Companies to face penalty if procuring natural resources without permission

The Board official, however, said it is not happening in most of the cases in the State due to lack of adequate regulations.
Image used for representational purpose only. (Photo | EPS)
Image used for representational purpose only. (Photo | EPS)

BHUBANESWAR: Cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and other private companies procuring plants, byproducts or other natural resources having a commercial value from communities outside regulated forests now mandatorily have to inform the Odisha Biodiversity Board (OBB) or face penalty.

An official said they are planning to notify penalty provision against companies and firms who buy any natural resources such as medicinal plants, their seeds, extracts or any other biological resource having commercial value without any agreement with the Board.

The penal provision will be notified as per the norms of Biological Diversity Act, which mandates firms for agreement with Biodiversity Board or National Biodiversity Authority and procure resources only through biological management committees (BMCs), he said.

Currently, a total 7,256 BMCs are functioning in the State at panchayat, block and district-level. The major function of the committee is to facilitate the procurements and ensure sustainable use of biological diversity of their area.As per the norms, the companies and firms collecting the natural resources from BMCs are required to share 3.5 pc of their profit with these committees.

The Board official, however, said it is not happening in most of the cases in the State due to lack of adequate regulations. While BMCs in Andhra Pradesh and other States are earning crores from sale of the such resources, Odisha has been losing huge revenue on this account due to poor regulation, in spite of the fact that more than 90 per cent of the natural resources in the State exist outside regulated forests.

BMCs in Odisha earned just around Rs 2 lakh last year following the Board’s agreement with six firms towards procurement of Nagarmotha grass for commercial use. Board officials said they are planning to sign agreement with some of the companies for sale of Polanga (Calophyllum inophyllum) seeds and oil through BMCs to help the committees earn revenue and promote livelihood in villages by encouraging farming of the plant.

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