7. Feedstock Assessment - Pollution Control Board, Assam

Feedstock Assessment

Forging Sustainable Partnerships - Preparation of Detailed Feasibility Report for feasibility study of bio refinery project PwC 61

7. Feedstock Assessment

7.1. Scope and Objectives

The bio-refinery consumes annually 300,000 tonnes (estimated) of cellulosic feedstock (dry basis). The feasibility study will survey the availability of around 450,000 tonnes (estimated) green bamboo and prices of suitable lignocellulosic biomass (primarily bamboo) in the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Meghalaya.

The primary feedstock is bamboo and its parts, secondary various grasses, sugarcane bagasse, elephant grass, and straw (sugar cane tops, leaves and jiggery, bagasse) are also applicable.

The feasibility study will also give an insight to the availability, sustainability and potential and prices, if bamboo is specifically cultivated. The study will give insight on a general level based on public information and information from Assam and connected states. The feasibility study will also survey the opportunity to make long-term supply agreements with Agro based NGOs, farmer groups, agricultural organizations, and biomass suppliers. Support from the central and state governments, various departments and agencies in terms of land, support infrastructure, financial/tax incentives and schemes etc. For the promotion of such clean energy projects should be touched upon.

7.2. Approach and Methodology

The availability and price of bamboo is surveyed by interviewing farmers and key stakeholders based on scientifically but practically prepared questionnaire and stakeholders in Assam and connected states (Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Meghalaya. The study includes interview of minimum 30 farmers and minimum 20 representatives of stakeholders (agricultural organizations, biomass dealers, pulp companies, transporting companies, Governmental organizations, etc.). The interviewees shall be chosen in such a way that answers cover a maximum tonnage of bamboo. Sampling should be collected on judgmental sampling technique basis.

bamboo production is the state. The questionnaire format will be vetted by the owner and the supplier to appoint only qualified and experienced experts (in the relevant field) for collecting the samples.

The contents of the interview with questionnaire are as follows:

Area under bamboo cultivation, species and annual yield How much bamboo is growing naturally and how much is cultivated? How much of bamboo is currently used, e.g. as fuel, pulping (papermaking), construction or any

other major use? If bamboo is not used in industry, how is it utilized? Or is it just left over? Are there specifically certain species bamboos, which are high in biomass production and good for

cultivation & contract farming? What is a sustainable collection ratio, i.e. how much of bamboo should be left on the bamboo forest

to sustain biodiversity and productivity of land? How bamboo is currently harvested, stored and transported? Contact details with address of the farmers interviewed. Additional land available for bamboo cultivation. What is the price of bamboo? What is the price, if the farmer/land owner leaves bamboo on the field and someone else collects the

bamboo? What is the price, if the farmer collects and stores the bamboo for transportation? What is the cost of transporting bamboo for 50, 100, 200, 400km, 500 km?



What is the landed cost of bamboo at the three proposed locations -in the forms (i) With chipping

and without chipping (ii) With splitting and without splitting? If bamboo is currently used, what is the price/premium required to compensate for the current use? If bamboo is currently used, describe the steps of the supply chain? In addition to the interviews, the study also includes a desk study of availability and price of

bamboo, and other abundant lignocellulosic biomass like rice straw, elephant grass etc. and agricultural residues in Assam and surrounding states. The desk study is based on selected publications and forest/agricultural statistics. The desk study also utilizes the results obtained from the interviews.

7.3. Bamboo Availability

7.3.1. Overview of Bamboo Industry in India

7.3.1.1. Resource potential

In India, there are 125 indigenous and 11 exotic species of bamboos belonging to 23 genera. As per the FAO report on world forest resources, India is the second richest country of the world after China in terms of bamboo genetic resources. A very large standing resource of bamboo is found mostly in moist and deciduous forests in all the states except Jammu & Kashmir. Of India s total forest area of 67.7 million hectares, bamboo (both natural and planted) occupies around 13.96 million hectares. This represents 16.7 per cent of the total forest area of the country and 3.4 per cent of the total geographical area (329 million hectares) of India. But despite having the largest area under bamboo in the world comprising more than 100 different species, India contributes to only 4 per cent share of the global market. This is mainly attributed to the low productivity of around 0.4 tonnes per hectare which is much lower compared to other countries such as Japan, China and Malaysia which contribute about 80 per cent to the world s bamboo market.

The principal bamboo genera occurring in India are Arundinaria, Bambusa, Chimonobambusa, Dendrocalamus, Dinochola, Gigantochloa etc. More than 50 per cent of the bamboo species occur in Eastern India, viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and West Bengal. Other areas rich in bamboos are the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Bastar region of Chhattisgarh and the Western Ghats. Bambusa and Dendrocalamus are found under tropical conditions, whereas Arundinaria and its allies occur in the temperate region and are by far the most commonly found species on higher elevations in the Western and Eastern Himalayas.



Figure 10: Distribution of Bamboo Growing Area in India (%)

Source: National Bamboo Mission Data

From the above figure, it has been clear that North East and Madhya Pradesh are the regions with highest bamboo growing area in India and North India is having the least bamboo growing area in India.

Figure 11: Equivalent Green Weight Bamboo at Country Level (million MT)

Source: FSI report, 2011

The following major points summarize the extent of Bamboo resources in India as estimated by the FSI (2011):-

The total bamboo bearing area of the country is estimated to be 13.96 million hectare

123.85

45.45

169.31

0 50 100 150 200

Green Clums

Dry Clums

Total

Bamboo rich area of India



Total no. of culms at estimated to be 23,297 million out of which the percentage of green sound, dry

sound and decayed has been estimated as 79 per cent, 16 per cent and 5 per cent respectively The total estimated green weight of bamboo culms in India is estimated to be 169 million metric

tonne of which green sound bamboos contribute 73 per cent and dry sound bamboos contribute remaining 27 per cent.

Analysis of forest area according to bamboo density shows that Pure Bamboo brakes are found in less than 1% of the country. They are found most commonly in Mizoram (226 sq. km).

Dense bamboos are found in 7 per cent of the total area, and 8% is occupied by scattered bamboos. Dense bamboos are found mostly in Arunachal Pradesh (8681 sq. km) followed by Mizoram (6,116 sq. km) and Manipur (5,825 sq. km).

The maximum number of green sound bamboos is found in Arunachal Pradesh (2,666 million), followed by Assam (2,046 million), Manipur (2035 million) and Mizoram (1953 million). The green sound weight is also maximum in Arunachal Pradesh (12.4 Million Metric Tonne), followed by Manipur, Mizoram and Karnataka.

Arunachal Pradesh has maximum bamboo bearing area (16,083 sq. km) followed by MP (13,059 sq. km), Maharashtra (11465 sq. km) and Orissa (10,518 sq. km)

Table 27: State-wise Distribution of Bamboo Area in Recorded Forest Area (sq. Km)

State/UT Bamboo Bearing Area

Andhra Pradesh 8,184 Arunachal Pradesh 16,083 Assam 7,238 Bihar 739 Chhattisgarh 11,368 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 55 Goa 308 Gujarat 4,091 Haryana 19 Himachal Pradesh 508 Jharkhand 3,603 Karnataka 8,186 Kerala 2,882 Madhya Pradesh 13,059 Maharashtra 11,465 Manipur 9,303 Meghalaya 4,793 Mizoram 9,245 Nagaland 4,902 Orissa 10,518 Punjab 75 Rajasthan 2,455 Sikkim 1,181 Tamil Nadu 3,265 Tripura 3,246 Uttar Pradesh 1,313 Uttarakhand 451 West Bengal 1,042 Total 139,577 Source: FSI, 2011

In India, 28 per cent of area and 66 percent of growing stock of bamboo is in the NER and 20 percent of area and 12 per cent of growing stock is in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.



NER, 66%

MP, 12%

Maharashtra, 5%

Orissa, 7%

Andhra Pradesh, 2%

Karnataka, 3%

Others, 5%

Figure 12: Availability of Bamboo in India by Area (%)

Source: PwC Analysis

Figure 13: Availability of Bamboo in India by Growing Stock


As far as bamboo species are concerned, Manipur is the richest Indian State having species diversity of 53 species followed by Arunachal Pradesh with 50 species. The most widely distributed and economically very important species are Bambusa bamboos and Dendrocalamus strictus. These species are found growing in the deciduous forests of the southern tip of the Peninsular India and extending up to the lower Himalayan regions. Among the genera found in India, Pseudoxytenanthera, Dinochloa and Bambusa grow widely in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The other important genera having lesser distribution in the Western Ghats and the North eastern region are Arundinaria, Indocalamus, Pseudoxytenanthera and Schizostachyum. The genera having wider distribution in the Northeastern India are Phyllostachys, Melocanna and Gigantochloa.

In India, most of the bamboo is in the forest land which is difficult to access and thus poor pre and post-harvest management practices are required. Even though bamboo is grown in the non-forest land are planted, intensive management is not practiced. It is estimated that only about 15.4% of the total Bamboo resources of India lie on private lands; as a result, 84.6% of the resources are unavailable for utilization in industrial purposes without excessive regulation getting in the way (FAO, 2005). Over 39%

NER, 28%

MP, 20.30% Maharashtra,

9.90%

Orissa, 8.70%

Andhra Pradesh, 7.40%

Karnataka, 5.50%

Others, 20.20%



of the total area under Bamboo is available in the North East Region, which is also the leader in availability of dense bamboo brakes, in green sound weight and number of green sound culms.

7.3.2. Regulatory and Policy Status

7.3.2.1.

In 2006-07, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation (DAC), Ministry of Agriculture implemented 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme called Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) in which National Bamboo Mission (NBM) is being implemented as a sub scheme. The Mission is being implemented to promote holistic growth of bamboo sector by adopting area-based, regionally differentiated strategy and to increase the area under bamboo cultivation and marketing. Under the Mission, steps have been taken to increase the availability of quality planting material by supporting the setting up of new nurseries and strengthening of existing ones. To address forward integration, the Mission is taking steps to strengthen marketing of bamboo products, especially those of handicraft items.

