Logs worth millions of rupees are rotting in community forests, but locals can’t buy them due to legal hurdles

The prohibition on felling shorea robusta trees has complicated the sale process, even for those toppled by wind, old age, or other disasters.

Suresh Gaha Magar, a resident of Damdawali in ward 5 of Kalimati Rural Municipality, and a member of the consumer committee of the Triveni Community Forest of the rural municipality, completed construction of his house a couple of months ago. However, he faced difficulty finding timber for his new house.