The Indian government is examining a proposal to use natural rubber for fencing along the Indo-Bangladesh border.
The Rubber Board in association with Tripura government and the BSF has submitted the proposal to the government.
Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh said that the project proposal has been submitted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister Shivraj Patil.
"We hope the proposal will be cleared and rubber fencing will become a reality through the Indo-Bangladesh border," Ramesh said.
The project report says natural rubber can be used as a "social fencing" along the 850
km border between Tripura and Bangladesh.
The project will not be just a social fencing mechanism alone. The rubber plantations will provide a legitimate source of income to the people living in the border areas, it said.
Already, rubber plantations have covered 40 km of the border. Around 7,500 hectares is the area identified for plantation by the project.
Ramesh said new rubber plantations will come up in Tripura, Assam and other North Eastern states.
Kerala is the largest producer of rubber in India with for 93 per cent of production and the share of northeastern states is 5 per cent at present.
