Baramulla: A massive timber scam has been unearthed in the Jammu & Kashmir Forest Development Corporation’s (FDC) North Circle Sopore, exposing deep-rooted corruption, mismanagement, and possible collusion within the system. RTI revelations have now brought to light shocking discrepancies between the FDC and the Forest Department, with both agencies providing contradictory statements regarding the status of thousands of cubic feet of timber and forest compartments/coupes.
According to official RTI responses, the Forest Department had entrusted several compartments and coupes to the erstwhile State Forest Corporation (SFC), now FDC, for extraction and sale of timber. While FDC North Circle Sopore claims it has returned 80% of these compartments to the Forest Department, RTI documents from the Forest Department itself contradict this, clearly stating that the stocks and coupes are still lying with the FDC. This blatant contradiction has ignited serious concerns of data manipulation, cover-ups, and institutional negligence.
In Kupwara district, the situation is especially alarming. Records indicate that around 2 lakh cft (cubic feet) of timber was handed over from various coupes to SFC/FDC. Yet over a decade later, this timber remains neither extracted nor transported, resulting in massive financial losses to the government and deterioration of valuable forest produce. Despite the gravity of the situation, no accountability has been fixed, and no disciplinary or criminal action has been taken.
A private investigation further revealed that about 40% of FDC-designated coupes in Kupwara show no trace of the timber supposedly handed over. This points towards large-scale timber pilferage, possible illegal sales, and an organized loot within the system. If verified, this could be one of North Kashmir’s biggest timber scams, with far-reaching economic and environmental consequences.
Public Demands Independent Probe
The contradictory statements from FDC and the Forest Department, as revealed by RTI documents, expose a systemic collapse of transparency and accountability. With timber worth crores of rupees missing, and no clear record of custody or utilization, public outcry is growing louder. Forest activists, RTI campaigners, and civil society groups are demanding an independent, high-level probe into the scam, along with immediate suspension of involved officials and recovery of losses to the public exchequer.
This scam, if not investigated promptly, threatens to shake the very foundation of forest governance in Jammu & Kashmir.
