The collection and sale of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) forms a significant part of the livelihoods of forest fringe communities in India, with an estimated 10-27 crore people involved in it. The leaf of tendu (Diospyros melanoxylon), which is used to roll beedis (Indian cigarettes), is one of the most socially and economically important NTFPs. Its collection provides employment to at least 75 lakh leaf pluckers, largely in central India. Madhya Pradesh produces the largest volume of tendu leaf in the country, accounting for more than 25% of the national production.

All central Indian states have ‘nationalized’ tendu leaves in order to control its trade, and ostensibly follow policies to enhance incomes for tendu leaf pluckers. After the passing of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) in 1996 and the Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006, the states are under pressure to transfer rights over tendu leaf and all other NTFPs to forest-dwellers. But no practical approach has been worked out for this transition.

The MP (and Chhattisgarh) model, in which a three-tiered federation of co-operatives procures and markets tendu leaf, has been lauded by various committees as being the best approach to enhancing forest-dweller incomes and assuring their rights, and coming ‘closest to the soul and spirit of the PESA’. The MP government claims that it has ‘transferred ownership of NTFPs to Gram Sabhas’ through this model. There are, however, no systematic assessments of this model after 1998.

This report presents the results of a study of tendu leaf procurement and marketing in Madhya Pradesh during 2010-12. The objective of the study was to understand how well the MP model has worked along different dimensions, and the factors influencing these outcomes, so as to inform the debate on future policy regarding NTFP procurement and marketing in light of the PESA and FRA.