Raja Syed Rather
Jammu, Feb 11: The Jammu and Kashmir Government on Wednesday said that there is no shortage of timber in any of the sale depots in Kangan constituency.
Replying to an unstarred question (A.Q. No. 1276) raised by MLA Mian Mehar Ali in the Legislative Assembly, the Minister In-charge, Forest, Ecology & Environment Department said, “No Sir,” when asked whether there is a shortage of timber at most of the sale depots in Kangan constituency.
The government informed the House that depot-wise quantity of timber dumped and sold in Kangan constituency through cluster depots during the last three years is as under:
At CTS Depot Manigam, 481 cfts timber was dumped and 368 cfts sold in 2023-24; 1291 cfts dumped and 1176 cfts sold in 2024-25; while 1327 cfts was dumped and 788 cfts sold in 2025-26.
Similarly, at Margund depot, 1285 cfts timber was dumped and 1256 cfts sold in 2023-24; 882 cfts dumped and 869 cfts sold in 2024-25; and 632 cfts dumped and 330 cfts sold in 2025-26.
At Chiner depot, 501 cfts timber was dumped and 414 cfts sold in 2023-24; 387 cfts dumped and 304 cfts sold in 2024-25; while 353 cfts was dumped and 273 cfts sold in 2025-26.
The government further stated that areas falling under Cluster Depot Hariganiwan including Kulan, Hariganiwan, Gund, Mammer and Thune are presently being catered to by adjoining Margund depot in view of lesser demand at Hariganiwan over the past few years.
Regarding steps taken to ensure regular supply of timber to meet public demand, the Minister said that regular supply is being ensured on a demand-driven basis. He informed that the Forest Department through its Territorial Wing has distributed 37,423 cfts of timber to bonafide beneficiaries during the last three years.
As per official figures, in 2023-24, a total of 187 trees (171 Kail and 16 Fir) involving 18,368 cfts were issued to 187 beneficiaries. In 2024-25, 135 trees (128 Kail and 7 Fir) involving 12,009 cfts were issued to 135 beneficiaries. In 2025-26, 83 trees (74 Kail and 9 Fir) involving 7,046 cfts were issued to 83 beneficiaries.
The House was also informed that the J&K Forest Development Corporation has dumped over 2,300 cfts of timber in Kangan constituency for the year 2025-26 so far, while further dumping is under process. More than 900 cfts timber is currently available for hassle-free distribution on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Further, during the last two years, the Territorial Wing of the Forest Department has handed over 1,295 trees involving 1.38 lakh cfts to the Forest Development Corporation Limited for extraction and disposal, the Minister added.
