Welcome to Tripura

Presented by :
Gopalan Nair,

K.S. Raja
Joint RPC, NRETC,

Agartala.

RUBBER IN TRIPURA
Tripura:
At
a
Glance
Tripura is a state in North-East
India. It shares borders with
Bangladesh, Mizoram and Assam.
Tripura is surrounded by
Bangladeshonitsnorth,southand
west. The length of its
internationalborder is 856km(84
per cent of its total border). The
state is connected with the rest of
India by NH-44 that runs through
Assam, Meghalaya, North Bengal,
KolkataandotherpartsofIndia.

Particulars
Area
Population
Capital
OfficialLanguages

OtherLanguages

Altitude
Temperature

RainySeason

Description
10,491.69sq.km.
36,73,917(asperCensus2011)
Agartala
Bengali,KokborokandEnglish

Mogh,Chakma,Halam,Garo,BishnupriyaManipuri,Manipuri,Hindi,Oriyaetc.

12.80meters
Summer:20to36C.
Winter:7to27C.Winter2.CMin
JunetoSeptember

AverageRainfall

2500mmperannum

HighestRainfall

2855mm(Kamalpur)

LowestRainfall

1811mm(Sonamura)

LiteracyRate

87.8%(asrecordedin2011Census).Asperrecentdata,theliteracyrateisaround96%.

1.Introduction :
The erstwhile princely state of Tripura was merged
with Indian Union in 1949 and became a full-fledged
state on 21st January of 1972. Tripura is located in the
South West extreme corner of the North Eastern region
with a geographical area of 10,492 sq. km. The state is
divided in to 8 districts, 23 Subdivisions, 45 blocks and
had one Tribal Area Autonomous Council (TTAADC).
The population of Tripura as per the 2011 census is
approximately 36.71 lakhs, comprising of 31% ST &
17%SCcategory.

2.

History of Rubber in Tripura :

The history of Rubber in Tripura dates back to

1963 when the State Forest Department, with the
technical support of the Rubber Board, introduced
rubber as a measure for soil conservation. It was a
humble beginning with 8.14 ha in 196364. After
seeing the adaptability of rubber in the new
environment, the Rubber Board thought of
proliferating rubber in the State and the State
Government profusely supported it. Latter the
daring pioneers taken it as a venture and gradually
domesticated crops. In 1976 Tripura Forest
Development and Plantation Corporation (TFDPC)
have been set up which brought big leap in
expansion of rubber mostly in denuded forest land
with the assistance of the Rubber Board. Laying
special emphasis for the re-habilitation of the
Jhumia Tribal. Tripura Rehabilitation Plantation
Corporation was established in 1983.

Ujjayanta Palace (Tripura State Museum)

District

Area in
km2.

Dhalai

2400

South
Tripura

Populati
on

Growth
Rate

Sex
Ratio

3,77,988

12.57

945

86.82

157

1534.2

4,33,737

14.15

956

85.09

283

Gomati

1522.8

4,36,868

14.15

959

86.19

287

North
Tripura

1444.5

4,15,946

17.44

968

88.77

288

Sipahijala

1044.78

4,84,233

14.15

952

84.14

463

Khowai

1005.67

3,27,391

14.15

961

88.37

326

West
Tripura

942.55

9,17,534

12.57

972

91.69

973

Unakoti

591.93

2,77,335

10.85

966

87.58

Literacy

Density/
KM

469

Demographics[edit]
The following is a list of the basic demographic data for the districts of Tripura based on the size of the district's
area, arranged in descending order[12][12]The data input here is taken from 2011 Census, however the new four
districts were formed in 2012 so information on those are of 2012)

The Rubber Board started its activities in the State by

opening a one man office at Agartala in 1967 for undertaking development and extension activities. This office
was upgraded to the status of Regional Office in 1979. A
regional research station aiming at location specific R & D
was also established in the same year in and area of 85 ha
at Taranagar.
Subsequently, Nucleus Rubber Estate And Training
Centre (NRETC), under a Joint Rubber Production
Commissioner, has been established in 1984 within the
scheme of Accelerated Development of Rubber in the
North East. In 1986, a nursery cum demonstration plot was
established at Tulakona in an area of 14.32 ha, with the
objective of generating quality planting materials and for
demonstration of scientific cultivation.

