Gurgaon: The forest department has sealed 24 wood-based industries, which were allegedly operating illegally, in the Punhana range of Haryana‘s Nuh district over “violations” of the licensing regime laid down by Supreme Court to regulate such units and curb illegal tree felling.According to forest department records, 265 saw machines are operating across Nuh district, many of them allegedly in violation of norms. The Punhana area emerged as a hotspot, with officials identifying more than 30 units operating illegally, of which 24 are now sealed.Divisional forest officer (Nuh) Rajkumar said, “Wood-based industries must obtain a valid licence. Mere registration with other authorities does not make a unit legal.” A nine-member team, headed by the deputy forest officer, was constituted to carry out inspections, seal illegal units and prepare damage assessment reports. Officials said the reports will document illegal tree felling, misuse of licences and environmental loss and will form the basis for further legal proceedings.A forest official said that unchecked functioning of these units led to rapid loss of green cover, with trees being cut and timber diverted to informal markets. “When such units operate without licences, there is no way to track where the wood is coming from or whether felling permissions exist,” the official said. Officials explained that wood-based industries occupy a critical position in the timber supply chain, sourcing raw wood, processing it into planks, beams, or boards and supplying it to markets. Because of this, licensing by the forest department is mandatory to regulate the number, size, capacity and location of units, verify the legal origin of raw timber, inspect stock registers and enforce transit permit requirements.Environmental activists said unlicensed sawmills provide a ready outlet for illegally felled trees from nearby forest areas, village commons and private land. Once processed locally, “the timber is quickly absorbed into informal markets”, effectively laundering illegal wood and undermining forest protection measures.Activists warned that continued violations could worsen local heat stress, groundwater depletion and ecological degradation in an already fragile region, underlining why Supreme Court placed wood-based industries under direct forest department oversight.