The main objectives of the Mission are:

To promote the growth of the bamboo sector through as an area based regionally differentiated strategy;

To increase the coverage of area under bamboo in potential areas, with improved varieties to enhance yields;

To promote marketing of bamboo and bamboo based handicrafts; To establish convergence and synergy among stake-holders for the development of bamboo; To promote, develop and disseminate technologies through a seamless blend of traditional wisdom

and modern scientific knowledge. To generate employment opportunities for skilled and unskilled persons, especially unemployed

youths.

Key Elements of the National Bamboo Mission:

Research and Development for sustainable development and new Bamboo Agro-forestry technique for technology generation

Establishment of new Nurseries to raise bamboo seedlings Raising high yielding bamboo plantations on commercial basis in Forest as well as Non-Forest areas Rejuvenation of senile bamboo plantations Pest and Disease Management of bamboo. Handicrafts, bamboo marketing and exports Capacity building and Human Resource Development of farmers, field functionaries and others New Marketing Strategy for Bamboo and establishment of Bamboo Markets, Bamboo bazaar and

retail outlets Meticulous monitoring, evaluation and reporting, Database generation, compilation and analysis

Structure

The structure of National Bamboo Mission is very much similar to National Horticulture Mission. On top level, it has a National Apex Committee (NAC) under the Chairmanship of Union Minister of Agriculture. The members of this committee are various ministers. Then, there is a National Steering Committee (NSC) headed by the Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, to oversee the activities of the Mission and approve the Action Plans. On national level, there is also a National Bamboo Cell, which has bamboo specialists as its members and a mission director, an official from the agriculture ministry. On state level, the state government establishes a State Bamboo Steering Committee (SBSC) under Secretary Agriculture/ Horticulture / Environment and Forests. The Bamboo Mission covers both the forest as well as non-forest areas. In the forest areas, the bamboo development



is the function of the Forest Development Agencies (FDA) and the Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs). However, in case of Non-Forest Areas, the Bamboo Development Agencies (BDAs) is the nodal agency to whom funds are released by the Ministry of Agriculture for onward disbursement to the beneficiaries. BDA is being set up in each State with the Director, Agriculture/Horticulture/Environment & Forests or any other officer considered appropriate by the State Government as Mission Director. The Bamboo Development Agency of every State constitutes a District Level Agency. The Agency will comprise of officials from Agriculture/ Horticulture, Forest, Rural Development and other line departments, SHGs, NGOs, Industries, etc. All proposals received by the Agency are compiled and send to the BDA for appraisal and scrutiny. This Agency also oversees coordinates and controls all activities at the district level for non-forest areas. The District Planning Committee and Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) are integrated/ involved in implementing the programme depending on their expertise and available infrastructure. The District Agriculture/ Horticulture Officer are the Member Secretary. In the forest area of every district, the Forest Development Agencies (FDAs) takes the lead in carrying out the activities of the National Bamboo Mission. Proposals received from the Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) are compiled and send to the FDA for appraisal and scrutiny. The FDAs oversees coordinates and control activities at the district level for forest areas.

Bamboo Technical Support Group (BTSG)

Technical Support Group is being established at the Central level to support National Bamboo Cell. A minimum of three experts having experience in Bamboo plantation, handicrafts and marketing are engaged. The BTSG is funded by the Mission and is under the direct control of NBC.

Flow of Fund

The assistance is routed to the beneficiaries via the state governments. States are required to prepare a Bamboo Development Mission Document (BDMD) and submit it to the Department of Agriculture. The funding is for 3 separate mission viz. Research & Development, Plantation Development and Handicraft, Marketing & Export. The money obtained thus is spent on the following important interventions:

Establishment of Nurseries Tissue Culture Laboratories Raising new plantations Improving the existing stocks Micro-irrigation in non-forest areas Creation of Bamboo Bazaars and retail outlets Other interventions

7.3.3. Bamboo Availability in North-East

7.3.3.1. Bamboo Resources and Diversity

North-eastern region of the country is endowed with rich forest resources. The region, which constitutes only 7.98% of the geographical area of the country, accounts for nearly one fourth of its forest cover. The total forest cover in the region is 173,219 km2, which is 66.07% of its geographical area in comparison to the national forest cover of 21.05%. Very dense, moderately dense and open forests constitute 14.73%, 44.29% and 40.98%



Figure 14: Forest Cover Map of North East India

Source: Public Information

Northeast region of India is very rich in bamboo diversity. It includes as many as 89 species under 16 genera. This shows that approximately 60% of the total bamboo species reported from India is represented from this region.

resources.

Table 28: Comparison of Bamboo resources in India and North East India

India NER Number of Genera 22 16 Number of Species 136 89 Total Area under Bamboo 13.96 million hectares 5.60 million hectares Source: National Bamboo Mission, FSI 2011

Both natural bamboo which are present in the forests as well as those cultivated bamboos are well distributed in tropical and subtropical region. Some species of bamboo are found in the temperate and sub-alpine forests. The major genera include Arundinaria, Bambusa, Chimonobambusa, Melocanna, Ochlandra (Exotic), Oxytenanthera, Phyllostachys, Pleioblastus, Pseudosasa (Exotic), Schizostachyum, Semiarundinaria, Sinobambusa, Thamnocalamus, Thyrsostachys, etc. Among these genera, Schizostachyum, Bambusa and Dendrocalamus are important because they have large number of species. The genus Schizostachyum has 27 species followed by Bambusa which accounts for 21 species, 13 species are under the genus Dendrocalamus. The genus Bambusa is one of the most important genuses in terms of usefulness and species diversity. Genera like Melocanna, Phyllostachys, Gigantochloa, Chimonobambusa though are with limited number of species are greater in importance in terms of utilization. In terms of geographical coverage Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Bambusa pallida, Melocanna baccifera, Phyllostachys bambusoides, Arundinaria sp., Chimonobambusa callosa, Schizostachyum polymorphum, S. capitatum are prominent with wider distribution and coverage in the region.

Table 29: Bamboo Distribution Area in North East India (Sq. Km)

State Geographical Area

Recorded Forest Area

Actual Forest Cover

Area Under Bamboo

Arunachal Pradesh

83,743 51,540 68,602 16,083

Assam 78,438 30,708 23,824 7,238 Manipur 22,327 15,154 17,418 9,303



State Geographical

Area Recorded Forest Area

Actual Forest Cover

Area Under Bamboo

Meghalaya 22,429 9,496 15,657 4,793 Mizoram 21,081 15,935 18,775 9,245 Nagaland 16,579 8,629 14,221 4,902 Tripura 10,486 6,292 5,546 3,246 Sikkim 7,096 5,676 3,540 1,181 Source: NEDFI, FSI 2011

Total bamboo growing stock in NER is 55.14 million MT, among which Arunachal Pradesh has the maximum growing stock of 14.43 million metric tonne (MMT) followed by Manipur (13.73 MMT), Assam (12.22 m MT), Meghalaya (7.49 m MT) and Nagaland (7.27 m MT).

Figure 15: Bamboo Growing Stock in North East India (million MT)

Source: National Bamboo Mission, PwC Analysis

Apart from notified and classified areas, bamboo is cultivated in homestead village gardens, agricultural lands and field boundaries. In many states, farmers grow bamboo on marginal and degraded lands as well. Also vast stretches of land that are otherwise unproductive are profitably used for bamboo cultivation. In NER, besides forests, the locals on the non-forest privately owned forestland also harvest bamboo. The total harvest of bamboo for the NER is 6.45 million tonnes from the non-forest area and privately owned forest land together. Out of the 6.45 million tonnes, the annual harvest of bamboo is 5.37 million tonnes from no forest areas and 1.08 million tonnes from privately owned forestland.

Table 30: Estimated Harvest of Bamboo (Figures in million MT)

Region Unrecorded forest harvest from unclassified (Privately owned) forests

Recorded forest harvest from notified forests and unclassified forests

Non-forest areas Total

NER 1.08 1.66 5.37 8.11 Others 1.27 2.84 1.25 5.36 Total 2.35 4.5 6.62 13.47 Source: National Bamboo Mission



In India only NER is organized into autonomous council-controlled districts, which are similar to the counties in China. Bamboos find immense importance in every bit and pieces of life in Northeast India having great variable genetic resource of bamboo grown in almost every place of the region. Among them, five species viz., Bambusa balcooa, B. tulda, B. pallida, B. nutans and Dendrocalamus hamiltonii are being used by local population effectively and hence, economically very important. These five species are widely distributed across the tropical and semi-tropical area of the northeast India. First four species exclusively grow in homesteads or on-farm while D. hamiltonii grows in forest as well. Performance of growth characters of these species varies in diverse locality.

With the rich stock found in the North East, bamboo is one of the most valuable resources of India. It provides raw materials for industries, shelter, delicacies, medicine and drinks for humans. In short, it occupies the pride of place among the forest resources that support the rural economy of the country. The raw stock of cane and bamboo in the region is conservatively valued at Rs. 5,000 crore. Even with a modest target at twofold value addition of the stock through suitable local schemes, an annual turnover of approximately Rs. 10,000 crore can easily be generated in the Region.

7.3.3.2. Utilization and marketing of bamboo

Besides its role as a material for consumer products, bamboo has great potential as an industrial raw material. Industrial application of bamboo is in the areas given below:

Food production: Young and tender bamboo shoots are used as seasonal vegetables in both rural and urban areas. In Manipur, succulent sticks are consumed annually for the processing of bamboo vegetable and Soibum for human consumption. Trade of bamboo pickle in a tourist spot on Nongpoh (Meghalaya) is estimated to be 1,170 kg to 2,210 kg annually. The species of bamboos commonly used as food are Dendrocalamus asper, D. hamiltonii, D. brandisii, D. strictus, Bambusa blumenna, B. balcooa, B. polymorpha, Thyrsostachys siamensis, Thyrsostachys oliveri, Gigantochloa albociliata, Melocanna baccifera etc. In the Northeastern region of India, where more than 50% of total bamboos of the country are available, the growth and consumption of shoots is largely restricted to private use of tribal families.

