Frozen forest wealth: Windfall Timber Policy stalemate costs KP billions
PESHAWAR, (APP): For more than a decade, millions of rupees’ worth of valuable timber has lain silent and exposed across the forests and depots of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where its economic potential slowly eroding under sun, rain, and policy paralysis.
From Malakand to Hazara, stacks of deodar, kail, and fir timber, which was harvested legally as dry windfall wood, remain unsold due to a long-standing ban imposed in 2014 by the PTI Government.
What was once considered a conservation measure has now become a source of growing concern for traders, farmers, economists, and forest officials alike.
“We are watching money rot in front of our eyes due to long ban on dry windfall timber policy,” said Hamdard Ali, a seasoned furniture trader in Nowshera district.
