(a) whether the government have noticed any cases of timber smuggling in the country particularly Jharkhand during the last three years and thereafter;
(b) if so, the details thereof, State-wise; and
(c) the details of action taken by the government against the persons involved in smuggling of timber during the said period?
MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS (SHRI T.R. BAALU)
(a) to (c) No specific instances of timber smuggling on large scale have come to the notice of Central Government in Jharkhand and other States except those of North Eastern States. In case of North Eastern States, the Central Government had received information about large scale movement of illegal timber through railways. Physical verification of about 200 wagons was got done by the Central Government during which all the wagons were found to contain substantial quantity of illegal timber. In exercise of the powers conferred on the Central Government by the Hon`ble Supreme Court by its order dated 13.11.2000 in writ petition no. 202/95, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted for carrying out investigations and further follow up action. After investigations, illegal timber contained in these wagons has been confiscated. Licenses of the concerned wood based industries have been suspended.