Government Reduces Timber Prices in Bara

Bara. The government has reduced the price of timber it sells to consumers. The Madhes Province Forest Directorate has reduced the price of timber effective from Jestha 11.

The Division Forest Office Bara, Forest Product Supply Committee, had sent a file to the Province Forest Directorate for approval on Jestha 6, deciding to reduce the price of timber and firewood. The provincial government has approved the decision to reduce the price of timber, confirming the decision of the Supply Committee.

Consumers purchasing up to 50 cubic feet of Sal logs at the reduced rate will see a relief of Rs 15,000 to Rs 19,000 depending on the grade.

Consumers were paying Rs 2,205.17 per cubic foot (Grade A) in the name of revenue, value-added tax (VAT), collection and stumpage charges, and service fees for naturally obtained forest products.

Recently, the service fee charged by the Forest Product Supply Committee and community forest user groups in the name of service fee has been reduced from Rs 500 per cubic foot to Rs 250. This amount is only 20 percent of the Rs 1,250 revenue amount per cubic foot paid by consumers.

Previously, consumers were paying up to 50 percent of the revenue amount as service fees. Collection and stumpage charges have also been slightly reduced.

Sujit Kumar Jha, chief of the Division Forest Office Bara, said that the price has been reduced to provide timber at concessional rates to all consumers within the district. 'We have plenty of timber, but the price of timber was high for consumers outside community and collaborative forest groups, so the price has been reduced by a decision from the Supply Committee,' he said.

According to Division Forest Officer Jha, reducing the price will increase the country's revenue and also provide timber to the public at concessional rates. He believes this will also reduce illegal timber smuggling.

Currently, the price of timber sold through the Supply Committee is set slightly lower than that of collaborative forest user groups. Bara has 4 collaborative and 42 community forest user groups.

Legally, 30 percent of the felled timber in the case of collaborative forests and 50 percent of the remaining timber after internal consumption in community forest groups must be given to the Supply Committee. Currently, the Division Forest Office Bara has 19,000 cubic feet of timber in stumpage for the Supply Committee.

With the reduction in timber prices, the number of consumers coming to the forest office to collect timber has increased in recent days. According to the office, 8 to 10 people submit application forms daily.

Saurabh Yadav of Simraungadh Municipality Ward No. 9 said he was very happy with the reduction in timber prices. 'Previously, there was a problem of not getting timber. Now the Division Forest has also facilitated a lot,' Yadav said, 'As soon as an application for timber is submitted, it is easily provided after field monitoring.'

Since the forest area and timber stumpage are in the northern part of the district, consumers in the southern part of the district are forced to travel 30 to 40 kilometers north for timber. Local resident Saurabh Yadav of Simraungadh suggests that if the forest office and collaborative forest groups set up timber and firewood stumpage in the southern part as well, it would reduce transportation costs for consumers.

Sonalal Prasad Teli of Feta Rural Municipality Ward No. 3 said that the reduction in timber prices has brought great relief. 'Earlier it was Rs 2200 per cubic foot, today it is Rs 1825. I am very happy,' he said.

Teli added that consumers who had started using aluminum for windows and doors of their houses due to not getting timber previously have now started using timber after the price reduction.

How much relief for consumers in timber prices?

Consumers were paying Rs 1250 for Grade A Sal logs, Rs 900 for Grade B, and Rs 600 and Rs 300 for Grade C and D respectively as revenue. To this revenue amount, Rs 259 for collection and stumpage charges, Rs 500 for the committee's service fee, and 13 percent VAT on the total amount were added, making the prices Rs 2205 for Grade A, Rs 1809 for Grade B, and Rs 1470 and Rs 931 for Grade C and D respectively.

However, effective from Jestha 11, the collection and stumpage charges have been reduced by Rs 46 per cubic foot and the committee's service fee by Rs 250. According to the latest rates, Grade A is set at Rs 1903, Grade B at Rs 1437, Grade C at Rs 1038, and Grade D at Rs 639.

Meanwhile, collaborative forest user groups have also reduced prices by Rs 253 to Rs 400 per cubic foot in the current fiscal year.

Forest user groups provide 50 to 60 cubic feet of timber for new house construction and up to 30 cubic feet for fire damage or house repairs.

Ram Ekbal Prasad Teli, chairman of the Garimai Collaborative Forest User Group, said that the price had to be reduced because consumers had started buying timber from sawmills due to the high price of timber.

'We were heavily impacted by the auction timber coming to the sawmills at very low prices, so the committee sat down and reduced it by Rs 253 to Rs 400 per cubic foot,' said Chairman Teli, 'After the price reduction, there has been a rush of consumers coming to buy timber.'

For timber in collaborative forest groups, consumers have to submit an application form, and based on that form, collaborative and sub-divisional forest employees conduct field monitoring before providing timber to consumers.

A lot of timber auctioned from other districts comes to Bara district. Consumers purchase that timber through sawmills by paying Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,200 per cubic foot.

Bara district produces 70,000 to 100,000 cubic feet of timber annually. Out of this produced timber, timber of species other than Sal and Satisal rots in the stumpage. Recently, the Division Forest Office Bara has started selling timber that is not consumed internally within one year through an auction process.

Lalbabu Yadav, information officer at the Madhes Province Forest Directorate, said that the price of timber has decreased in all districts of Madhes Province from the current fiscal year. He stated that a provision has been made not to allow a profit of more than 20 percent of the total revenue amount (1250).

'By amending the law, the Supply Committee has been given the provision to take only 10 to 20 percent profit of the revenue amount. It has been arranged not to go above that,' said Yadav, 'This arrangement has been implemented in all districts.'