Now, log in or walk into forest dept depots for choicest logs

Bengaluru: The forest department has eased the retail sale of timber. People can now walk into any of the depots of the department and buy timber.

Aimed at making timber available easily and bringing in transparency in business, the department will offer 21 species of timber on sale.

Forest, Environment and Ecology Minister Ramanath Rai launched two new timber sale schemes. People can take part in online tender and auction or visit any depot and pick the wood they want.

Brijesh Kumar Dikshit, additional chief conservator of forests, Forest Resource Management, told DH the department had tied up with MSTC for e-auction of timber and e-tendering of sales. MSTC is under the Ministry of Steel and all the iron ore from the state is sold through it.

"The department will make available details of the quantity, quality and rate of timber online. The list of all the 42 depots in the state and species of logs available will be posted online. Individuals can purchase the logs online or visit the depots personally to buy the wood," he said.

However, each individual can make direct purchase from the depot only once. At the time of purchase, he or she has to submit details of PAN card, Aadhaar card, certified building plan and copies of permission documents.

Based on the size of the house proposed to be built, the department officials will help the buyer decide on the quantity of wood required. For instance, the department has calculated that for one square metre, one cubic foot of wood is required. Individuals can buy wood of more than one species of trees, Dikshit said.

He said timber sale had been eased to ensure middlemen are eliminated and people get quality timber. All the wood available in the depots is naturally fallen wood or dead trees.

"There was an elaborate process in the sale of timber and it acted as a deterrent. There have been instances where applications would be directed to the forest department head office for permission. We used to receive at least 500 applications from individuals annually and signing the orders would take long. Now, we hope the number of buyers doubles. It will help the department clear stocks of logs in the depots," he said.

DH News Service

Published in Deccan Herald, 18th July, 2017 Edition