1 TRANSLATION OF THE PROCEEDINGS AND ... - APFA News

per truckload. Further, in order to meet the requirements of the people, upto
one truckload of firewood is allotted on standing tree basis per family. If even
this is not enough, firewood can be purchased at the commercial royalty rate
including Nu.180 per truckload of hardwood and Nu.80 per truckload of
softwood. Therefore, there could not be a problem of fuelwood allotment not
being enough to meet a household’s requirement.
With regard to the submission for revision of timber allotment for renovation
of houses, the Minister pointed out that the allotment of 4 drashing is for
minor renovation and repair. If renovations include the replacement of almost
all the wood work in the house, the allotment is no different from constructing
a new house. Allotment for house construction instead of renovation should be
applied for. Similarly, on the issue concerning shingles, it was clarified that
besides the timber allotment, the Rules also has provisions which clearly states
there is a specific allotment of 6 trees which would yield 2000 cft. of sawn
timber for shingles. The Government is well aware that the shingles used as
roofing materials needs to be replaced in 4-5 years time. Therefore, the
submission that shingles allotment is only once in 30 years is a
misunderstanding. Further, during the Budget Presentation, the Finance
Minister informed the house that no taxes would be levied on CGI roofing
material in order to encourage its use. However, as the Rules does not specify
the withdrawal of the shingles allotment in view of the CGI roofing being
encouraged, even those households with CGI roofs can still use its shingles
allotment of 6 trees.
On the issue of disallowing timber concession to those living within a
kilometre of an urban centre, the Minister said that this may be a
misunderstanding. The houses constructed within 3 kilometers of township
category “A”, 2 kilometers of township category “B” and 1 kilometer of
township category “C” are firstly for the purpose of renting them. Secondly,
the people constructing houses in these areas are not from that locality but
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