Missing the Woods for Wood

Is it worthwhite to clear forests to annually earn ₹4,500 per hectare?

- Shruthi Agarwal & Ajay Kumar Saxena

THERE IS a struggle for control over forests in India. On one side are forest communities and environ-mentalists, while on the other are government-owned forest development corporations (FDCS) and private players, who are trying to acquire forestland for industrial plantations.

The contest over forests has led to cases of conflict in several states—the most recent one being in December last year in Maharashtra. When the state government decided to allow the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd to raise teak plantation in 200 sq km of wildlife rich Bhandara forests, conservationists and local communities were up in protest, making the government rethink the move.

Another incident was witnessed in the same state in June 2016 when protesters interrupted felling of trees in Gadchiroli district. A protester also filed a case in the Nagpur bench of the state high court. Why does the FDC need such diverse forests for its plantations when thousands of hectares of degraded forests are lying unused?” says Hiramand Garate, the petitioner. The case has now been transferred to the National Green Tribunal. Similar conflicts have been reported from states like Chhattisgarh.

FDCS were first set up in the 1970s in several states of the country to improve forest productivity. They function as the production and commercial wings of state forest departments. A total of 19 FDCS are functional now, the rest having closed for financial reasons. For increasing productivity of forests, FDCS have cleared forests to raise high-value timber and pulpwood.