Building and construction material: In India, usage of bamboo for the purpose of scaffolding is high. But there is virtually no value addition on the raw bamboo used for scaffolding purposes. Of the 13.47 million tonnes of bamboo, 3.23 million tonnes are currently being consumed for scaffolding alone all over India. Bamboo can be fashioned artistically to make doors and windows. Bamboo mat composites can be effectively used for manufacturing panel and flush doors in combination with plantation grown timbers. Use of bamboo grids in road making is yet another potential area for its sizeable uses. The bamboo grid market size is estimated to grow at 25% per year with increased penetration in the total market and greater acceptability of the product. Bambusa balcooa, B. tulda, B. nutans, B. pallida, B. polymorpha, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Melocanna baccifera, D. giganteus, D. strictus, Gigantochloa apus, Guadua angustifolia etc. are some common bamboo species suitable for construction.

Wood Substitute: Bamboo is regarded as substitute of wood due to its physical and mechanical properties. It also contains a relatively low proportion of lignin. In the tropics, therefore, bamboos are perhaps the best alternative to softwoods. Bamboo is nowadays increasingly used as wood substitute in some industrial products like bamboo ply board, bamboo mat roofing, door shutters, bamboo mat board, bamboo flooring, bamboo laminates, particle composites etc. after value addition. Various industries are looking for suitable substitute for wood in production of various things like pencil, match boxes, match sticks etc. Recently IPIRTI (Indian Plywood Industries Research & Training Institute) has developed a technology for making match sticks from bamboo and technology transfer in different match industries also been evolved. Melocanna baccifera (Muli bamboo) makes excellent matchsticks splints.

Cottage industries: Millions of tonnes of bamboos are utilized in different types of cottage industries such as agarbatti, kite and cracker industry, ice-cream industry and match industries. Some of the commonly used bamboo species in cottage industry are Bambusa tulda, B. nutans, B. pallida, M. baccifera. Tribal Development Agencies have also adopted bamboo resource for cottage industry. There



are more than 10,000 units in the handmade sectors of match industry. Agarbatti is another important industry using bamboo. Bamboo from Tripura and other North-eastern states is transported all the way to Mysore and Bangalore for production of agarbatti.

Handicrafts: Another important area in which bamboo is being used is the bamboo craft sector where it generates about 250 million days of work by employing mainly women from the rural and tribal area, generating income of Rs. 15 billion a year. Various craft products made of bamboo are: mats, flooring material, purses, bags, satchels, tea packaging, different kind of furniture, floor tiles, board, general household products, utensils etc. About 19% of the bamboo is used in Handicrafts all over the India

Pulp and Paper: The general consumption pattern of bamboo in India indicates that 20% of bamboo is being consumed by pulp and paper industries while the rest 80% is used by locals under cottage, construction, furniture implement industries etc. It is found that from four tonnes of bamboos nearly one ton of pulp is produced which is utilized in different furnishes for production of paper and board. Presently 2.69 million tonnes bamboo per annum is used by paper mills all over the India.

Medicinal products: It is found that bamboo plant has usually high levels of acetylcholine which acts as a neurotransmitter in animals and humans. `Tabashie or `banslochan' is a siliceous secretion found in the culms of various species of bamboo and is used in Ayurvedic and Tibetan medicine. It is used as a cooling tonic and a-phrodisiac and in also remedy of asthma, cough and other debilitating diseases. Medicine made from the leaves of another species, Pleioblastus amarus, a tall bamboo grown in southern China, is used in treating fever, fidgeting and lung inflammation. Stems and leaves of Bambusa bamboos are used in Ayurvedic system of medicine as blood purifier, in treatment of leucoderma and inflammatory conditions. It is also given internally for remedy of bronchitis, gonorrhoea and fever. The burnt roots of this species are applied to control ringworm, bleeding gums and to painful joints. The bark is used as a cure for eruptions. The leaf bud of another species B. spinosa is used in leprosy, fever and haemoptysis. The sap of Bambusa. vulgaris is given as a remedy for phthisis in the Philippines.

Charcoal Production: Bamboo charcoal is generally used by goldsmiths. Bamboo charcoal is used in gardening, as it is believed to preserve the moisture available to plants. Flowered bamboos and wastes from paper mill are suitable for manufacture of activated carbon giving minimum fifteen times value addition depending on cost of transportation of raw material. Activated carbon is widely used in foods, medicine, chemical and metallurgical industries. The demand for activated carbon in India is increasing day by day.

Scaffolding, 24%

Paper, 20%

Handicrafts, 19%

Miscellaneous, 15%

Exports, 13.0%

Internal Consumption, 9%



Figure 16: Consumption Pattern of Bamboo in India

Source: National Bamboo Mission

The size of the domestic bamboo economy has been estimated at around Rs. 2,000 crores by the Planning Commission. The market potential however, is estimated at around Rs. 4,500 crores, which

estimated to be $1 billion (around Rs. 4,000 crores) and is expected to increase to $5.7 billion (around Rs. 22,800 crores) by 2015.

7.3.3.3. Bamboo a natural choice for bio refinery

Bamboo is potentially an interesting feedstock for advanced bioethanol production due to its natural abundance, rapid growth, perennial nature and low management requirements. As a member of the Germaine family, the composition of bamboo is highly similar to other grasses utilized for biofuel purposes (e.g. switch grass, Miscanthus). Its cell wall is comprised of the polymeric cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. The complex physical and chemical interactions between these components prevent enzymes from readily accessing the microfibrillar cellulose during the scarification stage of its conversion into biofuel.

Lignocellulosic biomass is the primary and most abundant organic material on the earth which makes it the most promising resource for the alternative energy. Among the available lignocellulosic feedstock, bamboos are receiving a renewed interest due to their high growth rate and better reduction of carbon footprint compared to an equivalent area of woody plants. Bamboos are a group of perennial evergreens belonging to the true grass family and enjoying wide distribution in India, especially in the north eastern region where it is an important resource with multiple applications. Dendrocalamus sp. occupies more than 50% of the total area under bamboo growth in India. Compared to other feedstock, bamboo biomass has a relatively high cellulose and low lignin content which makes it suitable for bioethanol production.

7.4. Bamboo Distribution and Diversity in Select States in North East India

7.4.1. Assam

Assam is situated in the middle of the northeastern part of India and is sharing borders with West Bengal and six north eastern states as well as with Bangladesh and Bhutan. It has a geographical area of 78,438 km2 which constitutes 2.39% of the country's total area. It is situated between 24° 07' N - 28° 00' N latitude and 89° 42'E - 96° 02'E longitude. Topographically, the state can be divided into three parts, viz, the Brahmaputra valley, the Surma valley and the mountainous Assam ranges. The state has subtropical climate with temperature ranging from 5°c to 32°c and mean annual rainfall varying from 1,500 mm to 3,750 mm.

The recorded forest area of Assam is 26,832 km2 accounting for 34.21% of its geographical area. According to their legal status, Reserved Forests constitute 66.58% and Unclassed Forests 33.42% of the total forest area. The forest cover in the state is is 35.28% of the geographical area. In terms of forest density classes, the state has 1,444 km2 supporting very dense forest, 11,404 km2 moderately dense forest and 14,825 km2 open forest.



Figure 17: Forest Cover of Assam


Generally bamboos are available throughout the state in several species. More than 30 species are reported to be distributed in the state. The extent of bamboo bearing area in the forests of the state is 7,238 km2. Density-wise details, estimated number of culms by soundness and equivalent green weight are given in following table:

Table 31: Bamboo bearing area by density in RFA


There are 34 species of Bamboos occurring in the State. The following species are extensively found: Dendrocalamus hamiltonii (Kako), Neohouzeaua dulooa Syn. Teinostachyum dulooa (Dolu), Melocana baccifera Syn. Melocana bamboosaaides (Muli), Oxytenananthera parviflora (Hill Jati), Dendrocalamus longispathus (Khang), Oxytenananthera albociliata (Kala sundi), Oxytenananthera nigrociliata (Kaligoda), Bamboosa pallida (Hill Jati), and Bamboosa balcooa (Bhaluka). All the bamboo species are clump forming except Muli (Melocana beccifera), Bamboosa tulda (Jati), Bamboosa vulgaris, Bamboosa balcooa (Bhaluka); Bamboosa trees (Bhaluki Mokhal), Bamboosa nutans, Bamboosa polymorpha, Bamoboosa gigantia, Bambusa arundinacea (Kata Bamboo), Bamboosa pallida (Bajal) are mostly grown in homesteads.

Bamboo bearing area by density in recorded forest area (Area in km2)


Pure bamboo

Dense bamboo

Scattered bamboo

Clumps hacked

Bamboo regeneration

No bamboo

26,832 105 4,049 2,878 166 40 19,594



Figure 18: Bamboo Distribution Areas of Assam

Source: Public Information, PwC Analysis

Bamboo forests of the State are well spread over, in the form of pure bamboo forests and overlapping bamboo forests, with trees throughout the State, but extensive in two hill districts of Assam, erstwhile Cachar, Kamrup and Goalpara districts. Bamboos of the two hill districts are mainly confined in the District Council Reserved Forests, Proposed Reserved Forests and Unclassified State Forests area, which are subject to extensive shifting cultivation

Table 32: Annual estimated availability of bamboos from the major forests areas of Assam (MT)

District Quantity (MT) Upper Assam (Lakhimpur, Sibsagar) 1,05,100 Central Assam (Nagaon, Diung Valley) 1,54,000 Lower Assam (Kamrup) 80,000 Goalpara 15,525 Cachar 2,75,000 N.C. Hills 2,01,392 Total 7,25,000 Source: NEDFi Databank

Total bamboo annual availability from major forests of Assam is 7 , 25,000 MT whereas annual availability of homegrown bamboo is more than 4 Lakhs MT Among forest bamboo, highest growing areas of Assam are NC hills and Karbi Along districts.

The yield mentioned above may not be the true picture at present as there had been considerable destruction of bamboo forests by shifting and unscientific exploitation of accessible bamboo forests areas. In addition to this, the annual availability of bamboo yield will not be available due to reorganization of the States. Thus, the actual yield available as resource on a sustainable basis may be more or less as indicated above. The villagers of the State are growing bamboos in their homesteads and the annual availability of homegrown bamboo is more than 3 Lakhs tonnes at 2.5 to 3 Lakhs tonnes of homegrown bamboos are going out of the State to cater the demand of the paper mills situated outside the State.



