Government likely to rollback tax on collecting firewood by forest dwellers

RANCHI: The Hemant Soren government on Friday assured to make changes in the Jharkhand Forest Produce Regulations 2020 which allegedly makes it compulsory for rural people depending on forests to pay for collecting firewood for their daily use.
Amarendra Pratap Singh, secretary of the state department of forest, environment and climate change, said, “There has been some confusion regarding the fixing of Rs 25/cubic metre of firewood collected. The regulations will be changed soon and the rate will be scrapped.”
Singh’s remarks came after BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Mahesh Poddar took to Twitter recently and criticized the government for charging the poor people who depend on firewood collected from forests for survival. “They only remember Jal-Jangal-Zameen-Adivasis and Moolvasis when they have to stall the nation’s development. Otherwise, they don’t like the rights of Adivasis particularly collecting dry wood from the forests,” Poddar had tweeted on July 7.
Singh said the regulations exempt village residents from paying the tax (Rs 25/cubic metre) if they use firewood for their personal use within their village limits. “If they sell firewood or use it for business purposes, they have to pay,” he added.