Jogindernagar fights move of medicinal plants centre to Solan; Ayush ministry steps in
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Ayush ministry called Jogindernagar protesters to a 9 October 2026 meeting on moving the National Medicinal Plants Board's northern centre to Nauni, Solan.
What Happened
A delegation of residents from Jogindernagar in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district reached New Delhi on 8 October 2026 to press the Union Ministry of Ayush to keep a regional medicinal plants centre in their town. The ministry had called the RCFC Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, the local committee leading the protest, to a meeting on Friday, 9 October, which Union Ayush Minister Prataprao Jadhav and senior officials were expected to attend. The centre at stake is the Regional-cum-Facilitation Centre for North India (RCFC-NR-I) of the National Medicinal Plants Board, which the Centre has decided to move to Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry at Nauni in Solan district. No outcome of the meeting had been reported publicly at the time of writing.
Key Facts
- The RCFC-NR-I is a unit of the National Medicinal Plants Board, which works under the Ministry of Ayush, and serves the medicinal plants sector in seven northern states.
- The Centre decided to shift it from Jogindernagar to Nauni University in Solan; the centre's principal investigator, Dr Ravinder Kaundal, had said it was to start working at Nauni from 1 September.
- The move was due on 31 August 2026 but had not taken place as of early October because of continuing protests.
- Sources cited in local reports said the shift was prompted by the centre missing its targets for medicinal plant cultivation and promotion.
- The committee's hunger strike had run for 48 days by 7 October, and it had warned of a "jail bharo" (fill the jails) agitation.
- Resolutions opposing the move were passed in 30 panchayats in early September, and residents rejected an offer to keep only a counter in Jogindernagar.
- An 11-member delegation was to argue at the meeting that Jogindernagar is the right location and ask for the Solan decision to be cancelled.
Why It Matters
Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and homoeopathy all depend on a steady supply of raw herbs, and much of that supply comes from small growers and forest collectors in the hills. The National Medicinal Plants Board's regional centres are meant to link those growers with training, planting material and buyers. Where such a centre sits decides which farmers can easily reach it, so a move that looks like an office relocation on paper is felt as the loss of a public service in the place it leaves.
Residents of Jogindernagar fear the move would weaken the centre's links with local cultivators and collectors and take away an institution they see as central to the area's medicinal plant economy. They have asked for clarity on why the centre is being moved and what role it would have at Nauni. Supporters of the shift point to the reported shortfall against cultivation targets and to the research base a large agricultural university can offer.
The dispute is also a test of how the Ayush ministry handles the supply side of traditional medicine at a time when it is promoting the sector at home and abroad. The ministry's decision, whether it confirms the move, reverses it or splits functions between the two sites, will show how it weighs local access against performance.
| Detail | Position |
|---|---|
| Centre | RCFC-NR-I, National Medicinal Plants Board |
| Current site | Jogindernagar, Mandi district |
| Proposed site | Dr YS Parmar University, Nauni, Solan district |
| Original shift date | 31 August 2026 (not carried out) |
| Meeting with ministry | Called for 9 October 2026 in New Delhi |
Impact
Short-term: The centre stays in Jogindernagar until the ministry announces a decision, and the protest committee has said it will keep up its agitation until the transfer order is withdrawn.
Long-term: The outcome will decide where herb growers in the northern hill states go for training, planting material and market support, and may set a pattern for how the ministry reviews under-performing regional units.
Who is affected: Medicinal plant growers and collectors in Mandi and nearby districts, the centre's staff, Nauni University, and Ayush manufacturers who buy Himalayan raw herbs.
Key Takeaway
A protest in Jogindernagar over moving a National Medicinal Plants Board centre to Solan has reached the Ayush minister's table, and the decision will shape how hill farmers who supply traditional medicine get official support.
Questions and Answers
What is the RCFC at Jogindernagar?
It is the Regional-cum-Facilitation Centre for North India of the National Medicinal Plants Board, an Ayush ministry body. It was set up to strengthen the medicinal plants sector across seven northern states.
Why does the government want to move it?
The Centre has decided to shift it to Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry at Nauni in Solan. Sources cited in local reports said the reason was that the centre had not met its targets for promoting medicinal plant cultivation.
Has the centre already moved?
No. The shift was due on 31 August 2026, but it had not happened by early October because of protests, and the Ayush ministry called the protest committee to a meeting on 9 October.
What do the protesters want?
They want the transfer order cancelled and the centre kept and strengthened in Jogindernagar. They rejected an offer to keep only a counter in the town.
Sourced and fact-checked by the Peepals Global Editorial Team
Reported, fact-checked and published by the Peepals Global Editorial Team.
