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Maharashtra government plans non-alcoholic products from mohua flowers

Tribals use flowers to manufacture liquor for self-consumption in scheduled areas

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Govt has plans to manufacture products like laddoos, biscuits, jams, toffees, candies, puranpolis, jellies and juices from mohua flowers—For representation purpose only
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Soon, you will be able to eat jams, toffees, sweets and biscuits manufactured from the flowers of the humble mohua tree with the state government pulling up its socks to promote products made out of it.

These edible flowers of the tropical 'Madhuca longifolia' are otherwise known for their use in the manufacture of heady country liquor by tribals in areas like Gadchiroli and Chandrapur in Vidarbha.

The state government is planning a push for non-alcoholic products like biscuits, jams, toffees and candies, puranpolis, laddoos, jellies and juices manufactured from the flowers. Apart from being a cheap source of nutrition for people, this will also help local tribals and labourers earn more through collection and processing of these flowers, thus raising their standard of living.

Presently, tribals can use the flowers to manufacture liquor for self-consumption in scheduled areas (areas covered under the tribal sub-plan, which in turn covers about 16.5% of Maharashtra's geographical span).

"We are planning to make value-addition to this produce through the Maharashtra State Medicinal Plants and Forest Produce Co-operative Marketing Federation and make it marketable," finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, who is also the state's forest minister, told dna. In his maiden budget, Mungantiwar had proposed the set up of the body.

"We can make mohua into products like jams, biscuits, sherbets, candy, puranpolis and jelly. This is very nutritious. We can market these products across the state right down to the district level through the federation," added Mungantiwar. He noted that the mohua flowers had more nutrients like proteins and calcium than apples, mangoes, and raisins.

Mungantiwar hence stressed that since non-alcoholic products could be made from processed mohua, it was not necessary to set up wineries and distilleries to make liquor out of these flowers.

To give employment to tribals and farmers, Maharashtra has already set up a centre to collect and process mohua flowers at Gadchiroli. The flower collectors are given a minimum support price (MSP) in return for their produce and jams and sherbets are being prepared from this raw material and sold. Till now, around 3,000 bottles of jam and 7,000 bottles of sherbet have been sold. The gram sabha has the rights over forest produce, including mohua.

The state has plans to strengthen and expand this pilot project to set up more such centres in other forest areas. Since mohua has high sugar content, it can be used as an alternative to cane sugar. It can also be used to make ethanol for industrial purposes.

In the budget, Mungantiwar had announced that to effectively implement Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 and Forest Rights Act, 2006, a three-tier co-operative federation would be set up. Through this authority, it will be possible to regulate the collection, grading, storage, selling of medicinal plants and aromatic trees like tendu and enable locals to get reasonable prices for their produce.

This federation will work to make available technological inputs and marketing know-how to tribals to strengthen them economically.

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