh on Friday received 10 national awards for excellent performance in procurement, processing and marketing of forest products and also for new products and innovations.

The state topped in eight categories in procurement, processing and marketing of minor forest products and implementation of the Van Dhan Yojana and was conferred two awards for new products and innovations by the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Federation of India.

Union tribal affairs minister Arjun Munda presented the awards to Chhattisgarh during a virtual function in New Delhi organised on the 34th foundation day of the federation.

Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel congratulated forest minister Mohammad Akbar and all the officials and employees of forest department as well as the self-help groups engaged in collection and processing of forest produces for the achievement.

Baghel said that Chhattisgarh has set a new record by purchasing maximum forest produce in the country.

“The procurement of minor forest produce from tribals at maximum support price has played an important role in providing employment to tribals and forest dwellers and improving their economic condition during the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

The Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce Association is engaged in collection of forest produces.

Chhattisgarh bagged the first positions for inclusion of maximum number of forest products under the minimum support price scheme for minor forest produce in 2020-21, for procurement of minor forest produce at the highest price using state as well as central government funds, maximum utilisation of the funds sanctioned in 2020-21, completion of maximum survey under the Van Dhan Yojana, for maximum training for forest development centre clusters, for manufacturing maximum products through value addition and for maximum sale of products after value addition.

Under the “new product and innovation” category, Chhattisgarh was awarded for the innovative manufacturing of sanitiser from mahua tree and for producing new products from tamarind.

Fifty-two types of minor forest produces have been included under the MSP scheme of Chhattisgarh, followed by Maharashtra, which has 21 products included under its scheme.

Chhattisgarh procured minor forest produce at maximum value worth Rs 180.51 crore utilising central funds, followed by Andhra Pradesh, which came second by procuring products worth Rs 4.51 crore.

Similarly, for procurement of minor forest produce from central and state government funds, Chhattisgarh bagged top spot by buying products worth Rs 1,173 crore, while Odisha stood second by procuring produces worth Rs 30.32 crore.

In the category of maximum utilisation of funds in 2020-21, Chhattisgarh had utilised Rs 127.09 crore and second place Odisha Rs 30.32 crore.

For completing the maximum survey under the Van Dhan Yojana, Chhattisgarh bagged the first place followed by Nagaland.

In the category of providing maximum training to Van Dhan Vikas Kendra clusters, Chhattisgarh got the first place, followed by Nagaland.

In the category of manufacturing maximum products through value addition, Chhattisgarh got top spot for manufacturing 121 products while Maharashtra came second with 120 products.

Similarly, under the category of maximum sale of products after value addition, Chhattisgarh got top spot for selling products worth Rs 4.24 crore and Manipur came second with sale of products worth Rs 1.98 crore.

Under the category of new products and innovations, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra were jointly awarded for production of sanitisers from mahua.

Besides, Chhattisgarh was awarded for the innovative product called Tamarind Chaska.

Around 44 per cent of the area in Chhattisgarh is covered by forests and the major source of livelihood for the forest dwellers is the collection of forest produce. More than six lakh forest produce collectors have benefited from the minimum support price scheme of the state government which buys 52 minor forest produces instead of the earlier seven.

For the last two years, Chhattisgarh has maintained the top rank among states in procurement of forest produce. The forest produces are being procured through 4,785 women self-help groups in the state. More than 13 lakh poor and tribal people engaged in minor forest produce collection are earning an additional income of Rs 501.70 crore per annum, sources said.

As many as 139 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras have been established in the state for primary processing of minor forest produce and nearly 17,424 beneficiaries are getting the benefit, they said.

Around 70 Van Dhan Vikas Kendra are engaged in processing minor forest produce as herbal products and these products are being sold under Chhattisgarh Herbals on e-commerce platforms like Amazon.

Chhattisgarh Herbals, which was established as a nationwide brand in 2021-22, has set a target to sell products worth Rs 10 crore in 2021-22, officials said. The sale will benefit about 5,000 members of women self-help groups engaged in the processing work, they said.