Wood Worth Rs 70 Million Wasting Away at Sunsari Forest Office

Valuable wood worth approximately Rs 70 million is decaying at the Sub-Division Forest Office in Tinkune, Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City-8, Sunsari district, due to prolonged delays in its sale and use.

The logs, stored at the Panchakanya and Bishnupaduka offices for nearly two decades, have been deteriorating as repeated bidding attempts to sell them have failed. Mahesh Kumar Saha, Chief of the Sub-Division Forest Office, Panchakanya, stated that about 15,000 cubic feet of confiscated wood have been left unused due to legal and administrative hurdles.

According to Saha, the market value of the wood is categorized as follows: ‘A grade’ at Rs 1,200 per cubic foot, ‘B grade’ at Rs 900, and ‘C grade’ at Rs 650. However, the lack of timely action has rendered much of it unfit for use.

Dik Bahadur Bhujel, Chairman of the Nepal Forest Products Entrepreneurs’ Association, criticized the government’s policies and administrative inefficiencies, claiming they have led to the decay of domestic wood resources. He noted that despite Nepal’s capacity to produce quality timber, cumbersome regulations and a lack of proactive measures have resulted in wastage.

In the fiscal year 2080/81 alone, the District Forest Office in Sunsari collected 64,500 cubic feet of wood. However, forest officer Khudris Minya admitted that prolonged legal processes and other obstacles have hindered the timely sale and distribution of the timber.

Timber entrepreneurs have accused the government of creating an artificial shortage of wood by importing timber from abroad while neglecting the proper management and utilization of locally available resources.

The situation has prompted calls for reforms in forest management policies to prevent further wastage of valuable natural resources and to ensure the efficient use of domestic timber.