Later a Zonal Office was set up at Agartala for

monitoring and coordinating all activities of Rubber Board in
Tripura State. At present there are five Regional Offices
under the Zone, located in Agartala, Udaipur,
Dharmanagar, Ambassa and Bishramganj. A vibrant field
support to cater the needs of the grower near to their doorstep viz.
field stations manned by field officers, is
functional in eleven location under the Regional Offices at
various strategic places for imparting technical and financial
assistance to the resourcepoor rural growers.
Until late seventies, despite of all efforts the level of
acceptance of rubber was poor mainly because of growers
skepticism. It was, at this juncture, NRETC had intervened
and educated the stakeholders in rubber culture. Tripura
Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) and

State Tribal Welfare Department have also lent a hand in

spreading of Rubber Cultivation.
The Rubber Board has taken up spectacular
achievements in expansion of rubber through various
development schemes, carried the rubber concept out of
estate sector to the rural masses. Today the vast majority of
the rubber plantation in Tripura pertain to very small to
marginal growers who domesticated it to their livelihood. By
now, Tripura has emerged as the second largest in area
and production of rubber in the country next to Kerala.
The Rubber Block Plantation Scheme started in late
eighties has made dramatic changes in the socio-economic
development of the rural sectors. The scheme had been
visualizing a five pronged strategy as under :

To rehabilitate the Jhumia families who had been destroying the

forest wealth on massive scale by adopting a cultural practice called
Jhuming.
Afforestation of such denuded areas with a long term economic crop
and to protect the available forest from further exploitation.

Livelihood development of rural tribal communities with a crop of

sustainable income.
Empower the Rural Youth in general and the Tribal Communities in
particular by providing labour and employment and thereby, paving the
way for socio-economic development. This programme accelerated
restoration of peace in the State bringing back the destitute youth to the
main stream from insurgent activities.
Organizing and empowering the rural farmers under the banner of
Rubber Producers Societies and provide them opportunities to under
stand the participatory activity and collective bargaining, thereby
developing vibrant marketing channel.

The National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning

(NBSSLUP) has estimated that approximately one lakh
hector is available for Rubber Cultivation in the State.
Rubber Board has already chalked out various
development scheme so as to bring the entire area under
rubber cultivation. The other agencies involved in the
promotion of Rubber Plantation industry in the State are
TFDPC, TRPC, TTAADC and State Government
Departments like Tribal Welfare Department.

Extent of Achievement in plantation development

(progressive total)
Year of Planting
1976-77
1981-82
1986-87
1991-92
1996-97
2001-02
2006-07
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
2015-16

Area in hectare
574
3590
10085
17860
23936
30575
35760
57620
61231
62529
70295
74335

District wise area and production 2015-16.

District

Total
Immature
production
Mature Area Total Area
Area
during the
year (MT)

West
Sepahijala
Gomati
South
Unokoti
North
Dhalai
Khowai
Total:

9769.12
10063.94
3075.94
3575.68
1104.76
2924.68
2091.07
1580.04
34185.23

7856
6782.01
4340.08
11875.72
1520.4
4208.71
2138.77
1428.03
40149.72

17625.12
16845.95
7416.02
15451.4
2625.16
7133.39
4229.84
3008.07
74334.95

9772.86
8436.82
5399
14773
1891
5234
2660
1776
49942.68

Activities and social commitments of Rubber Board in Tripura

1. Extension and Development :
o
New Planting & Replanting Assistance at the tune of Rs.
30,000/ha,
o Boundary Protection Assistance to an extend of Rs. 6000/ha
o Reimbursement of cost of planting materiala @ Rs 5000/ha.
o Generation and supply Quality Planting Material.
o Welfare Schemes for Labourers.
2. Human Resource Development:
o. A Regional Rubber Training Centre was instituted in 2000 at
Agartala, for
enlightening the stakeholders of rubber.
o. On- farm practical training programmes on tapping and
processing and
regular village level meetings and promotional campaigns.
Skill development :
o. Practical training on Crop Harvest Technology, 2 Tappers
Training Schools have been instituted by Rubber Board.
Nearly 4000 persons already passed out from both these
training schools who are doing skilled work either as paid

