The government of Karnataka has entered into a memorandum of understanding with 51 Ayurveda educational institutions including three government colleges in the State to help the department of Dravyaguna (plant medicine) manage the cultivation of herbal plants to be used by students for research.

The programme is initiated by the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM). Karnataka is the first state in the country to implement the project. The saplings will be provided free of cost by the State department of forest while the colleges will have to generate funds to ensure the plantations are taken care of.

The project is based on the recommendations of a newly constituted 'Eco Committee' headed by the state environmentalist Y N Yellappa Reddy in the wake of CCIM wanting all Ayurveda colleges in the country to be involved in herbal plantations. The committee studied the land in and around irrigation projects in the state including sites on either sides of dams and canals. All the Ayurveda colleges in the State will have to identify the specific herbs that can be grown in their region. The members of the Committee led by Yellappa Reddy told Pharmabiz.com that the Action Plan was devised with the intention to save the herbal plants around the country from becoming extinct and to meet the shortage of herbs for use of research in Ayurveda colleges.

Another maiden effort initiated by the government is to set up the Karnataka Aromatic and Medicinal Plant Board under the aegis of the State Forest department where eight herbal gardens have already been set up to grow the endangered herbal species. This project is a collaborative effort of the Bangalore University's Dhanavantri project, Karnataka Directorate of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy and the State Forest department. Under this scheme, only medicinal flowers, shrubs and plants are being grown. The cost of the project will not be disclosed, stated official from the water resources section of the department of irrigation, government of Karnataka.

The committee recommends raising herbal plantations and medicinal plants, where 51 Ayurveda colleges including the three government colleges will be associated. The colleges will have to plant the saplings, and ensure these are collected for research at the right time.

Under the project, the total irrigated land available in Karnataka is 1.26 lakh sq. km area.

The assignment will not involve any NGOs (non-governmental organisations), said Dr. K S Jayashree, professor and head of the department, of Postgraduate studies in Dravyaguna, Government Ayurveda Medical College.

The colleges have to assess the type of soil and the plants to be grown in their region and also co-ordinate for supply of the herbs to those educational institutions which cannot grow them. All the colleges will also set up a Home Remedies Unit and highlight the use of herbs for each disease, stated Dr. Jayashree.

The government has already apprised the Ayurveda College and Dravyaguna (plant medicine) about the government land being leased out. For the Government College of Ayurveda, Bangalore the land allocated for cultivation is around 100 acres and is located 60 km away from the city. A training programme has been organised for Ayurveda colleges where officials from the departments of horticulture, forestry, agriculture and soil experts will educate the faculty of department.

There will also be a workshop where members of the Karnataka Ayurveda Manufacturers Association will be provided details of the colleges growing the herbs so that they can procure them from the plantations. The main aim of involving the Ayurvedic companies is to help the colleges earn a fee under the project, said Dr. Jayshree.