Chief Parliamentary Secretary (Forest), Sunder Singh Thakur held a meeting with the officials of the Forest Department through video conferencing regarding Salvage Lot Marking in the forests here today. Sunder Singh Thakur said that the state government had decided to mark dried trees in forests in a time bound manner and utilize the forest wealth in revenue generation.
He said that as the marking was not done on time, many dried and fallen trees were lying in the forests and there was loss of forest wealth and financial loss to the government as well. Therefore, the state government decided to bring changes in the marking process.
He instructed the officials of the Forest Department that a list of dried and fallen trees should be prepared in the stipulated time. All officers from the level of Forest Guard to Divisional Officer will prepare the list on a daily basis to complete the marking process.
In order to bring this process into policy, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests was directed to prepare a standard operating procedure (SoP), he added. The officials of the department will prepare the list of dry and fallen trees at the departmental level by 31st May and submit the same to the government by 15th June, 2023.
He said that with salvage marking, the Forest Department could mark about 50 trees and sell them by following the tender process. This would not only help in avoiding the loss of forest wealth, but employment opportunities would also be generated to the local youth.
To increase the efficiency of the local youth, training by the Skill Development Corporation would also be imparted to them, said the CPS. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (HOFF) Rajeev Kumar and other senior officers of the Forest Department were also present on this occasion.