Khair tree felling plan prepared: Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhu

A working plan for the felling of khair trees in five forest divisions in Himachal Pradesh has been prepared after the Supreme Court’s nod on the matter, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Friday. The plan was prepared after a survey of the trees in Una, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Nalagarh, and Kutlehar forest divisions, Sukhu said in a statement here.

According to the prescribed norms, 16,500 trees could be axed per year in these forest divisions, he said, adding that the extraction of khair will begin soon. The working plan for the remaining five forest divisions—Nahan, Poanta Sahib, Dharamshala, Nurpur, and Dehra—is underway, and forest officers will initiate the process of inspecting the forests and counting the khair trees there, the chief minister said. Sukhu said the silviculture felling of khair trees was better for forest management and rejuvenation, as well as revenue generation for the state exchequer. Silviculture is the practise of controlling the growth as well as the quality of forests to meet specific needs, especially timber production. Most of the khair trees were decaying due to the non-extraction of timber on time, which was a major obstacle to proper forest management, he said.

He said the Himachal Pradesh government had pleaded the case cogently in the apex court, keeping the state’s interest in mind, and the court delivered a verdict in favour of the forest department. The Supreme Court allowed the felling of khair trees in 2018 on an experimental basis to know the results of the silviculture felling of khair trees. The top court was convinced by the opinion of the forest department, as the central empowered committee allowed the axing of khair trees in its findings and gave its permission for 10 forest divisions, Sukhu said.