Timber worth Rs6 billion wasting away in K-P

The provincial government has banned its transportation to markets

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) forest department fears that harvested timber worth billions will go to waste due to the government’s ban on its transportation to the markets since 2013.

According to documents submitted in the K-P Assembly by the department, timber worth Rs6.05 billion is lying exposed in Malakand and Hazara forest circles and if the provincial government does not lift its ban, the raw material would go to waste causing billions in losses.

The information was sought by Awami National Party (ANP) lawmaker from Swat Syed Jafar Shah.

The report produced by the forest department states marking was done under windfall category (of timber) in various forests of Malakand forest region-III and wood from these forests was deposited at different transit points, roadsides and timber depots of the region.

According to the data, timber worth Rs0.45 billion is lying in eastern Malakand, while timber worth Rs2 billion has been dumped in western Malakand, awaiting transportation to the market. Similarly, in Hazara forest circle, timber worth Rs3.52 billion is lying in forest department stores and other depositary sites.

The forest department report states guards are protecting the stored raw material but its quality is deteriorating because of lying in storage for a prolonged period. The government has banned the transportation and cutting of timber, which has exposed stored wood to extreme climatic and natural conditions, states the report. “Prolonged storage exposes timber to threats of theft, fire and floods and it can result in losses worth billion of rupees.”

Urging the government to lift the ban, the report said, revenue can be generated by collecting taxes on the auction of the timber once it is taken to the markets.

Earlier in the assembly, ANP’s Jafar Shah also said the timber’s condition was deteriorating in storage, while it could not be auctioned due to a ban on transportation.

However, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Environment Ishtiaq Urmar told the house that the government was working on a scientific timber management plan for the province. According to Urmar, the policy was being changed for the first time in 22 years and all windfall cases pending since 2003 will be disposed of under the new law. He added representatives from Kohistan, Hazara and Malakand were part of the committee deliberating the policy. Once it is approved by the cabinet, the government will allow stored timber to be disposed of.