Gadchiroli: Maharashtra govt has signed an MoU with BAIF to launch a Special Tasar Silk Development Project in Gadchiroli, aiming to create sustainable livelihoods and improve incomes of more than 2,270 tribal farming families.The agreement was signed at Mantralaya in presence of CM Devendra Fadnavis and textiles minister Sanjay Savkare. Senior officials from the directorate of sericulture and BAIF attended the ceremony.The project seeks to harness Gadchiroli’s rich forest resources and favourable ecosystem for tasar sericulture, a traditional silk-rearing activity that has long supported tribal communities in eastern Vidarbha.Maharashtra produces both mulberry and tasar silk. Eastern Vidarbha districts of Gadchiroli, Chandrapur, Bhandara and Gondia together have nearly 44,500 acres of host trees required for tasar silkworm rearing, with around 3,000 tribal families already dependent on the sector for their livelihood.The new project will establish private tasar seed production centres, promote seed and commercial cocoon production, and develop post-cocoon processing and value addition facilities. Farmers will also receive technical guidance, skill development and capacity-building support to improve productivity and market access.Officials said the initiative would place special emphasis on the economic and social empowerment of Scheduled Tribe communities and women, while generating employment across rural and tribal areas.The government expects the project to strengthen the local economy and advance its vision of self-reliant tribal development through sustainable, community-based enterprise.
