ITANAGAR, 28 Jul: The Rubber Board of India, in collaboration with the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association, has launched the Indian Natural Rubber Organisation for Assisted Development (INROAD) project to boost rubber cultivation across the northeastern states.
The project aims at providing free planting materials and other benefits to enhance rubber-growing areas in the region. It targets to expand rubber-growing areas across the northeastern states – where Arunachal Pradesh is the largest shareholder – by two lakh hectares within five years (2021-2025), a release from the Rubber Board’s regional office here said.
The regional office has set a target of distributing free rubber planting materials for over an area of 3,500 hectares for the current year.
Under this scheme, rubber growers are eligible for benefits up to 20 hectares of rubber plantation, but assistance will be provided for only two hectares of new planting or replanting per beneficiary annually.
However, considering the population density and landholding, assistance can be extended up to five hectares per beneficiary in Arunachal, with prior approval from the board.
The minimum eligible area is 0.10 hectares of contiguous land. The land must meet the Rubber Board’s standards for rubber cultivation, with paddy fields and reserve forests being ineligible for assistance, it said.
Absolute land ownership is a prerequisite for applicants, and additional criteria can be clarified by contacting the nearest Rubber Board office.
“Natural rubber is a versatile raw material used in about 40,000 products, with the automobile sector being the major consumer (70 percent) in the country. The INROAD scheme presents an excellent opportunity for the northeastern states to utilise their vast plantable areas for socioeconomic development and sustainable livelihoods through rubber cultivation,” the release added.
