Aizawl, June 26: The ministry of commerce and industry has announced free export of muli bamboo from Mizoram to facilitate the marketing of the harvested crop.

The Chief Conservator of Forest H Ramhluna said with reports of sporadic bamboo flowering in Mizoram, the ministry of commerce and industry has declared free export of bamboo to facilitate the marketing of harvested crops for Mizoram.

?The state could avail this offer till 2007 under the export and import police under the Foreign Trade (Development andRegulation) Act 1993,? he added.

The muli bamboo (melocanna baccifera) can be found in an area of more than 6,400 square kilometer, which is one third total area, the forest official said.

Following the Centre?s announcement of release of funds for the stategovernment to swing its famine plan into action, a portionof the money will be utilised to harvest all the bamboo before theflowering takesplace, Ramhluna said.

All necessary steps will be made for the transportation of theseharvested crops before flowering the department has already established a unit of ropeway for tranporation of bamboos through the jungle.

The unit with one ton bamboo per load trip capacity under BambooFlowering and Famine Combat Scheme (BAFFACOS)would benefit the lifting of large harvested bamboo crop from theinterior forest areas.

Ramhluna also pointed out that the promotion plans include effectiveways of transporting the harvested crop which would be worked out with various paper mills and promoting bamboo-based cottage industry. and establishing chipping and pulping units in the small-scale industrial sector.

A steering committee, headed by a secretary, has also been formed underthe ministry of environment and forestes to deal with the prospective flowering in the northeast, he said, adding thecommittee would focus its attention on three areas, harvesting,regeneration and the rodent control.

The ministry has also agreed to allocate a sum of Rs 45 crore to Mizoram for five years from 2005, he said.

The committee has advised the states to conduct the sale of standing crop before flowering through open auctions so that the infrastructure requirements for facilitating extraction is met by thebidders.

FICORM mollified: In a press release issued recently, Forum for theImplementation of Constitutional Rights in Mizoram(FICORM) said the action initiated by the MNF government towards the separation of judiciary from the executive is the greatest achievement of the MNF government.

Saying the steps taken towards the finalisation of the power separation has been an ardous and long one, with the Gauhati High Court having issued judgements towards this numerous times starting from 1985.

?This organisation is happy that the MNF government has bolstered up courage to take this decisive step for separating the judiciary from the executive, an issue that had been side stepped by the successive governments of the state,? the statement said.

The FICORM press release further urged the state government to implementother Constitutional requirements such as Article243 B for local self governments in the form of Panchayati RajInstitutions.

?We implore the state government to take up the local self governmentissue in accordance with Article 243 B of theConstitution as its next challenge,? the release said.

(EOM)