In the jargon of economics, environmental goods, like clean air and pure water are luxuries. At very low levels of income, where the central worry is starvation, no one cares about the environment and no one can afford to invest to improving it. At higher levels of income, with survival worries behind us, a better environment becomes important to our future standard of living. Only the poor denude forests to provide wood for cooking fires or to sell it to improve their livings. With higher incomes, we can afford more environmentally friendly forms of heating/timber substitutes. What wealthy people can buy privately—a very good environment---middle class people come to demand politically (collectively) as their incomes rise?
Forests in Jammu & Kashmir are to be viewed in the evolving context (the way in which this important natural resource has and is being used for the prosperity of the state) and in the backdrop of, one, the (cl) aim to achieve optimally productive forests, capable of providing timber and non timber products apart from the ecological services, without changing unnaturally the composition of the natural forest ranges, and, two, the bureaucratic/political leviathan which hardly allows to get things going the way they should. Growth is not the enemy of environmentalism. It is in fact only with the growth and high standard of living that people become interested in the environment. 
Historically timber market in the J&K state has been differentiated into two segments. The high-end segment (the non concession zone) would operate as a free market, with pricing largely decided by the market driven forces. The low-end segment (government designated concession A, B, C, municipality and other fair price zones created from time to time) would operate as controlled market entitled to the subsidized rates. Paradoxically, the high-end market in the non concession zones is fed with the low quality ‘B’ and ‘c’ and ‘rotten’ class timber (of lower timber value) through auctions by SFC, the low-end market in the concession zones (for political reasons) would be fed with the premium quality ‘A’ and super ‘B’ classes timber (of higher timber value) through the state run forest sale depots (FSDs) at subsidized rates.
In the forest zone A, the subsidized prices charged are normally 6-10% of the average auction rate fetched from the sale of that class of timber in the high-end markets through SFC auctions. In the B and C forest zones the rates charged range in between 15-20% and 23-27% of the average auction rates respectively fetched in the said auctions. The whopping price difference of 3-8 times between the different segments of the market viz. A, B and C forest Zones and the high-end market in cities and towns (at a minimum distance of 20-25 kms) in a situation when demand outstrips the supplies tends to be the major reason for smuggling of timber. As the ‘actual user’ for the quality ‘A’ timber in reality is located in the high-end marketplace in the cities and towns, the timber supplied in the intermediary markets A, B and C zones, at concession rates, through FSDs (along with the illegally felled timber) has every reason to get smuggled out to reach the ‘actual users’ in the high-end market to monetize the unbelievably high premium.   
With the annual demand of more than 85 lakh cfts of timber and timber based products in the J&K market, the share of the coniferous timber like Deodar, Kail, Fir and Chir handled by the State Government (SFC and forest department) has come down to less than 2o% of the total market. While the imported timber and timber/non timber based products jockey up to fill the gap in demand, the market remains still turbulent. The retreat of the government, the erstwhile monopoly supplier of coniferous timber, is on way to completion. As the Government of India placed import of timber on OGL (open general license), the low grade/low unit value imported timber species, ‘Maranti’ and ‘Sylvester’ (timber suitable for packaging like end uses) dumped in Indian market have successfully replaced the indigenously grown coniferous timber in the valley. Even when the quality does not meet the required/permissible grades used for construction of high end joineries, doors, windows and the like, the price advantage has been the ‘unique selling proposition’ (USP) of the two species. In the head to head competition, where some win and some lose, the strategic conquest businessmen have successfully clicked (befooled and exploited the consumers for their ignorance) the huge gap in demand to replace Deodar and Kail and even fir. While ‘Maranti’ and ‘Sylvester’ keep on being priced as low as 20% of Deodar and 30% of Kail, surprisingly the quality teak and saal (timber) that are  at par(even better)in price/quality terms with that of the high-end Deodar and Kail have not been able to carve their niche.
In the absence of any regulatory body to monitor the quality and suitability of the imported timber, the consumers helplessly watch their interests crushed under the juggernaut of the imported timber. This is happening at the time when economists talk about internalizing externalities and environmentalists about a world where clean environment is primary and more goods and services secondary.

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Lastupdate on : Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 31 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST