Thousands of cubic feet of timbers seized by forest authorities in central Tarai districts could rot away if they are not put to use or auctioned off.

More than 13,000 cubic feet of confiscated logs in Rautahat, Bara, Parsa, Makwanpur, Sarlahi, and Chitwan districts are lying in disuse when they could generate revenue for the concerned forest offices.

 Akhaleshwor Lal Karna, director of Regional Forest Directorate, said lengthy

legal procedure required to release seized timbers was the main reason the district

forest offices were unwilling to initiate the auction process.

“If auctioned off, the general lag in timber supply would be addressed to a great extent,” he said.   

Raju Mainali, who owns a sawmill in Kathmandu, said because of the forest authorities’ failure to auction off the seized timbers, the sawmill industry and builders are compelled to import wood.

“The Ministry of Forestry should begin the process to sell the seized timber immediately,” he demanded.

According to Mainali, the country’s sawmill industry import around 700,000 cubic feet of timbers annually.

A forest official warned that the seized logs by the authorities would be unsaleable once they start decaying.