Tahir Mushtaq
JAMMU, Sept 19: With rising demand for both domestic and commercial use, Jammu and Kashmir has imported whopping 36.54 lakh cft of timber from outside the state, particularly from Europe and America.
According to the government data, the imports have become necessary after the ban imposed by the Supreme Court of India in 1996 banning the felling of trees, keeping in view the massive devastation of the green gold in the militancy infested state.
Officials said that though no systematic survey or study has been conducted so far to ascertain the total timber requirements in the state, the estimated requirement of timber for commercial and domestic is around 51.50 lakh cft annually. Most of the timber has been imported by private timber trades.
Apart from this a quantity of 23.10 lakh cft has been supplied by the forest department and State Forest Corporation during the current financial year alone (ending January 2010).
Though Minister for Forest Mian Altaf said that strict norms have been laid down for the import of the timber so that quality wood is supplied to the consumer, but sources said that there is huge bungling in import of timber, which is mostly done by private companies.
“It has been observed that the quality of timber imported to the state is generally good and is available at reasonable rates but still strict quality checks are being made. Most of it is used for commercial and domestic use particularly in Kashmir valley”, said a source.
It is pertinent to mention here that there is already complete ban on felling of green trees in the state. However under the order of the Supreme Court and also the recommendations of the Qualitative and Quantitative Norms Committee, set up by the state government dry, fallen and diseased trees could be extracted which is restricted to 80 lakh cft.
“The department cannot afford to give away with the extraction from the forests as per the recommendations of the Committee as it shall prove counted productive for the ecological and environmental balance of the forests”, Forest Minister said.
Official records say that during 2001-06 around 12.30 lakh cfts of timber deteriorated in various sale depots in Jammu region and 3,439 cft of timber of different species was sold at reduced rate resulting in loss of Rs 17.61 crore and Rs 3.80 lakhs respectively to the State Forest Corporation.
Major stocks of the state forest corporation are sold by open auction and the auction has to be started from the Reserve rates fixed for various species, classes and sizes of timber by a committee constituted by the Board of Directors.
Officials said that the auction committee cannot sell the stocks when auction rates are lower than the reserve rates, sometimes this become one of the reasons for incomplete sale of the stocks and therefore stocks remain there.
JAMMU, Sept 19: With rising demand for both domestic and commercial use, Jammu and Kashmir has imported whopping 36.54 lakh cft of timber from outside the state, particularly from Europe and America.
According to the government data, the imports have become necessary after the ban imposed by the Supreme Court of India in 1996 banning the felling of trees, keeping in view the massive devastation of the green gold in the militancy infested state.
Officials said that though no systematic survey or study has been conducted so far to ascertain the total timber requirements in the state, the estimated requirement of timber for commercial and domestic is around 51.50 lakh cft annually. Most of the timber has been imported by private timber trades.
Apart from this a quantity of 23.10 lakh cft has been supplied by the forest department and State Forest Corporation during the current financial year alone (ending January 2010).
Though Minister for Forest Mian Altaf said that strict norms have been laid down for the import of the timber so that quality wood is supplied to the consumer, but sources said that there is huge bungling in import of timber, which is mostly done by private companies.
“It has been observed that the quality of timber imported to the state is generally good and is available at reasonable rates but still strict quality checks are being made. Most of it is used for commercial and domestic use particularly in Kashmir valley”, said a source.
It is pertinent to mention here that there is already complete ban on felling of green trees in the state. However under the order of the Supreme Court and also the recommendations of the Qualitative and Quantitative Norms Committee, set up by the state government dry, fallen and diseased trees could be extracted which is restricted to 80 lakh cft.
“The department cannot afford to give away with the extraction from the forests as per the recommendations of the Committee as it shall prove counted productive for the ecological and environmental balance of the forests”, Forest Minister said.
Official records say that during 2001-06 around 12.30 lakh cfts of timber deteriorated in various sale depots in Jammu region and 3,439 cft of timber of different species was sold at reduced rate resulting in loss of Rs 17.61 crore and Rs 3.80 lakhs respectively to the State Forest Corporation.
Major stocks of the state forest corporation are sold by open auction and the auction has to be started from the Reserve rates fixed for various species, classes and sizes of timber by a committee constituted by the Board of Directors.
Officials said that the auction committee cannot sell the stocks when auction rates are lower than the reserve rates, sometimes this become one of the reasons for incomplete sale of the stocks and therefore stocks remain there.
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