The total numbers of green sound culms in Assam are 2046 million and their equivalent weight is 9.985 million MT and dry sound culms in Assam are 201 and their equivalent weight is 2.301 million MT. Thus the total estimated green weight of bamboo culms at state level is estimated to be 12.286 million MT.

Figure 19: Equivalent Green Weight Bamboo in Assam (million MT)


7.4.2. Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh is the largest state in the North-Eastern region of the country, sharing international boundaries with Bhutan, China, Tibet and Myanmar. It lies between the latitudes of 26°28'N - 29°30'N and the longitudes of 91°3 O'E-9 7°3 0' E. Its geographical area is 83,743 km2 which constitutes 2.54% of the total area of the country. The recorded forest area in the state is 51,540 km2 which works out to be 61.55% of its geographical area. Reserved Forests, Protected Forests and Unclassed Forests constitute 20.46%, 18.49% and 61.05% of recorded forest area respectively. Of the total forest area, 5.138 million ha is state-owned and only 15,500 ha are under private ownership. The protected areas constitute 11.68% of the geographical area of the state. The forest cover in the state is 80.50% of the state's geographical area. In terms of the forest density classes, the area covered by very dense forests is 20,868 km2, that with moderately dense forests is 31,519 km2 and open forests are 15,023 km2.

9.985

2.301

12.286

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

Green Culms

Dry Culms

Total



Figure 20: Forest Cover of Arunachal Pradesh


Arunachal Pradesh occupies an important position among the bamboo bearing states of India. Bamboo forms a major constituent of the forest vegetation of Arunachal Pradesh. Tropical, subtropical and temperate species are found well distributed in the State. In Arunachal Pradesh, which has about 46 bamboo species, the bamboo flora is seen up to an elevation of 2000 m or even more.

The extent of bamboo bearing area in the forests of the state is 16,083 km2 and total bamboo growing stock in the state is 14.43 million MT. Density-wise 567.205 details, estimated number of culms by soundness and equivalent green weight are given below:

Table 33: Bamboo Bearing Area by Density in RFA

Source: FSI report. 2011

The total numbers of green sound culms in Arunachal Pradesh are 2666 million and their equivalent weight is 12.359 million MT and dry sound culms in the state are 234 and their equivalent weight is 2.072 million MT. Thus the total estimated green weight of bamboo culms at state level is estimated to be 14.431 million MT.



Pure bamboo

Dense bamboo

Scattered bamboo

Clumps hacked

Bamboo regeneration

No bamboo

51,540 217 8,681 6,953 144 88 35,457



Figure 21: Equivalent Green Weight Bamboo in Arunachal Pradesh (million MT)


Arunachal Pradesh is having a total population of 13,82,611 populations are directly dependent on bamboo with minimum of 35 bamboos per individual accounting to 0.5 million MT. The state is also having various bamboo based industries at different locations. The annual bamboo consumption of industries are estimated to be 2, 94,300 bamboo per annum accounting to 882.9 MT. Therefore the total bamboo consumption in the state is estimated to be 883.4 MT per annum.

Table 34: District wise estimate of pure bamboo patches in Arunachal Pradesh

Districts Geographical area (sq.km)

Area under pure bamboo patches (sq.km)

Papum Pare 3391.89 46.16

Changlang 5106.34 30.74

West Kameng 4850.58 27.82

Lohit 4507.65 25.82

Upper Siang 6511.06 25.74

Kurung Kumey 6736.35 23.84

Upper Subansiri 6612.23 23.73

West Siang 8319.42 19.34

12.359

2.072

14.431

0 5 10 15 20

Green Culms

Dry Culms

Total



Districts Geographical area (sq.km)

Area under pure bamboo patches (sq.km)

Dibang Valley 9163.55 18.32

Tirap 1968.24 17.14

Lower Subansiri 2826.11 15.27

East Kameng 5249.51 12.96

Lower Dibang Valley 4167.46 11.71

Anjaw 7124.38 11.60

East Siang 3956.92 9.77

Tawang 2367.27 5.78

TOTAL 82858.96 (83,743)

325.74

Source: SFRI, 2011

Figure 22: Bamboo distribution map of Arunachal Pradesh




7.4.3. Meghalaya

Meghalaya has a geographical area of 22,429 km2. It lies between the latitudes of 24°58' N to 26°07' N and the longitudes of 89°48' E to 92°51' E. In terms of tribal composition, the state has three distinct regions, namely, Garo Hills, Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills. The recorded forest area of the state is 9,496 km2 which is 42.34% of its geographical area. The Reserved Forests constitute 11.72%, Protected Forests 0.13% and Unclassed Forests 88.15%. In terms of forest density classes, the state has 433 km2 areas under very dense forest, 9,775 km2 areas under moderately dense forest and 7,067 km2 areas under open forest.

Figure 23: Forest Cover of Meghalaya


Meghalaya State also endowed with rich bamboo resources. There are 40 different bamboo species in State. The State also has 4 endemic bamboo species of the country. The important bamboo species found in the state are Dendrocalamus hamiltonii , Melocanna baccifera, Bambusa tulda, Bambusa bamboos , Bambusa balcooa and Bambusa nutan. Presently State has 4793 Km2 of bamboo forest, which is 21 % of the geographical area of the state. Considering felling cycle of 4 years, the potential yield of bamboo in the state is 2.09 tonnes/ha/year.

Table 35: Distribution of bamboo in major areas of Meghalaya

S.No Region Bamboo Area (Sq. Km)

1 Khasi Hills 1729.52

2 Garo hills 1233.02

3 Jaintia Hills 140.18

Total 3102.72

Source: Meghalaya forest department data, 2011



Highest bamboo area present in Khasi hills followed by Garo hills and least in Jaintia Hills. The East Khasi hills district has smallest area of bamboo and Ri Bhoi district has largest area under bamboo cultivation. While Melocanna baccifera and Bambusa balcooa is confined to Garo Hills, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii is found throughout the State. The bamboo forests are mainly confined to the areas subjected to extensive jhumming in the past.

Table 36: Bamboo bearing area by density in recorded forest area (Area in km2)


Figure 24: Bamboo distribution map of Meghalaya


The total numbers of green sound culms in Meghalaya are 1109 million and their equivalent weight is 6.334 million MT and dry sound culms in the state are 104 and their equivalent weight is 1.157 million MT. Thus the total estimated green weight of bamboo culms at state level is estimated to be 7.491 million MT.



Pure bamboo

Dense bamboo

Scattered bamboo

Clumps hacked

Bamboo regeneration

No bamboo

9,496 63 2,815 1,830 68 17 4,703



Figure 25: Equivalent Green Weight Bamboo in Meghalaya (million MT)


Bamboo forests of the state are largely under the control of Autonomous District Councils (ADC). These forests are subjected to very little or no scientific management. In the government controlled reserved and protected forests, which constitutes about 4.4% of the total geographical area, bamboo generally occurs as associate of tree species. Regular harvesting of bamboo has not been prescribed in the working plans of the reserved and protected forests. Yield of bamboo mostly comes from the areas owned by the communities which are under the administrative control of ADCs. Large part of the bamboo comes from

from the areas belonging to their respective communities.

The Department of Forests and Environment, Meghalaya is engaged in raising bamboo plantation on private and community land through forming Joint Forest Management Committees under National Bamboo Mission (NBM). So far, 5,540 hectares of bamboo plantation has been created in the State under NBM. The Department has established Centralized Nurseries to supply high quality bamboo planting material. The Department also has set up Tissue Culture laboratory to produce large scale high quality bamboo planting material.

Large quantity of bamboo is exported to Paper Mill in Jagiroad, Assam and Cachar paper Mill Panchagram, Assam. The bamboo is sold to these paper mills at lower price. There is high demand for bamboo from theses paper mills.

Table 37: Quantity of Bamboo exported outside the State (MT)

Year Khasi Hills Territorial Division

Garo Hills Territorial Division

Jaintia Hills Territorial Division

Total (MT)

2008-09 13,890 20,850 5,140 39,880 2009-10 16,610 10,610 4,720 31,940 2010-11 11,290 10,280 2,090 23,660 2011-12 15,590 1,440 3,050 20,080 2012-13 12,850 90 5,550 18,490 Total 70,230 43,270 20,550 134,050 Source: Meghalaya Bamboo Mission data, 2011

6.334

1.157

7.491

0 2 4 6 8

Green Culms

Dry Culms

Total



The bamboo activities falling in un-organized sector, no statistics to indicate quantum of material or its value in monetary terms is available. There are four bamboo based industrial units in the state viz Meghalaya Bamboo Chips Limited, Meghalaya Plywood Limited, Timpak Pvt Limited and M/S Roka Cane and Bamboo Works. Bamboo Charcoal making units were established under the funds from NMBA, Government of India in Ri Bhoi. The Department conducts training on bamboo cultivation and bamboo applications every year to the farmers and artisans under NBA funds. The District council collects royalty from bamboo extraction. The Forest Department collects export fee @ 1000/trucks and issues export T.P. to export the bamboo outside State.

Potential area for Bamboo Plantation

The bamboo distribution is governed largely by the condition of rainfall temperature altitude and soil. Most of the bamboos require a temperature ranging from 8C to 36 C, a minimum of 1000mm annual rainfall and high relative humidity for good growth. They form an important constituent of many deciduous and evergreen forest and are spread from tropical to mild temperate regions .they extend from plain areas to high mountainous region ascending to altitude of 3050m above main sea level. They usually occur mixed with or under tree species, except in caves when they form secondary brakes where they are more or less pure. Where shifting cultivation is practiced, the bamboo brakes are more common. Considering together cultivable/ culturable wastelands and total fallow lands the wasteland area in the state is about 6496 sq.km. Taking that about 50% of open forest area minus total wastelands, it may be estimated that about 45,000 ha may be brought under Bamboo plantation in Meghalaya. Nevertheless, the potential area for commercial bamboo plantation will depend upon the choice of bamboo species among others.

