The Rubber Board has submitted a proposal to the Union government to promote rubber cultivation in Maoist-affected areas of States such as Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
In a chat with presspersons on the sidelines of a meeting of rubber growers here on Thursday, chairperson of the board Sheela Thomas said the areas “disturbed” by Maoist activities in these States were suited to grow rubber.
In addition to Kerala and Karnataka, where rubber was being grown predominantly, it was also being cultivated in the north-eastern States except Sikkim, she said. The board was also promoting rubber cultivation in some parts of Maharashtra.
To a query on the board’s proposal to set up a nursery-cum-demonstration rubber plantation in Karnataka on 150 acres of land, Ms. Thomas said the board wrote to the Karnataka government seeking land two years ago.
“The government is seriously considering it. It has not gone out of their radar,” she said. Such a nursery would help meet the plant requirements of growers. The board could also showcase good agricultural practices if there was a demonstration area, she said.
