Darjeeling, Jan. 25: Faced with a decline in demand for the dry bark of cinchona trees, the government has decided to float a global tender to dispose of 14 lakh kg of the produce, rotting in its storehouse at Mungpoo.
Administrative sources said the government has been unable to sell the bark since the early 90s, With the storehouse overflowing with the produce, officials in the garden have virtually stopped harvesting the dry barks from plantations.
Cinchona plantation is currently spread over 8,000 hectares and around 4 to 5 lakh kg of bark can be harvested annually.
“Formalities are underway to float global tenders and it is likely to be completed soon,” a senior official said today.
The plantation, the largest public sector unit in the hills which provides employment to over 5,000 workers, incurs a loss of Rs 20 crore annually. The state government had earlier contemplated adopting the proposals laid down by McKinsey, a US-based consultancy firm, but has failed to taken any concrete decision so far.
McKinsey had proposed restricting the cinchona plantation to 2,000 hectares, distributing the excess land to workers and providing them with marketing and technical support for the first five years.
“The McKinsey report does not seem feasible and after the recent visit of the Standing Committee on Commerce and Industries, the government has asked the department to submit a proposal to generate immediate revenue from the area,” an official of the plantation said. The new proposal drafted by officials of the plantation will be sent to the government soon. The proposal recommends cultivation of crops like turmeric and cardamom and also advocates sericulture.
“A pilot project for turmeric, estimated to cost Rs 28,000, has been proposed in a 10-acre plot. An initial investment of Rs 40,000 will be needed to cultivate cardamom. We have also proposed sericulture in the plantation and the initial investment for all these is pegged at around Rs 15 lakh. The government can save the cinchona plantation if it sanctions the funds,” a cinchona official said.
