Agro-forestry wood units in J&K face persistent ordeal

Srinagar, Mar 31: Even as the Centre continues to promote a shift away from the “license raj” under its Ease of Doing Business framework, the situation on the ground in Jammu and Kashmir tells a markedly different story, particularly for agro-forestry-based wood industries that remain caught in a complex web of regulations and procedural hurdles.

The wood-based sector in Kashmir has historically been a vital pillar of the region’s economy, encompassing activities such as carved furniture, handicrafts, doors, windows, joinery, cricket bats, fruit boxes, veneers, and plywood.

Operating largely within industrial estates and municipal areas, these units sustain thousands of livelihoods and contribute significantly to both domestic and export markets.

A large proportion of these industries depend not on forest timber but on agro-forestry timber, imported wood, or legally procured sawn timber.

This distinction is crucial, as national policy has consistently encouraged agroforestry as a sustainable alternative to reduce pressure on natural forests.

According to a 2011 assessment by the Forest Survey of India, nearly 147.745 million cubic meters of agro-forestry timber is available annually from trees outside nationalised forests, a figure that has increased in subsequent years.

Despite this, agro-forestry-based units in Jammu and Kashmir continue to be regulated as though they rely on forest extraction, revealing a significant disconnect between national policy intent and its implementation at the regional level.

The roots of this regulatory complexity lie in the expanded interpretation of the landmark Supreme Court case T N Godavarman Thirumulpad versus Union of India, which imposed restrictions on wood-based industries near forest areas.

While later deliberations permitted such units to operate within industrial estates, municipal limits, and designated clusters, the corresponding regulatory framework in J&K has not fully adapted to these relaxations.

In response to evolving legal and administrative requirements, the J&K government introduced SRO-103 in 2012 to regularise existing units and allow new ones, which was later replaced by SO-321 in 2022. These measures were intended to align with reforms introduced by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change between 2016 and 2019.

However, even years later, their implementation in J&K remains partial, with notable disparities between central guidelines and local administrative practices.

Even procedural mandates such as the timely reconstitution of the State Level Committee, as directed under the 2016-17 orders, were carried out only recently after considerable delay, while several other key provisions continue to remain unaddressed. Among these is the exemption from licensing requirements for units operating exclusively on agro-forestry timber or imported wood, a principle that has already been adopted in several other states.

Instead, what persists is a deeply entrenched regime of regulatory control, with the Pollution Control Committee emerging as a central bottleneck in the licensing and renewal process.

Units that have been in existence for decades are repeatedly required to obtain Consent to Establish and Consent to Operate, even at the stage of renewal.

The requirement to seek “Consent to Establish” for already established units has been widely criticised as administratively irrational, yet it continues to be enforced.

The process is further complicated by the need to obtain multiple No Objection Certificates from different departments.

The Pollution Control Committee often directs applicants to secure land-use verification from the Revenue Department and clearances from Fire Services, setting off a chain of procedural requirements that many entrepreneurs describe as exhausting and time-consuming.

In numerous cases, the Revenue Department has reportedly insisted that existing structures be dismantled before granting land-use conversion, despite the fact that many of these units have been operating on the same land for decades.

Fire Services, on the other hand, impose stringent conditions such as the installation of 10,000-litre water storage tanks without taking into account the size, scale, or actual risk profile of the units, even when they are located in accessible areas.

Although online systems for application and approvals have been introduced, stakeholders argue that these function largely as a façade, with the real process still dependent on repeated physical visits, manual file handling, and discretionary decision-making across departments.

As a result, approvals often take months or even years, creating uncertainty and financial strain for business owners.

This situation stands in sharp contrast to reforms implemented at the national level, where low-risk industries have been granted lifetime Consent to Operate, categorised under risk-based frameworks, and provided exemptions to reduce compliance burdens. Agro-forestry-based wood units clearly fall within such low-risk categories, yet in J&K they continue to be treated on par with high-risk industries.

The contradiction is evident: while agro-forestry is actively promoted as a sustainable and economically viable activity with abundant raw material availability, the industries dependent on it are subjected to excessive regulatory scrutiny.

Beyond the administrative challenges, the human impact of these policies is significant.

Many entrepreneurs in the wood-based sector come from modest backgrounds and often have limited formal education.

They are required to navigate complex digital systems and bureaucratic processes, frequently spending extended periods pursuing approvals across multiple offices. In the process, several report facing intimidation, harassment, and arbitrary demands under various pretexts.

In effect, what is projected as Ease of Doing Business translates on the ground into a system that facilitates control rather than growth.

For many entrepreneurs, legitimacy of operations offers little protection against procedural excesses and administrative delays.

The situation is further compounded by the apparent inaction of the Industries and Commerce Department, which has largely remained silent despite the mounting challenges faced by the sector.

As the department entrusted with facilitating industrial growth in J&K, its lack of intervention has raised serious concerns among stakeholders.

As J&K continues to project itself as an investment-friendly destination, the ongoing ordeal of agro-forestry-based wood units underscores the urgent need for aligning policy with practice.

Without meaningful reforms, administrative accountability, and proactive institutional support, the promise of ease of doing business risks remaining unfulfilled for one of the region’s most important economic sectors.