Table 38: District wise area of bamboo plantation in Meghalaya created under NBM (area in ha)

Year EKH WKH JH RB EGH WGH SGH Total 2006-07 - 128 30 250.59 150 150 150 858.59 2007-08 175 300 220 468.75 300 333 245 2041.75 2008-09 274 63 275 111 125 271 98 1217 2009-10 15 62 118 31 93 142 496 957 Total 464 553 643 861.34 668 896 989 5074.34

Table 39: Bamboo plantation plan during the 12th five year plan period

District 1st yr. 2nd yr. 3rd yr. 4th yr. 5th yr. Total East Khasi Hills

150 250 350 450 550 1750

West Khasi Hills

350 450 600 800 900 3100

Ri Bhoi 600 800 1000 1000 1050 4450 Jaintia Hills 350 450 600 700 750 2850 East Garao Hills

600 800 1000 1000 1050 4450

West Garao Hills

700 900 1100 1100 1150 4950

South Garao Hills

350 450 600 800 900 3100

Total 3100 4100 5250 5850 6350 24650

Maximum bamboo plantation in Meghalaya during the 12th five year plan is planned in West Garao hills followed by Ri Bhoi and East Garao Hills.



7.4.4. Manipur

Manipur is one of the hilly states of the north eastern part of the country with an area of 22,327 km2 which is 0.68% of country's geographical area. It shares international border with Myanmar and lies between the latitudes of 23°50' N and 25°42' N and the longitudes of 92°59' E and 94°46' E. The recorded forest area of the state is 17,418 km2 which is 78.01% of its geographical area. The Reserved Forests constitute 8.42%, Protected Forests 23.95% and Unclassed Forests 67.63% of the RFA.

Figure 26: Forest Cover of Manipur


The forest cover in the state, based on interpretation of satellite data of January-February 2009, is 17,090 km2 which is 76.54% of the state's geographical area. In terms of forest canopy density classes, the state has 730 km2 areas under very dense forest, 6,151 km2 areas under moderately dense forest and 10,209 km2 areas under open forest.

Out of 126 species of bamboos reported from India over 40 species are found in Manipur and about 15 species of Bambusa native of Manipur. Species of bamboos are distributed abundantly in Manipur and most of these are economically important to the people of the state. The extent of bamboo bearing area in the forests of the state is 9303 km2. As per national bamboo mission data, total bamboo growing stock in the state is 13.738 m/MT. Density-wise details, number of culms by soundness and equivalent green weight are given in following tables:

Table 40: Bamboo Bearing Area by Density in RFA of Manipur



Pure bamboo

Dense bamboo

Scattered bamboo

Clumps hacked

Bamboo regeneration

No bamboo

17,418 192 5825 3101 124 61 8115




The total numbers of green sound culms in Manipur are 2035 million and their equivalent weight is 11.617 million MT and dry sound culms are 192 and their equivalent weight is 2.121 million MT. Thus the total estimated green weight of bamboo culms at state level is estimated to be 13.738 million MT.

Figure 27: Equivalent Green Weight Bamboo in Manipur (million MT)


The total number of districts in the state is 9, but boundaries of only 8 districts are incorporated in the SOI maps. The district-wise area under forest details are given in the table hereunder.

Table 41: District-Wise Area under Forest in Manipur

S.No District Area under forest (Sq. Km)

Bamboo Grown Area (Sq. Km)

1 Senapati 3271 130

2 Ukhrul 4544 125.40

3 Churachandpur 4488 1337.06

4 Tamenglong 4063 1159.24

5 Jiribam 495 478.38

6 Chandel 3319 442.59

7 Thoubal 514 10.00

11.617

2.121

13.738

0 5 10 15

Green Culms

Dry Culms

Total



8 Bishnupur 496 8.00

9 Imphal 1043 7.00

Source: Manipur Bamboo Mission Data, 2011

Churachandpur and Tamenglong are the two top districts with the highest bamboo growing areas and Imphal, Thoubal and Bishnupur are the least growing bamboo districts. The total requirement of bamboo in the state is 4.50 lakh MT. Thus it has enough bamboo available which can be used for different industries.

Figure 28: Bamboo Bearing Areas of Manipur

Source: Manipur Bamboo Mission Data, 2011

7.4.5. Nagaland

forest occupies an area of 8, 62,930 which work out to 52% of the total area. In the view of the unique land ownership system in the state, 88.3% of the forests are Community or privately owned.



Bamboo is found extensively all over Nagaland. It occurs as a pre-dominant Plant in some portions of the State, while it is readily found mixed with other forest species in other parts of the state. The growing stock of bamboo been estimated to be around 7.274 million MT, consisting of 46 species, is assessed to be available in Nagaland.

Density-wise details, number of culms by soundness and equivalent green weight are given in following tables:

Table 42: Bamboo Bearing Area by Density in RFA of Nagaland


The species of bamboo predominantly found in Nagaland are:

1. Sinarundinaria griffithaina (Munro) Choa & Renv.; (Arundinaria griffthiana(Munro)i. 2. Sinarundinaria elegans(Kurz) Chao & Renv.; (Arundinaria elegans(Kurz). 3. Sinarundinaria rolloana(Gamble) Chao & Renv.; (Arundinaria rolloana(Gamble). 4. Sinarundinaria nalandiana Naithani. 5. Chimonobambusa callosa(Munro)Naika; (Arundinaria callosa(Munro). 6. Neomicrocalamus prainii(Gamble) Keng f.; (Arundinaria prainii Gamble). 7. Bambusa balcooa Roxb. 8. Bambusa tulda Roxb. 9. Bambusa palliada Munro. 10. Dendrocalamus hookeri Munro Kohima, Wokha 11. Dendrocalamus hamiltonii Nees et Arn Munro. 12. Dendrocalamus giganteus (Munro). 13. Dendrocalamus calostachys (Kurz) Kurz; Phikrokezema, 14. Dendro calamusstrictus, 15. Schizostachyum polymorphum (Munro )Majumdar; (Psuedostachyum polymorphum (Munro).



Pure bamboo

Dense bamboo

Scattered bamboo

Clumps hacked

Bamboo regeneration

No bamboo

9,222 101 3,064 1,644 65 28 4,320



16. Schizostachyum dullooa(Gamble) Majumdar; (Teinostachyum dullooa (Gamble). 17. Schizostachyum fuchsianum(Gamble) Majumdar; (Cephalostachyum fuchsianum Gamble). 18. Melocanna baccifera (Roxb.) Kurz. (M.bambusoides Trin)

The total numbers of green sound culms in Nagaland are 1077 million and their equivalent weight is 6.150 million MT and dry sound culms in the state are 102 and their equivalent weight is 1.124 million MT. Thus the total estimated green weight of bamboo culms at state level is estimated to be 7.274 million MT.

Figure 29: Equivalent Green Weight Bamboo in Nagaland (million MT)


It is estimated that 5% of the 90 million tonnes existing bamboo resources valued at Rs 5000 crores @ Rs 555.56 per ton in the country is available in the State. This correspondingly works out to 4.5 million tonnes/Rs. 250 crores worth of present bamboo stock in the State. Even a two fold increase in value addition would mean Rs 500 crores worth of bamboo economy in the State at the present.

Bamboo is found extensively all over Nagaland. It occurs as a predominant plant in portions of the districts of Dimapur, Peren, Mon and Mokokchung while it is readily found mixed with other forests species in all other districts of the state. The bamboo growing area of the state is 4902 Sq. km and total growing stock is 3.66 million MT. There are 22 species of Bamboos occurring in the State. Most common among them are Kakoo, Daloo and Jati. They occur almost all along the lower belts of the state.

6.15

1.124

7.274

0 2 4 6 8

Green Culms

Dry Culms

Total



Figure 30: Bamboo Bearing Areas of Nagaland

Source: Nagaland Bamboo Mission Data

The bamboo development agency of the state targets to take up scientifically managed plantation in 50,000 hectares during the 11th five year plan and another 50,000 hectares by the 12th five year plan. About 10.00 lakh tonnes of quality bamboo raw material from the new plantations is therefore envisaged to be available for value addition by the end of the 12th five year plan. Out of the 10 lakh tonnes of bamboo raw material envisaged to be available with the culmination of the plantation programme in the two plan period, 3.5 lakh tonnes would be utilized by Tuli paper mill leaving out 6.5 tonnes for processing other bamboo value added products. The total bamboo economy anticipated to be generated from the resource development and the subsequent value addition is estimated at Rs 5000 crores.

Bamboo is an important resource in the socio-economic-ecological-climatic- functional context for Nagaland and the State has now taken a step in the initiative to harness the potential of bamboo and its benefits. The State announced its bamboo policy on 15th March 2004 and with it the Nagaland Bamboo Development Agency (NBDA) established to undertake the programs and activities of bamboo with the objective to foster in ecological security and economic growth through development and utilization of the bamboo resources.

Nagaland Bamboo Development Agency:

The Nagaland Bamboo Development Agency was established during 2004-05 with the onus to undertake the development of bamboo in the State both as a resource and as an enterprise. The agency is implementing bamboo development programs and projects with the assistance of the central Government of India through the National Bamboo Mission and the National Mission on Bamboo Applications, the State Government and also institutions both from within the country and aboard. The implementation of the programs and projects are being taken up in a mission mode.

Nagaland Bamboo Resource Centre, Dimapur

The NBRC was initially envisaged to be a Common Facility Centre but soon it has become a location for introduction of new technologies both for propagation and plantation as also new technologies for value addition and processing of Bamboo based products. The facilities, machinery and production lines that have been installed in the NBRC are being fully utilized and the NBRC is also now functioning as an



marketing their products.

Administrative Structure of NBDA:

The ageChairperson with the Agriculture Production Commissioner as the Member Secretary and wherein the Ministers and Administrative heads of all the Agro and allied departments are members of the governing body. The office of the NBDA is headed by a Mission Director and a Team Leader along with 16 (sixteen) members designated as Nagaland Bamboo Mission Implementation Members (NBM-IT). The NBM-IT is officials drawn from different departments of the State Government working on full time attachment with the agency. The office further manned by a support staff 18 personnel. At the grass root level, the agency has established the Village Bamboo Development Committees (VBDC) in all project villages to ensure community participation in the projects being taken up by the agency.

