To cater to the increasing demand for timber and firewood across the State, the State Forest Corporation (SFC) has made necessary arrangements for dumping and sale of timber in its depots.Managing Director, State Forest Corporation (SFC) Suresh Gupta informed that in north Kashmir region, 217500 lakh cfts have been dumped while as 15717 cfts have been sold so far. In South Kashmir 315478 lakh cfts have been dumped while as 7350 cfts have been sold to the general public.In East circle of Jammu region, 36681.65 cfts have been dumped while as 8573.91 cfts have been sold. Similarly in West circle of Jammu region, 120454.47 have been dumped while as 20380 cfts have been sold so far.Giving details about the circle-wise firewood dumped and sold in the religious institutions, Mr Sharma said in north Kashmir, 488 religious institutions were provided 29400 quintals of firewood, while in South Kashmir, 385 religious institutions were provided 51303 cfts of firewood for heating purposes. He said in North Kashmir, 29400 quintals and in South Kashmir 21903 quintals of firewood was provided during the winter.
The SFC officials said that there is no shortage of timber in Srinagar, Jammu or elsewhere as sufficient quantity of timber is available at all its depots. The Department this time had made early arrangements for dumping and sale of timber in depots, however the process was stalled because of the disturbances in Kashmir. “There is no shortage of timber in the State right now. We have dumped the raw material and are expediting the process for smooth sale with revised rate list,” Mr Sharma said.Pertinently, the arrangements have been done on the directions of the Minister for Forest, Environment and Ecology, Choudhary Lal Singh. Mr Singh directed officials to expedite the process of sale of timber to the general public during this financial year, so that they don’t face any inconvenience. He asked them to provide single window system to the public for better results.