DIMAPUR, JULY 24 (MExN): Customs officials in Guwahati seized a huge consignment of timber, allegedly illegal, shipped from Dimapur at Guwahati Railway station Saturday, July 24. According to sources from the media based in Guwahati, the ‘moulded’ timber is worth around Rs. 80 crore and destined for the Nangloi region in Delhi. Suspected to be of foreign origin, the shipment consisted of teak and pine.
The department of forests, Nagaland however stated that the timber is fully legal. Divisional Forest Officer, Dimapur Kocha Meyase Sunday evening said that the department has all the supporting papers to proof the legality of the seized timber and not as alleged.
Queried on its origin, the DFO said that it was all sourced from inside the state, within the limit of stipulated norms. Rubbishing the claim of the customs officials, the DFO said the custom people have no written authority, whatsoever, to conduct such an investigation. They (customs) have acted against a clear standing directive of the Supreme Court regarding export of timber from Nagaland outside the north east region, the DFO claimed.
The DFO said that a ‘High Powered Committee’ (HPC) constituted by the ministry of environment & forests under directives from the Supreme Court is the sole authority which regulates the export of timber from within the state.
Only the HPC or the Special Investigation Team as constituted, no other authority is empowered to investigate any timber consignment, until and unless it reaches its destination. The customs officials by breaking open the sealed wagons of the train midway have breached that standing order, the DFO said.
There is a ceiling as to the quantity of timber exported from the state outside. The state has never crossed the stipulated limit in this regard, the DFO said. All the seized timber, the DFO said were sourced from identified forest ‘working schemes’ in the state approved under the Union Ministry of Environment & Forests and within the purview of the Nagaland Tree Felling Regulation, 2002.
