Forest dept charging Rs 10k per kg ‘royalty’ from Himalayan Viagra collectors

N N Pandey, divisional forest officer (Badrinath) confirmed that the forest department is indeed charging the locals who collect the rare herb, but cited a government order (GO) for officials doing so."Earlier villagers with the permission of van panchayat would go to collect the keera jadi in the forest and sell the product only to the forest department . But last year, a government order had been issued under which the locals are entitled to collect and sell the herb to whosoever they want but they have to pay a royalty of Rs 10,000 per kg to the forest official of the area.”He added that the villagers are also supposed to keep the concerned forest official in the loop about the location from which they have collected the herb and the person to whom they are selling it.However, the department officials seem to lack clarity on the issue. When TOI contacted Rajender Mahajan, principal chief conservator of forests, he denied that any such GO has been issued by the government. “No government order with regard to keeda jadi has been issued so far, so no forest official or employee can charge any premium or royalty from locals over collection of the herb,” Mahajan said. Mahajan also said that he would investigate the matter.DVS Khati, PCCF (wildlife), also said that villagers who collect keeda jadi in van panchayat areas have to take permit from forest officials. Also, defending the arrest of nine locals who were nabbed by the forest department in Joshimath recently, Khati said that they had collected keeda jadi from Valley of Flowers National Park without seeking permission.Meanwhile, Peter Smetack, member of the State Wildlife Board (SWLB), also expressed concern over a fee being charged for collecting keeda jadi, claiming that such a move would discourage villagers and add to the problem of migration if their source of income is gone.Smetack said, “Last year, chief minister Harish Rawat had allowed locals to collect the keeda jadi in a bid to curb migration. The CM had also asked the forest department to keep out of the matter. If locals are devoid of this income, then they would migrate from villages.”“Most of the villages fall under the jurisdiction of van panchayats, which are not controlled by the forest department. But the department is still continuing to register cases against locals for collecting keeda jadi.”