Jammu: Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment Javed Ahmed Rana today reaffirmed strong coordination among all wings of the Forest Department, saying that timber is being regularly supplied to eligible beneficiaries.
The Minister stated this while replying to a question raised by MLA Khursheed Ahmad Sheikh in the Legislative Assembly today.
Rana said that there is proper coordination between the JKFDC and other wings of the Forest Department for the extraction of timber stocks and their distribution among the beneficiaries.
Providing division-wise details about the quantity of timber distributed, the Minister informed the House that in the Jammu division, 816,276 cubic feet of timber was provided in 2023–24, 768,783 cubic feet in 2024–25 and 512,977 cubic feet in 2025–26, benefiting 4,522, 4,428 and 3,305 beneficiaries, respectively. In the Kashmir division, 174,836 cubic feet of timber was distributed in 2023–24, 208,450 cubic feet in 2024–25 and 258,670 cubic feet in 2025–26, benefitting 2197, 2522 and 3145 eligible beneficiaries respectively, he added.
The Minister informed that the Forest Development Corporation supplies timber to the consumers as per the government policy and JKFDC is regularly supplying timber to AAY beneficiaries (APL, BPL, PHH & NPH) at concessional rates and to AAY beneficiaries exclusively at concessional rates of 50 percent.
He added that the Forest Department issues permission for felling the trees to the eligible persons living near the forests under the Jammu Forest Notice and the Kashmir Forest Notice for construction purposes.
The Minister further informed that the Territorial Wing of the Forest Department under J&K Forest Notice has supplied 7,51,950 cft of timber up to January 2026. Besides, the J&K Forest Development Corporation Limited has provided 15,63,571 cft of timber through its 211 CTSDs to the bona fide beneficiaries, and presently 6,22,983 cfts are still available in these depots for sale, he added.
Regarding the seized timber, the Forest Minister informed that the seized timber is disposed of after completing the legal process of confiscation under Section 52 of the Indian Forest Act. The confiscated timber is subsequently handed over to the Forest Development Corporation Limited for disposal, he added.
Legislators Irshad Rasool Kar and Altaf Ahmad Wani (Kaloo) raised supplementary questions.
