The timber mafias of the State, including in Dhenkal district, are active by halting the tender/ auction process of valuable wood logs of the Odisha Forest Development Corporation (OFDC), resulting in loss of crores of rupees to the State exchequer.
Good quality of round logs of Sal, teak, Bija are sold since long at a higher rate of about Rs 400 per cft than the general selling rates in tender / auction sale in monthly basis at various sale depots of the OFDC.
At present in the Denkanal Mahisapat OFDC depot, about 7,000 cft of such quality round logs of wood are dumped for disposal. However the timber mafias are not allowing the concerned officials to do the tender of the stocks.
While the OFDC is assigned with the task of timber business, the active mafias are doing the parallel unauthorised and illegal inter-State timber business. In a letter to the Chief Minister, Citizen Action Forum general secretary Chitta Ranjan Sahu demanded tender sale of such type of wood, instead of allowing for general sale. The local unit of the OFDC Karmachari Sangha has also demanded tender sale of valuable wood.