As part of the effort to grant tribal communities rights to minor forest produce, the Maharashtra Government has granted permission to 81 gram sabhas in Gadchiroli and Gondia districts of the state to collect and sell tendu leaves. According to officials here, the decision to empower the village communities was taken in order to avoid the exploitation of tribals by contractors engaged in the collection and sale of tendu leaves. Incidentally, Gadchiroli and Gondia are hotbeds of Naxalite activity. "Contractors are avoiding these two districts following threats from the Naxals. Produce collected by the gram sabhas will be sold by auction," says a Forest Department official from the region. Tendu leaves have been classified as non-timber forest produce by the state government. According to officials of the Forest Department here, 81 gram sabhas have been authorised to collect tendu leaves. The government expects to collect 6.5 lakh standard bags of tendu leaves from the two districts. However, much of the collection was undertaken by contractors in the past. "The gram sabhas have been allowed to collect 19,000 standard bags of tendu leaves. These will be sold at an auction next week," says a forest official. Local people who collect the tendu leaves will not be given any wages for collecting the leaves. However, the gram sabhas are expected to reward them by giving them a share of the proceeds from the auction. Officials say contractors will be gradually eliminated and collection of tendu leaves will be the prerogative of the gram sabhas alone. In the past, contractors have been accused of indulging in criminal activities and even burning down forests during tendu collection. Nearly two years ago, the state government allowed villagers living in forest areas to harvest bamboo after then Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh informed that the Forest Rights Act granted them the freedom to do so. The Ministry of Environment and Forests had classified bamboo as a grass and not a tree, thus allowing local communities to harvest and market bamboo without any hindrance from forest officials.