Known over many centuries for its forest wealth, our State is heading towards a phase in which it will be known as the worst example of forest degradation. Old and precious forests are getting depleted and new plantation is a distant cry. It takes decades and centuries for forest trees to grow to full size and attain the grandeur that they traditionally enjoyed. The Committee on Estimates has submitted its report to the Legislative Assembly. It paints a gloomy picture of the condition of forests in most of their aspects. And when we speak of forests we do not speak only about trees and plantation; we speak of forest lands, wild life, fisheries, wetlands, marshes where fowls breed, watch and ward, forest roads, impact of providing necessary infrastructure in which roads, railways and communication systems directly or indirectly affecting forest culture and above all we need to speak about ecological balance to which forests are of vital importance. The report of the Committee is an eye opener and if there is any level at which the warning will be heeded, let it work.
The Committee has made some sound suggestions for overcoming the debilities that have crept into our forest department and how the rot can be stemmed. These suggestions should be discussed and the course of action should be identified. The biggest use of forests is to obtain timber from trees for construction and with that follows the task of afforestation. We know that utilization of forest trees for timber is a highly modernized activity in the western and American countries. Even in Russia, it is highly advanced. We need to learn from their experience and introduce modern system of utilization of timber for construction works. There has to be minimum loss when converting a standing and live tree into timber for making doors and windows and wooden furniture. Everything is mechanised and done beautifully with extraordinary perfection. Adoption of the methods employed by western advanced countries like Canada for preservation of timber will be highly beneficial to us in Jammu and Kashmir.
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