Bamboo Development Vision 2020 Approach:

The focus areas of bamboo development in the State are envisaged to be taken up in three phases. In the 1st phase or inception phase i.e. from 2007 to 2012, the focus shall be on augmenting existing resources, commoditization of bamboo with trust to existing industries and other immediately viable industries based on the available bamboo raw materials, building up infrastructures and institutional frame works. The 2nd phase or growth phase i.e. 2013 to 2017 would encompass trust to newer applications and augmenting the developments of the 1st phase. The third phase or consolidating phase i.e. 2018 to 2020.

FIRST PHASE 2007-2012:

1. Augmenting existing resources: Bamboo is a natural resource that is abundantly available in the state. It is estimated that about 5% of the national bamboo resource is available in the State. Despite of the availability of large resource of bamboo with diverse germ plasm, there is likely to be raw material availability constrains due to knowledge gap related to the raw material and accessibility problem. In the intended application specific area, adequate and consistent supply of quality raw material at reasonable cost is required for the development of value added application and enterprise. Augmenting existing resources of commercially viable bamboo species through scientifically managed plantations and regeneration shall therefore be a focus area of activity in the 1st phase.

2. Commoditization of bamboo: The uniqueness of the bamboo sector as well as its strength is in the involvement of the community and the utilization of the capabilities of the community towards primary processing of bamboo. Cluster based series of primary processing units with trust to existing industries shall be set up in the rural areas. Bamboo sticks/strips/stats/slivers, bamboo mats, bamboo charcoal, bamboo shoot etc. are some products of primary units. Establishment of other small and micro bamboo enterprise such as Venation blinds, Incense sticks, toothpicks, charcoal briquettes, furniture, and bamboo structural applications, conversion of plywood industries to bamboo ply-board industries and industrialization of handicrafts sector shall also be other areas of priority.

3. Establishment of institutional frame works and infrastructures base: Institutional frame works both in the government and the private sector needs to be worked and build. The setting up of institutions that would interconnect the various technical, research and financial institutions with endorsement from the existing institutions. Development of institutional capacities, Institutional mechanisms like formalizing the supply chain through contractual systems need to be put in place to enable the development of bamboo sector. Establishment of infrastructures such as roads, CFCs, bamboo resource centers, bamboo mini estates, and bamboo mandis etc. which are pre requisites to facilitate the growth of the bamboo sector shall be made.

SECOND PHASE 2013-2017:



1. Trust to new application of bamboo: This phase shall emphasis on the higher end new generation bamboo products through the establishment of secondary line of bamboo processing units that shall augment the growth of bamboo enterprise in the State.

2. Augmenting the developments of the 1st phase: The growth and development of bamboo has to be sustained and therefore the activities taken up in the 1st phase would require to be augmented as and where required even in the 2nd phase.

THIRD PHASE 2018-2020:

1. Consolidating the developments: By the end of the 2nd phase it is envisaged that the development and growth of bamboo enterprise in the State is substantially established. The focus therefore would be for product branding, marketing and profitability to consolidate the development.

Summary and Conclusion of the bamboo availability in North East India

Total bamboo growing stock in identified states of NER is 55.14 m MT, among which Arunachal Pradesh has the maximum growing stock of 14.43 m MT followed by Manipur (13.73 m MT), Assam (12.22 m MT), Meghalaya (7.49 m MT) and Nagaland (7.27 m MT).

Figure 31: Bamboo Growing Stock in North East India (million MT)


The total bamboo bearing area of the region is estimated to be 42,319 sq. km. Arunachal Pradesh has maximum bamboo bearing area of 16,083 sq. km followed by Manipur (9,303 sq. km), Assam (7,238 sq. km), Nagaland (4,902 sq. km) and Meghalaya (4,793 sq. km).

Thus is it evident from the above analysis that enough bamboo is available for the proposed bio-refinery project in North-East India. Therefore, only concern for NRL-Chempolis is the cost at which bamboo would be available at the factory gate and from where and how the bamboo should be sourced for the

14.43 12.22

7.49

13.73

7.27

55.14

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

ArunachalPradesh

Assam Meghalaya Manipur Nagaland Total

Bamboo Area (Sq. Km) Bamboo Stock (million MT)



sustainable supply. Analysis for the bamboo sourcing options and at the price it would be available at the proposed location of the bio refinery is provided in the sections below.

7.5. Bamboo Sourcing Options for NRL-Chempolis

7.5.1. Market Channels for Bamboo in North East India

In the NER, bamboo trading consists of collectors/growers at one end and the traders at the other. They have to collect their own products and sell it to the nearest market. The products are not sold through a fixed channel: 58 per cent sell it through another farmer, 71 per cent sell it through a local trader, whereas 47 per cent sell it through an agent who comes to collect it.

The means of transportation is either waterways or roadways, depending upon the season. From April to October, roadways are preferred whereas from May to September the waterways are used.

Waterways: The local people tie the bamboo in a bundle and float this bundle in the river. These floating bamboo bundles are calle -3000 bamboos in one chatta. There are three people required per chatta with the transportation rate being Rs. 200-300 per thousand pieces. It may take from seven days to one month for the bamboo to reach its destination depending on the flow of the river.

Roadways: Bamboo is transported by truck during winter (October to April). Trucks operate within a range of 20-40 km, with truck fare ranging from Rs 2500 to Rs 3500 per trip depending upon the distance. A single truck can accommodate approximately 10 tonnes of raw bamboo worth Rs 5000-6500.

Two different types of supply chains have been observed from the grower to the retailer or end-consumer, as in the case of paper mills.

Type One Supply Chain- Grower to Paper Mill

Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited (HPCL) a state-owned mill, is using approximately 0.9 million tonnes of bamboo every year in its plants at Jagi Road and Cachar in Assam. About 40 per cent of its supply comes from the leased forest while the rest is sourced from traders who in turn get it from the home-grown segment.

In the case of home-grown and community bamboo, the traders contact the village head or the key person there and ask him to arrange the supply at the nearest point from where it is transported to HPCL. The source of this supply is Lower Assam and Meghalaya for the Jagi Road plant and South Assam and Meghalaya for the Cachar plant.



Figure 32: Bamboo Supply Chain Model from Grower to Paper Mill


Type two: Supply Chain- Grower to Retail Market

Grower to retail markets through agents: Agents who have their own retail shops or who have large orders from outside the NER, move from village to village to procure bamboo from the village headmen or the locals directly. These agents operate on a commission basis.

Grower to retail markets through traders: Traders operate as intermediaries between agents. The margins at each stage are shared between the traders and the agents. In the case of traders, the title to the goods passes from the grower to the trader.



Figure 33: Bamboo Supply Chain Model from Grower to Retail Market


7.5.2. Bamboo Procurement Options for NRL-Chempolis

Bamboo can be primarily sourced from the following three sources:

1. State Governments & Other Government Agencies: Bamboo can be procured from the forest department and the state bamboo mission for the bio-refinery. These government agencies can act as nodal agency and can coordinate on the supply of bamboo by involving the communities and also to synergize with the plantation activities of National Bamboo Mission programs being implemented in the state under the aegis of Forest Department. They can also help in primary processing of bamboo for supply to NRL under an MOU or long term agreement. They will support supply of bamboo to NRL in the proposed Bio Refinery on regular basis provided the community benefits and get better deal than the present system being supplied to HPC.

2. Contractors: Bamboo can be sourced from the contractors directly to the NRL-Chempolis proposed bio-refinery. Contractors purchase the bamboo from the farmers and are involved in transporting bamboo to bazaars in large urban centers where manufacturers are willing to purchase them or directly to paper mills. These traders possess personal contacts with manufacturers.

3. Bamboo Plantation: Bamboo can be sourced for the proposed bio refinery by captive plantation of bamboo too. In this model, NRL can take help of agencies like APEDA and SFAC as these are the nodal agencies promoting agricultural processed products including bamboo and they can also create a group of bamboo farmers too for NRL. Agencies like NABARD can



also help in creating awareness in promoting bamboo plantation in non-forest areas/home grown areas in Assam. They can help by providing list of bamboo growers who have been supported by NABARD. NERAMAC who used to supply bamboo to HPC from forest contractor can also help NRL in bamboo plantation by providing good planting materials (seeds, tissue cultures plants and seedlings). All these agencies have a club, growers and producers group who can take up bamboo plantation in Assam in Forest area.

Figure 34: Pros and Cons of Different Bamboo Sourcing Options


Taking into consideration the above pros and cons, it would be good for NRL-Chempolis to procure bamboo from state government and its agencies for sustainable and reliable supply.

7.5.3. Bamboo Sourcing Options for NRL-Chempolis in various States

7.5.3.1. Assam

1. From where and From Whom to Source: In Assam, bamboo can be procured from bamboo rich regions of Cachar, Karbi Along, North Cachar Hills, Nagaon and Lakhimpur. Bamboo can be procured from Karbi Along and Dima Haso Autonomous Districts Council, NERAMAC and Assam bamboo mission on a long term basis. These all are government agencies and can supply bamboo on a sustainable basis at competitive price as compared to contractors. Involving the State government agencies in the project can also be helpful for NRL-Chempolis as then the support can be provided by National Bamboo Mission in plantation and setting up of processing unit. These government bodies can also help NRL in taking care of transit passes and other legal issues during transportation as they have expertise in handling bamboo supply to HPC earlier.



The district which is under the Dima Haso Autonomous District Council, Government of Assam is one of the highest bamboo producing districts of Assam which is the key supplier of bamboo to both the paper mills of HPC located in Assam. Bamboo forests in the district is leased to the paper mills on long term and appoints contractors who harvest bamboo and supply to paper mills after paying taxes and royalty to the Forest department. The harvesting of bamboo from the forest is approved by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Regional Office for NE Region under approved working plan which is submitted by the Council to MoEF every year the harvesting in the district is always less than the approved working plan and as such availability of bamboo will not be an issue from the district. About 1 lakh metric tonnes of bamboo can be made available annually to NRL from the District alone.

