Decades of disuse: Kangra’s Forest Guard Training Institute gathers dust

A Forest Guard Training Institute was established with much fanfare at Kutehar in the Jawali Assembly segment of Kangra district in 1992 by the then BJP government under Shanta Kumar. The institute functioned for several years before being abruptly shut down in 2001 due to financial constraints during the 2001–2002 fiscal year.

Since its closure, the double-storey building, constructed at a cost of several lakhs and housing an administrative block, classroom and residential quarters, has remained locked and unused. The Forest Department has failed to repurpose or maintain the facility and the building continues to deteriorate with time. While two other forest guard training institutes in Sundernagar (Mandi) and Chail (Solan) remained functional, the Kutehar facility was never revived or repurposed.

No successive government has taken any initiative to restore or reutilise the building. Despite repeated demands from local residents, including Sadhu Ram, the Up-Pradhan of nearby Dol gram panchayat, no steps have been taken to bring the building back into use. Sadhu Ram, also a noted social activist, has been persistently advocating for the institute’s reopening for over a decade. Recently, he wrote to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, urging him to direct the forest department to revive the training centre or use the facility for other departmental functions.

Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Nurpur, Amit Sharma, acknowledged that a proposal was submitted in 2021 to convert the idle building into a tissue culture lab and modern plant nursery. However, the proposal has seen no progress as it awaits approval from higher authorities. Sharma admitted that the building’s condition has worsened significantly due to prolonged neglect and non-use.

Locals argue that restoring the original function of the building would not only fulfill the objective of its construction but also benefit forest personnel and the local economy.