The people in Langpa-Nobgang chiwog of Samar Gewog in Haa say the Natural Resources Development Corporation Limited or NRDCL’s logging activities above their villages are doing more harm than benefitting them. They allege that the logging road has led to rampant illegal tree felling. They also blame NRDCL for dumping waste and damaging their farm road.
Among the many concerns, villagers are especially worried about the damages NRDCL’s tripper trucks would bring to the recently renovated farm road once logging works resume. Works are kept on halt due to farm road maintenance works.
The NRDCL and the villagers share around five kilometres of the farm road. Around Nu 7 M is being spent on laying base course on it which is nearing completion.
“Even if we repeatedly maintain our farm road, when NRDCL’s timber-carrying trucks ply on the road, it gets damaged in no time. The other issue is that the truckers bring waste in their trucks and dump them illegally around our water source,” said Singye Namgay, Langpa-Nobgang Tshogpa.
Moreover, villagers are worried that the timber extraction works could affect their water source. A road heading towards a logging area near the water source was blocked about a year ago after the chiwog’s water reservoir was built.
“We are worried that the water might dry up if NRDCL keeps on cutting trees around it as it is not a naturally flowing stream from the source itself. It is being formed by a collection of many small tributaries which are very vulnerable,” added Singye Namgay.
Currently, NRDCL hands over a yearly farm road maintenance budget to the Gup. However, people want the company to raise the amount as the current budget is barely able to maintain the road properly according to them.
NRDCL’s Regional Manager Kinley Tenzin said the amount cannot be raised due to regulations.
“Till 2015, all the maintenance works were done by NRDCL. Starting in 2016, we started paying them an annual maintenance budget of Nu 24,500 per kilometre. Though the farm road is only around 4-kilometres, we pay for 5.5 -kilometres which come around Nu 133,000 but we are not sure if the amount is spent on maintaining the road. The budget was not fixed by the NRDCL. It is as per government’s regulations,” said Kinley Tenzin, the Regional Manager of the NRDCL Rinpung region.
He also said the logging works around the water source won’t be continued as agreed though timber extraction was planned for five years in the area initially. Regarding illegal tree felling, he added that the office tried to monitor but failed due to security reasons.
“It is true that there is illegal timber extraction happening there. Till 2019, our timber depot was situated just above the villages but the villagers kept smuggling logs out of our depot. Moreover, when people fell trees illegally and our security personnel intervened, they were confronted. So, we had to move the depot to Tshaphel as there were risks to our night guards,” added Kinley Tenzin.
However, he said that the office is planning to build a checkpoint along the road.
Meanwhile, the NRDCL’s first Forest Management Plan in Langpa-Nobgang began in 2010 and ended in 2019. The second 10-year plan will begin soon and with it, disagreements between the community and the company are likely to continue.
Kipchu, Haa
