Jammu and Kashmir State Forest Corporation, a statutory Government funded Corporation, was established under the J&K State Forest Corporation Act, 1978. The erstwhile Government Lumbering Undertaking’s (GLU) employees which used to carry out extraction and sale of timber in the State through Forest Lessees got merged into the SFC and are still covered under pension. All Members/Directors and MD are appointed by Government only including two Legislatures also and Chairman is Forest Minister if elected Government is there. SFC was conceptualized to undertake removal and disposal of trees and exploitation of forest resources, to undertake research relating to forests/ forest products and render technical advice to Government on matters relating to forestry, to manage, maintain and develop such forests as are transferred or entrusted to it by the Government.
All said and done on papers everything seems to be perfect but the fact is that like any other Corporation it remained a practical case of corruption, nepotism, favoritism, financial misappropriation and what not. It is matter of grave concern and thorough investigation how SFC became a two thousand five hundred plus corporation with a monthly salary expenses to the tune of approximately twelve crores right now. Except for few years its annual report is always running in loses, every annual auditor report showed gross irregularities but no corrective action was taken to stop the muck. Forest Department being the parental organization of SFC just turned a blind eye to please their political bosses. SFC practically is just collecting dead, dry, deceased, wind fallen, top broken or snow fallen trees after SC judgment restricted all green trees felling in Jammu and Kashmir. SFC carried out operations through their favorite contractors, alleged to be family members of politicians on exuberant rates defying all logics or transparency.
After recent repealing order of MHA in March 2020 SFC has become an illegal entity with no action plan by existing administration even after more than a one month of order. Though it is UT now but the fact remains Jammu and Kashmir has vast resource of natural forests, a total of 42 forest types are found in the UT of J&K and Ladakh, which are highest in the country and denotes the diversity of forest ecosystems in Jammu and Kashmir which no other state has. Keeping in view of all this for SFC Government has few available options right now; either the Government has to absorb all employees in other parental departments like it has done in case of Social Forestry and IWDP programmes in the past or adjust/VRS to majority of employees to prune down SFC to bare minimum and then make it a company to be operated independently like other states’ SFC as it will be virtually impossible for the new company, if formed in its present form, to sustain even for a few months once grant-in-aid sanctioned for this financial year is over. The new company can devise new strategies professionally like opening up its own joineries in its depots itself to sell finished products at market rates instead of selling timber in local market on subsidized prices which they are doing right now. Employees only should not be punished for official policies devised and implemented time to time. Options are tough but ultimately Government has to decide about Corporation but on compassionate ground keeping in view the future of so many employees at stake.
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