Tree-felling ban on private land raises cost of funeral wood

Arranging wood for the funeral pyre has become dear in Solan city as the price of wood has more than doubled since December 2024.

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While upgrading to electric crematoriums is a concept which is yet to take off in the city, the Solan municipal corporation fears it would fall short of wood. A typical pyre uses around 4-5 quintals of wood and on an average, 50 funerals take place in a month in the city.

As against the price of Rs 540 per quintal supplied by a private contractor till November 2024, this wood is now available at Rs 1,130 per quintal since December 2024. “The private contractor catering to the demand was unable to supply this wood citing its unavailability after a ban was enacted on felling wood on private land by the state government in December,” informed Usha Sharma, Mayor, Solan Municipal Corporation.

Sharma, when quizzed, said, “Given the present crisis, the need to set up electric crematoriums is being felt though it requires a change of mindset as people conducting the last rites traditionally want to stick to the present method, given their religious beliefs.”

The civic body was forced to turn to the state forest corporation to meet this exigency as it fell short of the requisite wood. The corporation, which supplied 400 quintals of wood to the civic body in December 2024, charged Rs 1,150 per quintal based on its notified rate for a government entity, thus denting the pocket of the fund-starved corporation.

Sources in the Forest Department, however, disclosed that a temporary ban on the felling of trees on private land was executed by the state government in December. The decision stemmed from a case involving illegal axing of trees on private land which had surfaced at Dharampur area of Mandi district.

In the guise of legal felling, excess trees had been axed illegally in violation of the rules thus inviting the ire of the state government which imposed a temporary ban on felling in private land. The officials stated that shortage of funeral wood was temporary.

Irked by the undue expenditure thrust upon it, the Solan Municipal Corporation (MC) has written to the Urban Development Minister to provide wood at concessional rates.

“The issue has been taken up with the Principal Secretary, Urban Development, to lift the ban on felling as purchasing funeral wood at higher rate is creating a financial burden on the corporation,” informed Usha Sharma, Mayor, Solan MC.