3. Community Development:
Another endeavour of Rubber Board which gathered acclamation
from all over the state is the empowerment of rubber
producers through group formation under the umbrella of
Rubber Producers Societies (RPSs).
Rubber Board has given financial and technical support for
organization of RPS and its sustainability. Now the total
number of registered Rubber Producers Societies is 176.
In order to support the RPS in marketing their produce, two joint
venture Companies (Rubber Board and RPS share) are
functioning as apex body of these RPSs.
4. Processing and Quality up-gradation:
Rubber Board offered 50% subsidy limited to Rs.18,00,000 to
RPSs for setting up of community processing centres. At
present there are 95 community processing centres (50 group
and 45 block) in the state which are set up with financial
assistance from Rubber Board. Almost all the GPCs are
making quality RSSIV grade sheets

5.

Generation of Quality Planting Material:

Rubber Board is maintaining its own Nurseries to produce and distribute

Quality Planting Materials and genuine bud wood materials. The regional
Nursery under NRETC Agartala at Tulakona produced and distributed around
21630Buddedstumpsand10000Mofbudwoodduring2015-16.

6.

Market support:

In fact, compared to any other commodity in the state,

Rubber is the only crop which enjoys a farm gate price above
95%. This is attributed to the network of dealers distributed
throughout the state coupled with the bargaining power of the
RPSs and market intervention of Rubber Board through its
companies like M/S Manimalayar Rubbers (p) Ltd and Tripura
Latex Pvt. Ltd.

7.

Rubber Research:

Rubber Board has established a Regional Research Station (RRS)

at Agartala & Taranagar for investigations on various aspects of
rubber cultivation specific for this region. Research on crop
improvement and field trials for the development of clones
suitable for Tripura, other income sources like intercropping in
Rubber Plantation to tide over the uneconomic period of rubber
cultivation etc are also being undertaken by the research
station.

8. Labour Welfare :
RubberBoardisimplementingvariousschemesforthewelfareofTappers
andplantationworkers..Educationstipendscheme,Housingsubsidyscheme,
Medicalattendancescheme,Groupinsurancecumdepositschemearethemajor
schemes.

9. Insurance of rubber plantation:

Rubber Board joined with New India Assurance Company has
developed a
special scheme for insuring rubber plantation of small growers. At
the time of
processing of subsidy application for plantation, the procedure for
insuring the area planted was also taken up.

10.

Rehabilitation Programme for tribal:

Apart from its commercial value, rubber has been playing a vital
role in the rehabilitation projects for shifting cultivators (Jhumia)
for their social and economic uplift and for the forestation of
denuded forest lands.
Keeping this in mind, Rubber Board has been implementing Block
Plantation Scheme since 1992.

Thisschemehassofaradopted3546 Jhumiafamiliesbyraising3774.75ha
rubberplantationin59villagesandensuredpermanentsettlementforthenomadic
community.Thesocialchangeandeconomicupliftbroughtaboutbythisscheme
hashelpedinwipingoutsocialevilstosomeextent.Theextentofplantations
raisedfrom1992to2015isasfollows:
Phase

Phase Year

Area Planted
(Ha.)

I
II
III
IV

1992-96
1997-2001
2002-2006
2007-2012
2013 onwards

1500.00
1000.00
751.23
473.64
49.88

Total

3774.75

10. Liaison work:

NRETC also facilitate liaison between the Rubber Board and various
stakeholders of rubber plantation industry. The Jt. Rubber Production
Commissioner,AgartalarepresentsRubberBoardintheDevelopmentcommittees
and Director Board of state Government agencies like TFDPC, TRPC, Rubber
Park,etc.

