Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu presided over the 214th meeting of the Board of Directors of Himachal Pradesh State Forest Development Corporation (HPFSDC) here today and directed the officers to take necessary measures to expedite the disposal of the timber wood stock accumulated in the corporation’s depots so that it could be prevented from rotting. He also asked to explore the possibility of delegating powers to Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs) along with the officers of the corporation to cut down trees coming in the ways of linear projects after the first stage clearance of FCA so as to avoid unnecessary delays.
The Chief Minister said that for the first time, the HPFSDC would engage in mining activities from the Beas river after obtaining FCA clearance. Additionally, he directed the corporation to blacklist defaulting contractors and initiate recovery proceedings against them besides barring them from participating in future tenders.
He commended the corporation’s efforts for earning profits of Rs. 2.17 crore during the financial year 2021-22, Rs. 8 crore during 2022-23 and Rs. 10.04 crore in 2023-24. He said that 100 Van Veers would be engaged to address the staff shortage in the Forest Corporation. He assured that the state government would provide full cooperation to strengthen the Forest Corporation, aiming to make it a self-reliant and profitable organization.
The Board of Directors gave its approval to grant a bonus to the employees of the Corporation for the year 2022-23, benefiting about 227 employees and to increase daily wages to Rs. 400, benefiting the corporation’s daily wagers. It was also decided to grant another installment of 4 percent DA to all employees from April 1, 2024 and to regularize 80 employees who have completed two years of contractual service.
Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that 618 trees were damaged in Shimla City during the last year’s monsoon fury and by selling the wood of these trees, a profit of Rs. 2.50 crore was earned.
The Corporation also presented a cheque of Rs. 51 lakh to the Chief Minister for the CM Relief Fund.
Vice Chairman HPFSDC Kehar Singh Khachi, Principal Secretary Forest Amandeep Garg, Secretary to Chief Minister Rakesh Kanwar, PCCF (HoFF) Rajeev Kumar, MD HPFSDC Pabnesh Sharma, Special Secretary (Finance) Rohit Jamwal, and non-official members Krishan Chand, Neelam Thakur, Tog Singh Thakur, Madan Sharma, Ganga Singh, Anil Thakur, Krishan Kumar, Yogesh Mahajan along with senior officers of the HPFSDC attended the meeting.