NERAMAC have offices in all NE states and capable of handling such bamboo marketing operations. They had earlier supplied bamboo to HPC after collecting it from the forest contractors but as the price was not rewarding and it was not benefiting the community/farmers so farmers had stopped supplying bamboo to mills. They can be reorganized in the region and can again motivate bamboo growers to supply bamboo if the proposed requirement of feed sock and price are remunerative to the corporation.

onsortium can help NRL-Chempolis in bamboo sourcing by creating group of bamboo farmers in the State. In this project they can help by providing list of farmers assisted by SFAC for plantation in farm lands.

Apart from government agencies NRL-Chempolis can also procure bamboo from various contractors at the current rate at the time of supply. As these contractors have organized set up of supply chain and marketing of bamboo in place so these contractors can take care of transit passes and legal issues. But they are not reliable and sustainable sources for bamboo procurement. In their case price volatility and irregular supply are the major areas of concern for NRL-Chempolis. In Assam, bamboo can be procured from contractors such as Hill trade agencies, JDB group and Green belt industries etc. Green Belt industry owns its own land and also community land owned by Hmar tribes of Assam in Cachar District of Assam which is available for growing bamboo and they can supply bamboo bio refinery. They are currently undertaking bamboo plantation of B.Tulda (Jati) bamboo under pilot basis in the community land. Whereas, JDB is consortium of bamboo supplier to Hindustan Paper mills both in Nagaon Paper Mill and Cachar Paper Mill in Assam. They are procuring bamboo from Assam mainly from Forest department and also from Home grown bamboo. Their group is able to supply almost 60% to 75% of bamboo required by HPC. They also supply other items like coal and Chemicals required by HPC. Annually they harvest about 3.5 Lakh metric tonnes of bamboo from various parts of Assam including Mizoram. They also suffered procurement of bamboo due to ban on extracting bamboo from Mizoram after the flowering of bamboo.

2. How to Source: Different types of transportation either waterways, railways and roadways can be followed, depending upon the season. From April to October, roadways & railways are preferred whereas from May to September the waterways can be used.

Roadways: Assam has total road length of approximately 37,555 kms covering both metaled and non-metaled surfaces. It has 48 km of roads per 100 sq. km of area. At present, there are 2 road-cum-rail bridges and one road bridge over the river Brahmaputra. The fourth bridge over the river near Dibrugarh is under construction and a fifth bridge in Guwahati is also coming up. The Government is also taking action for three more bridges over the Brahmaputra at Dhola, Jorhat, Nematighat and Dhubri Phulbari.



Figure 35: Road Network of Assam


Bamboo can be sourced from the rich bamboo areas of Assam through road network via National Highways and State Highways. Bamboo from Dima Haso district, Karbi Along district and other areas of lower Assam can be brought to proposed bio refinery. In Dima Haso, one centralized bamboo processing unit can be put up where bamboo from the nearby districts can be collected and processed into flattened shapes so that large amount of bamboo can be loaded into one truck at a time and can be easily transported to refinery location. Similarly, bamboo from the west Assam can be transported after processing at Goalpara, Kamrup and Nagaon or at one centralized location among three and then from there flattened bamboo can be transported via NH 15 or NH 37. Bamboo from upper Assam can be transported in the same way from NH 15 or NH 37.

Railways: The total rail network in Assam is approximately 3950 kilometers. All the major cities, such as Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Jorhat, Nagaon, Guwahati, Tezpur, Barpeta and Bongaigaon are connected by the railway network within the state. The Broad Gauge line connection is up to Dibrugarh and Metre Gauge line with Haflong and Silchar.

North-East Frontier Railway operating in the state of Assam has major plans to increase the railway connectivity and improve the existing facilities to facilitate and increase the movement of freight and passengers through railways. The gauge conversion works of railway track on the North banks of Brahmaputra River along with the new railway bridge across Brahmaputra at Bogibeel near Dibrugarh will provide alternate rail connectivity to the upper Assam region. The main rail track on Bahraini-Katha-Guwahati will be electrified for faster movement. For improving the freight movement through railways and for faster & reliable goods movement rolling stock examination facilities have been created on N.F. Railway. The Hill Section between Lumding and Badarpur is being converted to broad-gauge which will improve transportation of essential commodities and industrial raw materials and final products to & from south Assam. The Barak valley region will be connected with Tripura through the new Silchar-Agartala railway line.



.

Figure 36: Rail Network of Assam


Bamboo can be sourced from the bamboo bearing areas by railways to nearby railway station from where it can be further transported by small wagons or trucks till refinery location. Transportation through railways though economical bamboo quantity would be large.

Inland waterways: combined navigable length of around a thousand kilometers.

i) River Brahmaputra with a navigable length of 891 km from Sadiya to Dhubri and ii) River Barak having a navigable length of 94 km

The Directorate of Inland Water Transport, Assam operates water transport services on the river Brahmaputra and Barak on commercial basis. These services are used for the transportation of passengers and goods alike across the State and to neighboring West Bengal. The present cargo handling capacity of the fleet is nearly 10,000 metric tonnes. Two Government-owned organizations, namely Central Inland Waterways Corporation and Directorate of Inland Waterways, Assam jointly operate water transport services on the river Brahmaputra and Barak on a commercial basis. These services are used for the transportation of both the goods and passengers. For some of the parts in the state inland waterways is the only mode of transportation. Assam's internal waterway network also connects it to Bangladesh that offers the state an access to the ports of Chittagong (Bangladesh), Kolkata and Haldia (India).

The local people through traders tie the bamboo in a bundle and float this bundle in the river. These in the local language. There are 2000-3000 bamboos in one

chatta. There are three people required per chatta with the transportation rate being Rs. 200-300 per thousand pieces. It may take from seven days to one month for the bamboo to reach its destination depending on the flow of the river.



.

Figure 37: Inland Water Network of Assam

Source: Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region

To conclude, there are multiple sources from where and from whom bamboo may be sourced in Assam for the proposed biorefinery project. However, the competing sources of supply of bamboo paper mills in Assam procure bamboo pose a challenge in terms of sourcing the entire requirement of bamboo for the proposed project from Assam at a reasonable price.

Also, as a first step towards tying up for bamboo supply in Assam, NRL-Chempolis officials met up with the officials of Dima Hasao Autonomous District Council followed by a letter from NRL dated 25th February 2015 seeking support from the Council for supply of required quantity of bamboo to the proposed biorefinery project. request for bamboo supply by way of a formal letter clearly stating At present the bamboo of the Council are being supplied to H.P.C. Mills at Cachar and Morigaon Districts of Assam by the approved contractors after fulfilling terms and conditions and paying the royalty etc. About 75,000 Tonnes of Bamboo can be harvested by N.R.L. for the planned Bio Refinery from Dima Hasao Autonomous Council with proper scientific planning.

The details of bamboo procurement may be worked out after getting confirmed order and signing of Mwith the Council/JFMCS/community representatives.



7.5.3.2. Arunachal Pradesh

1. From Where and From Whom to Source: In Arunachal Pradesh, bamboo can be procured from bamboo rich regions of Changlang, West Kameng , Lohit, Papum pare and other districts adjoining the boundaries of Assam. Bamboo is not being utilized commercially as there is no major bamboo industry in the state. The bamboo resources are also not exploited by paper mills in Assam and the present consumption is mainly for household and local consumption for daily uses, so lot of bamboo is available in the region for other uses.

Bamboo can be procured from Arunachal Pradesh Bamboo Resource Development Agency and being the Nodal agency for one point sourcing of bamboo from the state. They will be responsible for organizing Community based producer Groups, Self Help Groups (SHGs), Cooperatives to collect and processed bamboo from both community and forest lands. They can supply bamboo on a sustainable basis and at competitive price. Involving government agency in the project can also be helpful for NRL-Chempolis as then the support can be provided by National Bamboo Mission in plantation and setting up of processing unit. They can also help NRL in taking care of transit passes and other legal issues during transportation as they have expertise in handling bamboo supply to HPC earlier. State Bamboo Mission along with SFRI with support of NBM will help in the organizational, skill and capacity building of the farmers.

collections centers nearby bamboo growing areas. Awareness and motivation is needed for more farmers and communities involvement in this venture so that benefit of bamboo economics will be with them for long term business model.

2. How to Source: Processed bamboo can be sourced best through road network by chipping or flattening bamboo so that large amount of bamboo can be transported. Most of the bamboo growing districts are having common boundary with Assam and transportation through roads will be easy and viable.

Roadways: Arunachal Pradesh has two highways: the 336 km National Highway 52, completed in 1998, which connects Jonai with Dirak, and another highway, which connects Tezpur in Assam with Tawang. As of 2007, every village has been connected by road. All places of the state are well connected to Assam, which has increased trading activity. An additional National Highway is being constructed following the Stillwell Ledo Road, which connects Ledo in Assam to Jairampur in Arunachal. Work on the ambitious 2,400 km two-lane Trans-Arunachal Highway Project announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 31 January 2008, was scheduled to be completed by 2015 16 but now due to political and social reasons it may take some time.

In 2014, two major highways were proposed to be built in the state: East-West Industrial Corridor Highway, Arunachal Pradesh in the lower foot hills of the state and 2,000-kilometre-long Mago-Thingbu to Vijaynagar Arunachal Pradesh Frontier Highway along the McMahon Line.



Figure 38: Road Network of Arunachal Pradesh

Source: Department of Industries Website, Government of Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh got its first railway line in late 2013 with the opening of the new link line from Harmuti on the main Rangpara North-Murkongselak railway line to Naharlagun in Arunachal Pradesh. The construction of the 33 kilometer 1,676 mm (5 ft. 6 in) broad gauge railway line was completed in 2012, and the link became operational after the gauge conversion of the main line under Project Unigauge. The state capital Itanagar was connected via the newly-built 20 kilometer Harmuti-Naharlagun railway line, when a train from Dekargaon in Assam reached Naharlagun railway station, 10 kilometers from the centre of Itanagar, a total distance of 181 kilometers. India plans to eventually extend the railway to Tawang, near the border with China.



Figure 39: Road Map of Arunachal Pradesh


Keeping in consideration the train route from Naharlagun, Arunachal Pradesh to Dekargaon, Assam, the bamboo can be procured from Arunachal Pradesh till Dekargaon by train and then from where it can be transported to bio-refinery location by truck.