11. Licensing/Excise Duty:

The NRETC is equipped with a licensing Department with the posting of
ExciseDutyInspectorstartedfunctioningwitheffectfrom1 stMay2015,tocater
the needs of Dealers , processors and Manufacturers. Earlier the function of this
department was operated from Rubber Board Sub Office, Kolkata. At present
there are about 530 registered rubber dealers who are actively doing rubber
businesses.
There are also 5 nos. of ISNR processing units , 3 nos. of CENEX processing
units and 3 nos. of rubber goods manufacturing units in the State. As rubber
production in the state is going up the prospective applicants for dealership and
processing&manufacturinglicensesarealsogradually
increasing.

12. Marketing:
ConsideringthelongpendingdemandfromvariousstakeholdersinRubber
sector in the north eastern region, Rubber Board has started an office of
MarketingDivisionwiththepostingofAsst.MarketingOfficerinthisregion.
ThemainobjectiveofopeningofanofficerelatedtoMarketingwhichisnow
attached to the NRETC, is for collection and dissemination of the price of
differentgradesofNaturalRubberinthenortheast.ltisanewattemptinthis
regionsincesofarrubberpriceshavebeencollectedanddisseminatedbasedon
theKottayamandKochimarketswhicharethetwoterminalmarketsforrubber
inIndia.sinceTripuraisthesecondlargestrubberproducingstateinthenation,
ithasbeendecidedbytheBoardtocollectanddisseminatetherubberpricein
Tripurastatealso.

13. Rubber Industries in Tripura:

As Rubber is a vital raw material for more than 50000 products,
there is ample scope for Rubber based industries in the state,
which can generate much needed employment opportunities.

Rubber Park
Indias second Rubber Park has been set up in Tripura at Bodhjungnager,
which is jointly promoted by Tripura Industrial Development Corporation and
RubberBoard.TheRs.230millionRubberParkwillprovidestateoftheartplug
and play infrastructure facilities with centralized quality control and product
development Laboratory, Latex and carbon blackmaster batch etc.The parkis
expectedtohouse20mediumandsmallscaleindustries.

ESTABLISHMENTS OF RP DEPT. IN TRIPURA

1. NRETC/ ZONAL OFFICE, Agartala:
HeadedbyaJt.RubberProductionCommissioner,thisofficeismonitoring
andcoordinatingtheactivitiesofalltheBoardsestablishmentsinTripura.
Thereare5regionaloffices,atrainingcentreandaRegionalNurserywith
inthepurviewofthezone.

(i)Block plantation Project:

NRETCisalsoengagedintheimplementationoftheBlockplantationproject
inWestTripura& SipahijalaDistricts.Thereare45BlockPlantingUnitsinthe
jurisdiction of this office covering an area of 2930.20 hectares and 2778 tribal
beneficiaries.

Tapping inauguration at Hirapur BPU

Tapping inauguration at Hirapur BPU

(ii) Regional
Tulakona:

Nursery

and

demonstration

plot,

TheNRETC/ZonalOfficeisalsomaintainingaRegionalNursery
cum
Demonstration Plot at Tulakona with an area of 14.32Ha, for
generating
qualityplantingmaterialsandfordemonstrationofscientificplanting
and
maintenance.

(iii) Regional Rubber Training Centre, Agartala:

AregionaltrainingcentreisfunctioningatNRETC,forprovidestrainingonall
aspectsofrubbercultivationtothevariousstakeholders,suchasgrowers,tappers,
RPSfunctionaries,officials,plantationexecutivesandgrowerssponsoredbyother
stateGovernmentagencies

2. Rubber Board Regional Office, Agartala:

Thisofficeisengagedinextensionanddevelopmentofrubber
cultivationin
WestTripuraDistrict.ADy.RubberProductionCommissionerisin
chargeof
thisoffice.TherearetwoFieldStationsandoneTTSunderitscontrol:-1.Field Station, Jirania
2.Field Station, Taranagar
3.Tappers Training School, Amtali

3. Rubber Board Regional Office, Udaipur:

ThisofficeisheadedbyaDy.RubberProductionCommissioner,withSouth
Tripura&GomatiDistrictasareaofoperation.UnderthisRegionalOfficethere
arefourfieldstations:--1.Field Station, Belonia,
2.Field Station Santirbazar,
3.Field Station, Amarpur,
4.Field Station , Manu Bazar,
5.Block Plantation-TheRegionalOfficeisalsooperatingten BlockPlanting
6.Unitscoveringanareaof632hectaresbelongingto562tribalbeneficiaries.

