To promote forest-based products, the Maharashtra Government will establish the Maharashtra Forest Industrial Development Corporation

The state government of Maharashtra has decided to establish the Maharashtra Forest Industrial Development Corporation (MFIDC) in order to promote and develop manufacturing industries based on forest products from the state.

The state government aims to empower the people who work in these businesses and to develop and promote non-timber forest products (NTFP), bamboo furniture, and wooden furniture, among other forest product-based industries.

Modelled after the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), the government has established an advisory committee to carry out a comprehensive study in order to establish the MFIDC, which would be set up under the state forest ministry.

According to an official, MFIDC will regulate and facilitate the production of high-quality forest products, supply them to the general public, and charge reasonable prices for them.

“There is a plan to set up a furniture cluster in Nagpur and a cluster for herbal and its processing industries is planned in Chandrapur. There is a need to outline a framework of this and conduct an extensive study in both areas, along with the setting up of the MFIDC, hence an advisory committee has been set up,” an official said.

Two clusters based on forest products are also being proposed in the districts of Chandrapur and Nagpur on an experimental basis.

The committee would study this industry and prepare a plan to employ women, OBCs, SCs, and STs. It will also look at how technology may be used to market forest products in shopping malls and on e-commerce sites.

Currently, forests cover around 20% (61,907 sq. km) of Maharashtra's total land area, with the majority of these forests falling within the Vidarbha region.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.