7.5.3.3. Nagaland

1. From where and from whom to Source: In Nagaland, bamboo can be procured from the portions of the districts of Dimapur, Peren, Mon and Mokokchung. Bamboo is not being utilized commercially as there is no major bamboo industry in the state after the abolishment of Tuli paper mill.

Bamboo can be procured from Nagaland Bamboo Development Agency (NBDA) as it is the lead agency for promotion and development of bamboo in the state and most of its activities are being funded by NBM and under state plan budgets. They will be responsible for organizing Community based producer Groups, SHGs, Co Ops to collect and processed bamboo from both community and forest lands. They can supply bamboo on a sustainable basis and at competitive price. Involving government agency in the project can also be helpful for NRL-Chempolis as the support can be provided by National Bamboo Mission in plantation and setting up of processing unit. The state can supply at an attractive rate which will be lower than the present rates being



procured by the paper mills in Assam. State Bamboo Mission along with SFRI with support of NBM will help in the organizational, skill and capacity building of the farmers. Communities

nearby bamboo growing areas. Awareness and motivation is needed for more farmers and communities involvement in this venture so that benefit of bamboo economics will be with them for long term business model.

2. How to Source: Processed bamboo can be sourced best through road network as most of the bamboo growing districts are having common boundary with Assam and transportation will be easy and viable. Bamboo can be transported by chipping or flattening bamboo so that large amount of bamboo can be transported.

Roadways: Nagaland has a road network of 9,860 kms. As many as 900 villages in the state are connected by roads. In the absence of a well-developed railway and air network, Nagaland relies heavily on its road network. Dimapur is the only city in the state of Nagaland to have a railway station and an airport.

Figure 40: Road Map of Nagaland


From the above figure, it has been clear that Nagaland is well connected to other states of North East and bamboo can be easily transported from bamboo rich regions through NH 39, NH 61 and NH 155 to other states.

Railways: Dimapur is the only city to have railway station in Nagaland. It is a railway station on the Lumding-Dibrugarh. The 1,676 mm (5 ft. 6 in) wide metre gauge railway track earlier laid by Assam Bengal Railway from Chittagong to Lumding was extended to Tinsukia on the Dibru-Sadiya line in 1903. The project for the conversion of the Lumding-Dibrugarh section from metre gauge to 1,676 mm (5 ft. 6 in) wide broad gauge was completed by the end of 1997. There is new project i.e. the 123-kilometre long Dimapur-Zumba-Kohima railway line project has the status of a National Project and it would be completed by 2018.

So bamboo can be transported easily from Dimapur to cities surrounding Lumding by train and at a lower cost than roadways.



7.5.3.4. Meghalaya

1. From where and from whom to Source: In Meghalaya, bamboo can be procured from the bamboo growing areas of Khasi hills, Garo hills and Jaintia hills.

Bamboo can be procured from Autonomous District Council and Meghalaya Forest Development Corporation on a long term basis. Presently bamboo is supplied to Hindustan paper mills in Nagaon, Jagi Road and Cachar paper mill, Assam from the community through traders / forest contractors. The Meghalaya Forest Development Corporation is responsible for issuing permit and collection of taxes from the contractors. MFDC is the nodal office for supply of bamboo to Hindustan paper mills in Assam. They engaged contractors to collect bamboo mainly from the community forest / home grown land and supply to HPC. Only 4% of the land is under forest department and most of the bamboo is from private land. They issue challan and also charge management fee of Rs.130/- per ton of raw bamboo. 5% VAT is also applicable on raw bamboo by Taxation in Meghalaya. MFDC appoint contractors through tender system for appointing the contractors who are registered with MFDC. Most of the bamboo is collected from East, West Khasi hills and Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya and they are not venturing to Garo Hills districts due to logistics and disturbances. They are interested in supplying bamboo to NRL and bamboo supply to NRL requires to be organized properly with the community participation and scientific management NRL can get good bamboo feedstock annually about 1 lakh tonnes and above tonnes of bamboo can be made available from MFDC source. The forest Department and the Meghalaya State Bamboo Mission will help support supply of bamboo to NRL in the proposed Bio Refinery on regular basis provided the community benefits and get better deal than the present system being supplied to HPC.

2. How to Source: Processed bamboo can be sourced best through road network as most of the bamboo growing districts are having common boundary with Assam and transportation will be easy and viable. Bamboo can be transported by chipping or flattening bamboo so that large amount of bamboo can be transported. Bamboo from Meghalaya can be sourced primarily by roadways as Meghalaya does not have any rail head. Brief description of the road and rail infrastructure of the state is explained below:

Roadways: State has a total road length of 2786.68 kms including 174 km of National Highways with road density of 12.42 km per 100 square kilometer. Considerable achievement has since been made after attainment of statehood, and up to the end of 4th year of the 11th Five Year Plan total road length has reached up to 9350 kms; out of which 5857 km is surface and the remaining 3493 km is un-surface. The road density has increased to 41.69 km per 100 square

it is still far below the national average of 75 km per 100 sq. km. Out of 5782 numbers of villages in the state 2992 numbers are connected by road.



Figure 41: Road Map of Meghalaya


Railways: Meghalaya does not have any railhead. The Cherra Companyganj State Railways was a former mountain railway through the state. Guwahati (103 km from Shillong) is the nearest railway station connecting the North-East region with the rest of the country through a broad gauge track network. There is a plan for extending the rail link from Guwahati to Burnihat (20 km From Guwahati) within Meghalaya.

7.5.3.5. Manipur

From Where and From Whom to Source: In Meghalaya, bamboo can be procured from the bamboo growing areas of Churachandpur, Tamenglong, Jiribam, Chandel and Ukhrul. Total bamboo growing stock in the state is 13.72 m/MT and the total requirement of bamboo in the state is 4.50 lakh MT. Thus it has enough bamboo available which can be used for different industries. Bamboo can be procured from Manipur State Bamboo Mission on a long term basis. It is the Apex Body for bamboo related activity in the state. They will be responsible for supply of bamboo through the Bamboo Development Agency and Joint Forest Management Corporations in the districts. They will be responsible for organizing Community based producer Groups, SHGs, Co Ops to collect and processed bamboo from both community and forest lands. organize small and micro bamboo processing units at various collections centers nearby bamboo growing areas with support of Manipur State Bamboo Mission. The state is also supported by NBM for plantation related activities in forest and non-forest areas. The Manipur State Bamboo Mission is responsible for issuing permit and collection of taxes from the contractors. They engaged contractors to collect bamboo mainly from the community forest / home grown land and supply to consumers.



How to Source: Processed bamboo can be sourced best through road network or rail network. The proposed 4 lane National Highway and the train connection through Tamenglong District will be a good communication for transportation of bamboo from Manipur via Jiribam which is on the Assam- Manipur boarder. Brief description of the road and rail infrastructure of the state is explained

Roadways: Manipur has a 1915 kms road length surfaced (675 km State Highways, 964 kms MDR, 130 kms Other District Roads, 146 kms Inter Village Roads). There are three National Highways, viz., N.H-39, N.H- 53 and N.H-150 crisscross the State connecting all districts. The Saurashtra-Silchar Super Highway project is being extended to Moreh. With the proposed Moreh to Mae Sot (Thailand)

-East Asia.

The Central Government of India declared Tipaimukh Road, a State Highway in Manipur, a National Highway (NH 150) on 6 January 1999. The total length of this highway is 700 km, and is the third National Highway passing through the state of Manipur, together with NH 53 and NH 39. This highway has been proposed to connect three bordering states in Northeast India, viz. Mizoram (141 km), Manipur (523 km) and Nagaland (36 km). The highway stretch starts from Seling (NH 54) in Mizoram through Tipaimukh-Imphal-Ukhrul-Jessami in Manipur and terminates at a junction with NH-53 in Nagaland (km 0 at Kohima). Whereas NH 53 connect Badarpur, Assam with Imphal, Manipur. NH 53 starts from the junction of NH 44 at Badarpur and covers a distance of 320 km, of which 100 km is in Assam and 220 km is in Manipur.

Railways: Manipur is on the thresh -39 links Imphal with railhead at Dimapur in Nagaland, 215 km. to the north. NH-53 links Imphal with railhead at Jiribam, 225 km. in the South-West. The bridge, which spans over a gorge with an overall length of about 700 meters, is part of the 111-km long Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal broad gauge railway line under construction. It will connect Manipur's Capital Imphal with the other states railway network.



Figure 42: Rail Map of Manipur


Jiribam is located on the western most boundary of the State, adjoining Cachar district of Assam. It is also known as the western gate of Manipur. Jiribam has Manipur's first railway station. The metre gauge track from Lumding to Silchar is being converted to broad gauge under project uni-gauge and is recognized as a national project. On completion of this, Jiribam will have extended connectivity to rest of North East. A project to connect Imphal through Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal rail project is being executed and is expected to complete by 2018. Thus if NRL-Chempolis need to transport bamboo through railway from Manipur then Jiribam has to be made as a centralized processing and collection centre from where bamboo can be transported till Lumding, Assam by Rail and then from Lumding to other parts of the state either by different train or trucks.

7.5.4. Conclusions from Bamboo

In terms of bamboo sourcing for the project, Arunachal Pradesh emerges as the first priority state followed by Manipur and Nagaland in that order.

The study area for the present analysis encompasses the five states of North East India. Bamboo production data in different states of NER were analyzed to determine the areas in NER with the highest concentrations of bamboo

The states have been evaluated using the below matrix. The matrix assigns the favorability for different desirable feedstock sourcing attributes such as bamboo availability, bamboo flowering, Climate, Price Favorability etc.

7.5.5. Site Selection and Evaluation for Bio-refinery

Bio-refinery Site Evaluation Criteria

The site selection criteria are used to find out the most suitable locations for a bio-refinery project. Favorable bioethanol plant site encompasses many factors such as proximity of feedstock, good infrastructure facilities such as power, rail and road access, climatic issues, Government support, local issues. These criteria provide guidance in the selection of a favorable plant sites and are also helpful in evaluating competing locations. Each criterion is assigned maximum points that indicate the relative

7. Feedstock Assessment - Pollution Control Board, Assam

Documents

Transcript of 7. Feedstock Assessment - Pollution Control Board, Assam