Tripura Sundari
Temple

4. Rubber Board Regional Office, Dharmanagar:

Thisofficeisengagedinextensionanddevelopmentofrubbercultivation
in
NorthTripuraDistrict&Unokoti&partofDhalai.ADy.Rubber
Production
Commissionerisinchargeofthisoffice.ThereisoneFieldStationand
one
TTSunderitscontrol--1.Field Station, Kumarghat,
2.Tappers Training School, Juri3.Block Plantation -fiveBlockPlantingUnits,covering213hectaresof
plantationof206tribalbeneficiaries.
Unakoti,
Kailashahar

TTS, Juri

5. Rubber Board Regional Office, Ambassa:

ThisofficehavejurisdictionovertheentireDhalaiDistrictofTripuraand
KhowaiSubDivisionofWestTripura.Therearetwofieldstationsinits
jurisdiction.
1.Field Station, Khowai
2.Field Station, Kamalpur

6. Rubber Board Regional Office, Bishramganj:

Field Station : Melagharh:

Neermahal:

Target and Action Plan:

We have got 75000 ha. of Rubber plantings in Tripura distributed in 8
districts.Now5RegionalOfficesmanagetheplantings/advisoryvisitsandissue
ofpermits,distributionofsubsidy,formationndmaintenanceofRPSs(176nos.)
and extension activities with the help of 30 extension officers in 5 Regional
Offices and 10 Field Stations. All the Block Planting units, Regional Nursery
andRubberTrainingatRRTCisundertakenbyNRETC.OneRegionalOfficein
each district was thought of, as per the representation/demand by the peoples
representativesatvariousforums.Butwemayconsideritlate,asandwhenmore
and more people take-up plantation. As of now we may open one Regional
OfficeintheSouthDistrict,bydividingUdaipurofficehaving15,000files.We
also propose new field stations at vantage points/promising centers as detailed
belowbasedonthenumberoffiles/RPSsandno.ofgrowersinthatareas,forthe
smoothextensiondeliverysystem:

RO/FO Station
NewROforSouthTripuraatSantir
bazar
(bifurcatingRO,Udaipur)

NewFSunderRO,Dharmanagar
Kanchanpur
Manughat
Kailasahar

NewFSunderRO,Ambassa
Gandacherra
Teliamura

NewFSUnderROBishramganj
i)Jampuijala
No.ofRPS/GPCproposedby2020

Area

Remarks

Dist-SouthTripura
HQ-Belonia
Sub-Div-3nos-Santirbazar,
Sabroom&Belonia

FileNo.
i)Santirbazar-2750nos.+
7RPS
ii)Sabroom-1850nos
5RPS
iii)Belonia2150nos.
6RPS
Total6750nos

Dist-NorthTripura
1032-PD/PDAfiles+1RPS
SubDiv-Kanchanpur&Part 1200PD/PDAfile+6RPS
ofPanisagar
1100PD/PDA+2RPS
Dist-dhalai
SubDiv-Chailangta
Dist-Unakoti
SubDiv-Kailasahar
Dist-dhalai
SubDiv-Gandacherra
DistKhowai
SubDiv.-Teliamura
Dist-Sipahijala
SubDiv-Jampuijala

1100PD/PDA
5RPS
1200-PD/PDA
4RPS
1250PD/PDA
6RPS
300nos.RPS&
150nos.GPC

Golden Jubilee , Honble

Minister inaugurates

Receiving Honble
Minister for commerce

Thanks..

dehc