Sherzhong and Senggey Gewogs in Sarpang would like a forest branch office each. The people of the two gewogs say having a forest office in their gewogs would make obtaining permits for timber, sand and boulder easy.
At the moment, people of Sherzhong Gewog travel to the Forest Range Office in Gelegphu to apply for permits. While, it can usually be done in a day, the task can be a two day affair sometimes.
It’s the same story for the people of Senggey Gewog who have travel to the Forest Range Office in Sarpang.
At the last Dzongkhag Tshogdu, the gewog leaders asked about the possibility of having forestry branch offices in the two gewogs.
The representative from the Sarpang Forest Range Office said people need not visit their office. Instead, they can apply for permits online at the gewog community centres. “They can submit their application to the gewog office. The gewog office will then forward the application to us,” said Phub Dendup.
But the people argued that even if the approval can be sought online, they still have to visit the office for tree marking. So, they say they would prefer to have a forest office in their gewogs.
