Nayagarh, Jan. 2 : Jangal Surkshya Mahasangha, a federation of the forest protection groups has demanded a hike in the prices of kendu leaves (KL).

Demanding a KL policy on the lines of Madhya Pradesh, where the entire profit is ploughed back to the pluckers, the mahasangha in a statement said, the kendu leaf pluckers are currently paid a measely 20 paise per "keri" (a bunch of 20 leaves) while the government itself earns a revenue between Rs. 70 and Rs. 100 crore per year from the trade.

Welcoming last year's decision to pay compensation to the kendu leaf pluckers in case of death during plucking, they have demanded inclusion of all adult members of the family concerned in the card issued by the Forest Department.At present, the card is issued to a single member of the family.