GUWAHATI, Sept 6 � Assam plans to go big in rubber production with it deciding to start rubber cultivation in 50,000 hectares of land in the next five years. The Soil and Conservation Department will be the nodal agency. This was informed by Soil Conservation and Irrigation Minister Dr Ardhendu Dey at a press conference here today.
�We have not been able to do justice to our potential as far as rubber cultivation is concerned. Assam has a potential cultivation area of around two lakh hectares and we have decided to cash in on it by resorting to massive plantation drive,� Dr Dey said, adding: �If things go as planned, the State will leave behind Tripura, the largest rubber producing State after Kerala.�
He hoped that like Tripura, where even former militants after coming overground have involved themselves in rubber plantation, the large scale cultivation will give employment to hundreds of people.
The department has identified cultivation areas located mostly in lower Assam.
�The demand for rubber is increasing day by day and it is expected that in the next 20-25 years, there will be international and domestic shortage of rubber, which is why prioritizing rubber plantation is crucial,� said Dr Prem Saran, Commissioner and Secretary, Soil Conservation Department.
He also stated that the department has urged the authority concerned to enhance the subsidy in the 12th Plan allocation.
The average annual production of rubber in Assam is 1,080 kilogram per hectare.
Meanwhile, Assam will observe September 22 as Rubber Day which will be marked by planting one lakh saplings covering an area of 200 hectares. The districts to be covered are Kamrup (Rural), Kamrup (Metro), Goalpara, Dhubri, Morigaon, Nagaon and Golaghat. Besides, civil subdivisions selected are Hojai, Kaliabor, Rangiya, Bilasipara, South Salmara, Bokakhat and Dhansiri.
Officials of the Rubber Board also deliberated on the status of rubber production in the State.
