Himachal to integrate forest, police outposts to curb timber smuggling

Presiding over a meeting of the forest department in Shimla, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu emphasised the use modern tech, including CCTV surveillance, at these outposts

In a move to combat the smuggling of timber from Himachal Pradesh, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday ordered the integration of forest department and police outposts.

The chief minister said that timber smuggling results in revenue loss for the state Himachal Pradesh government. (HT Photo)

Presiding over a meeting of the forest department in Shimla, Sukhu emphasised the use modern tech, including CCTV surveillance, at these outposts.

The chief minister said that timber smuggling results in revenue loss for the state government, adding that the forest department should take proactive measures to restrain such illegal trade. By integrating forest and police outposts, enhanced surveillance and determined efforts against smuggling of the precious wood is expected, he said.

Sukhu added that trees are valuable assets for state and the recent torrential rains have caused significant damage to them, resulting in losses. He emphasised the importance of the forest department removing uprooted trees from forest land and ensuring proper disposal.

The chief minister reviewed the working plans for harvesting Khair trees across five forest divisions in the state. In May, the Supreme Court had granted permission for silviculture felling of Khair trees in five forest divisions, Una, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Nalagarh, and Kutlehar, he said.