Not seeing the forest for the trees, is the same thing India has been doing in the case of Bamboo. Bamboo is an interesting product as it is the largest form of grass which is often mistaken as a tree moreover it has an even more interesting position in India. Bamboo is used in Culinary as they are low in calories and rich in fibre Bamboo leaves can also be used for making tea. Bamboo can be used in furniture or constructing houses in areas where the availability of wood is a concern. As it requires less water to grow and acts more or even better than wood in terms of strength and durability it is a perfect alternative for wood. Bamboo bridges for pedestrians can be sighted in Assam, Meghalaya and China. Clothes, Rugs, Paper and musical instruments are some other uses of Bamboo.

The Indian Forest Act of 1927 listed bamboo as a category of trees. As it was categorised under the term forest-produce and to claim any right over such produce The Forest Settlement Officer had to pass an order. To obtain such an order was a serious task and take years to get assent. This law put the bamboo farmers in a difficult situation as they could not harvest or sell their crops (Refer to sections 11-14 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927).

India is the second largest producer of Bamboo after China. Bamboo in India is grown covering an area of 15 Million Hectares. India is home to more than 136 species of bamboo, yet India imports 3600 crores worth of Bamboo every year from countries like Vietnam and China. The country that is abundant in bamboo production had to import bamboo from other countries as lawmakers mistook bamboo for a tree.

The global bamboo market is growing fast and is estimated to be around 59.3 billion dollars. India being the second largest producer of Bamboo has huge potential to become part of global exports. India exports only 4% of Bamboo to the global market. The country has huge potential to contribute more to the global exports of Bamboo by amending the concerned laws.

The Modi government settled the 90-year dispute by categorising bamboo as grass and amending section 2(7) of the Indian Forest Act, of 1927 by introducing the bill of The Indian Forest (Amendment) Bill, 2017 which got passed in both houses and got the president’s assent in the year 2018.

Now bamboo in India is officially grass, and the bamboo farmers can harvest bamboo without any fear of governmental action and suffer less bribing and dealing with the concerned officials for transporting the same. Bamboo has a huge demand of 29 million tonnes in India itself, many people in India still lack good housing and excessive urbanisation can be balanced by growing more bamboo as it requires less water to grow on the other hand it produces 35% more oxygen than other plants.