Integrating Forest and Police Outposts to Counter Timber Smuggling

In a strategic move to combat the smuggling of timber from Himachal Pradesh, directions have been issued to integrate forest department outposts with police outposts. While presiding over a meeting of the Forest Department, the emphasis was on the installation of advanced technology, including CCTV surveillance, at these integrated outposts in order to curb the smuggling of timber.

Timber smuggling results in revenue loss for the state government and proactive measures should be taken to restrain the illegal trade. By integrating forest and police outposts, enhanced surveillance and determined efforts against timber thievery were expected.

The forests of Himachal serve as the lungs of North India, as they provide fresh air and oxygen in abundance, with trees being highly valuable assets to the state. However, the recent torrential rains have caused significant damage to these trees, resulting in immense losses. The importance of the forest department promptly removing the uprooted trees from the forest land and ensuring their proper disposal was emphasized.

The working plans for harvesting Khair Trees across five forest divisions within the state were reviewed. The Forest Department was asked to work on it promptly and execute the same in a time-bound manner, particularly after the conclusion of the rainy season. The Supreme Court has granted permission for silviculture felling of Khair trees in five forest divisions, namely Una, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Nalagarh, and Kutlaihar, in May this year.