PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Ramnagar
While laying stress on wood trade’s potential as a transformational factor for Uttarakhand, the State Forest minister Subodh Uniyal said that the State should emulate the example of Vietnam. “If a small country like Vietnam can earn millions of dollars through wood industry, there is no reason why Uttarakhand, with 71 per cent of its geographical area under forest cover, cannot achieve the same,” he said at a business-to-business (B2B) interaction programme organised by the Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation in Ramnagar on Thursday.
He reiterated the State government’s commitment to usher in development through Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation. “We are trying by all means to take the wood trade to new heights through modern thinking and improved management. The Forest Panchayats have also been actively involved under the Rs 628 crore Herbal Mission Scheme, which is steadily strengthening the rural economy,” he said.
While discussing business practices during the programme, the minister clearly stated that the Forest Corporation is the seller of timber while the traders are the buyers. “Transparency and better coordination between the two are extremely important. Such coordination can provide a new direction to the wood industry,” he said.
Traders and industrialists from various States of the country openly shared the problems they face in purchasing timber. One of them, Sandeep Gupta, associated with the plywood industry, put forward important suggestions such as quick disposal of softwood-related cases, improvement in timber quality and strengthening of the depot system.
On this occasion, the local MLA, Diwan Singh Bisht said that the State government is providing self-employment opportunities to the local youth through the Forest Development Corporation.
