Dimapur, September 6 (MExN): The office of the Dimapur Timber Industries Association has issued a clarification on statement of Nagaland Timber Trader’s Union (NTTU) on manipulation by forest department officers.
The clarification note appended by DTIA, President, Azheto Zhimomi stated that in the year 1996, Supreme Court banned the felling conversion and transportation of Timber within and outside the state. Then the Supreme Court by another order in January 1998 allowed felling, conversion and transporting of timber and timber products within and outside the state. Since the natural forest in Nagaland are owned by the village councils the working scheme in the name of the village working scheme were allowed to be prepared for not less then five years and were approved by Ministry of Environment & Forest, Government of India and transportation of timbers was allowed within North East by road but outside North East by Railway wagons only.
To save the natural forest from over exploitation initially only 40 wagons per quarter were allotted by SIT against the operating working schemes on pro-rata basis, even though the working schemes were approved by MOEF/GOI. In the years of 1970 to 1990 huge amount of plantations were undertaken by Nagas and to give benefit of the same to Nagas, Nagaland Government promulgated Tree Felling Regulation in the year 2002 to give legality to the plantation timbers and moulded beats (made out of plantation timber).
Wagons are allotted to the working scheme owners, registered plantation owners and registered moulded beat units only.
Further, the Association added that the officers of Government of Nagaland, Forest Department always worked to facilitate public to be able to sell their products; therefore manipulation by officers of Forest Department does not arise.
