By P.S. Anantharaman,IANS,
Ahmedabad : The Central Environment Committee (CEC) appointed by the Supreme Court to decide on applications for opening saw mills and veneer and plywood units in the country is expected to meet this month to consider applications for setting up imported timber-based ventures in Gujarat.
According to Shantilal Parekh, president of the Kandla Timber Association (KTA), as many as 147 applications for setting up units in the Kandla region in Gujarat’s Kutch district are pending before the CEC. If the proposals are cleared, it would help attract investments of Rs.10 billion in Kutch district, which has the potential to emerge as Asia’s largest centre for wood-based industrial units, Parekh said.
The state government has already declared four blocks – Bhuj, Anjar, Bhachau and Gandhidham – in Kutch as “timber zones”.The state government expects nearly 200 plywood units and 500 saw mills to come up in the special timber zones.
The chairman of the Mumbai-based Timber Importers Association of India, R.T. Somaiya, said an early decision by the CEC could mean enormous business opportunities for wood-based industries in Gujarat.
Kandla’s imported timber-based units meet the needs of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
According to KTA’s Parekh, the timber industry in Kutch district is valued at Rs.25 billion and runs mostly on imports. If new units were allowed, it could generate job opportunities for 60,000 people, the industry being labour-intensive.
The apex court in March 1997 had ordered the closure of all unlicensed saw and veneer mills and plywood units in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
In September 2002, the court constituted the CEC to monitor and ensure compliance of its orders on issues concerning forests and wildlife.
The next month, the court extended the scope of the 1997 order to cover the entire country. It observed that no state government or union territory administration would permit the opening of any saw and veneer mill or plywood unit without prior CEC permission.
Parekh said saw mills that used imported timber in Kutch were currently experiencing a downturn because of flagging construction activity, recessionary trends, and falling rupee.
He estimated that the industry would end the current fiscal with a 20 percent drop in revenues.
The KTA president also said his association has also requested the Gujarat government to lower the value added tax rate from 14 percent to four percent, the rate applicable in all other states.